US’ last resort is back: Here's all about the nuclear bunker buster built for mountains like Iran’s

Can America’s conventional bunker-busters destroy Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities, or could Tehran’s underground fortresses push Washington towards an unprecedented military decision? Tucker Carlson has claimed that the U.S. could be days away from crossing the nuclear threshold, bringing renewed attention to the B61-11, America’s nuclear earth-penetrating bomb. Unlike the conventional GBU-57, the B61-11 relies on an underground nuclear detonation to generate powerful shockwaves capable of damaging buried structures. But can it reach a facility such as Pickaxe Mountain, believed to lie at least 100 metres beneath the surface? Its actual effectiveness remains uncertain, while the possibility of nuclear use raises grave concerns over radioactive fallout and the longstanding taboo against nuclear weapons use since 1945. With November 7 being floated in speculation about a possible strike, what is known — and what remains unverified — about America’s most extreme bunker-busting option?