Satellite images show trail of destruction at Iran's Fordo nuclear site after US strike

The strikes were seen as a major move to weaken Iran and raised concerns about a wider regional war. Iran accused the US of starting “a dangerous war.”

Updated on: Jun 22, 2025, 20:49:01 IST

By HT News Desk

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The United States carried out airstrikes on three sites in Iran early Sunday, stepping directly into Israel’s conflict with Tehran over its nuclear programme.

Satellite image over Fordow, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, June 22, 2025. 2025. (via REUTERS)

The strikes were seen as a major move to weaken Iran and raised concerns about a wider regional war. Iran accused the US of starting “a dangerous war.”

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US President Donald Trump claimed in a national address from the White House that Iran’s key nuclear facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.”

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization confirmed that the strikes targeted its Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz sites, but insisted that its nuclear programme would continue.

Satellite images taken on Sunday and analysed by The Associated Press show damage to the entryways of Iran's underground nuclear site at Fordo following the US airstrikes.

This satellite picture by Planet Labs PBC shows Iran's underground nuclear enrichment site at Fordo after a U.S. airstrike targeted the facility Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP) (AP)

Strikes scar mountain, seal nuclear site tunnels

The imagery, provided by Planet Labs PBC, also appeared to show damage to the mountain itself, under which the Fordo site is located. Sealing those entry tunnels would mean that Iran must excavate the facility to regain access to anything inside.

Read: Iran reacts to EU's negotiation call after US strikes: 'Can't return to something it never left'

The once-brown mountain now has areas that appear grey, and its contours look slightly altered compared to earlier images, suggesting a blast threw up debris around the site. This points to the likely use of specialised American bunker-buster bombs in the strike on Fordo.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows vehicles at Fordo enrichment facility in Iran on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP)

Light grey smoke was also seen hanging in the air. Iran has yet to release an official damage assessment of the site.

Read more: Donald Trump gave Iran two weeks, struck in two days. Here's why the US President didn't wait

The Natanz enrichment facility, which is located about 220 km southeast of Tehran, has already been a target of Israeli strikes earlier.

It is Iran's primary nuclear facility, with Uranium being enriched to up to 60 per cent on the site, bringing it to a mildly radioactive level, but below the weapons grade, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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HT News Desk
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