What we know about the trio of Iranian nuclear facilities 'obliterated' in the US strikes

22 June 2025, 09:28 | Updated: 23 June 2025, 07:36

By Rose Morelli

@sadlittlejourno

Donald Trump has announced a series of strikes against 3 major nuclear sites in Iran, saying they “obliterated” the facilities. Iran is yet to confirm the full scale of the damage.

The three sites struck were Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan - two enrichment facilities and a research centre considered crucial in Iran’s nuclear efforts.

Fordo and Natanz are the enrichment centres where uranium is taken to be processed, and Isfahan is the Chinese-funded research centre considered to be the intellectual hub of Iran's nuclear efforts.

Iranian media has acknowledged the sites had been attacked, but it’s unclear whether the US strikes did indeed “obliterate” all three of their major nuclear facilities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called the strikes “outrageous”, but there are conflicting accounts of how much damage had been dealt by the attacks.

Read More: Trump hails 'spectacular military success' after US 'obliterates' Iran's nuclear capabilities

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If the sites have been “obliterated”, it would significantly set Iran’s nuclear programme back.

However, some senior Iranian politicians are saying the strikes had been anticipated, and damage had been limited by evacuating the facilities.

Here’s what we know about the facilities attacked, and what the US, Iran and Israel are saying about them…

Fordo

Fordo is considered the key nuclear site for Iran, The secretive base is believed to consist of a series of tunnels, which the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes may host up to 2,700 centrifuges.

It’s believed that Fordo is where uranium, enriched to 60% purity at other sites, could be taken to Fordo to be enriched to the 90% purity required to be bomb-grade.

The non-partisan Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has said it would only take Iran three weeks to enrich 233kg of weaponry at this facility.

Hidden 80-90 metres under a mountain about 60 miles south of Tehran, the site required specialist “bunker buster” bombs for a successful attack.

The site had been previously out of reach to Israel’s attacks, as their “bunker busters” could only penetrate 10 metres under the surface of the ground.

However, the US’ “bunker buster” is thought to have had a much better chance of striking the site, as their 13,000kg bomb can take on 18 metres of concrete and 61 metres of earth.

While the US has announced the “obliteration” of all targeted sites, it’s not been confirmed whether the six bombs dropped on the site actually reached far enough underground.

The success of a bomb on Fordo depends on how reinforced the underground tunnels are.

Natanz

Natanz is the primary site where uranium is enriched, and has been described as the “crown jewel” of the country’s nuclear programme.

About 150 miles south of Tehran, the site is Iran’s largest enrichment centre.

Consisting of six major buildings, the centre is estimated to be able to hold up to 50,000 centrifuges.

Unlike Fordo, Natanz sits in a more shallow position underground - about “three floors below ground” according to diplomats.

This meant the US could fire Tomahawk missiles from submarines at the Natanz site, instead of dropping bunker busters from warplanes.

The site had been previously targeted in the June 13 attack from Israel, and footage from social media showed a huge explosion at the site.

Video captures moment Natanz nuclear site in Iran was hit by Israel

According to the IAEA, this is the site where Iran had been enriching uranium to 60% purity.

Isfahan

The Isfahan site is in central Iran, and is the country’s largest nuclear research facility.

The site doesn’t carry a huge amount of machinery, but it is considered the intellectual hub of Iran’s nuclear programme.

The site is believed to host three small research reactors, a small facility for centrifuges and a cladding plant - but the site is mainly host to laboratories and research facilities rather than storage or fuel enrichment. This site was also attacked via Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarine.

The site was opened with Chinese resources and support in 1984, and employs around 3,500 nuclear scientists.

Iran’s nuclear programme at large

The development of Iran’s nuclear programme has been of concern to the US since its revolution in 1979 - Iran has always publicly maintained their nuclear proliferation was peaceful, and in aid of providing clean energy to its citizens.

Formerly having signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968, the 1979 revolution which saw Iran’s Western-allied leader marked the start of its secret nuclear effort.

Economic sanctions were repeatedly placed and lifted on Iran throughout the decades that followed their revolution.

Some of Iran’s nuclear facilities, including Natanz, were then later exposed in 2002. After that, a years-long back and forth took place where some leaders promised to halt enrichment, then others would resume it.

Fordo was then revealed in 2009 by Barack Obama, marking an escalation in suspicions. Obama described the facility as “inconsistent” with a peaceful nuclear programme.

Iran then entered into negotiations with the US and its allies in 2015, two years after moderate President Hassan Rouhani was elected: in negotiations, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or “Iran Deal” was discussed.

The deal called for more transparency and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear facilities, a pledge from Iran not to enrich anymore weapons-grade material, and the relief of sanctions on the Iranian economy.

Benjamin Netanyahu was a major opponent of this deal at the time, saying Iran would violate the agreement or just wait until the deal’s provisions ended in 10 to 15 years.

Relations then worsened upon Donald Trump’s election, when followed through on his pledge to pull out of what he called the “horrible, one-sided” Iran deal. Iran began re-enriching uranium shortly after the sanction relief was revoked.

After the Islamic Revolutionary Guards General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated by the US in early 2020, Iran announced it would no longer be placing limits on the amount of uranium it was enriching.

Iran was then rendered militarily vulnerable by the escalation between Israel and Hamas in 2023.

However, when Trump was re-elected in 2025, he tried to embark on a new diplomatic effort in the region, calling for a Middle East nuclear consortium.

Iran reportedly rejected the deal however, as it would bring their enrichment facilities out of their control.