Stealth aircraft and 30,000-pound bombs: Why destroying Iran’s nuclear program is a such a difficult feat
A KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft refuels a B-2 Spirit aircraft with the 509th Bomb Wing over Kansas Aug. 29, 2012.
U.S. Air Force photo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran is staring down the possibility of seeing its most important nuclear facilities hit by a 30,000-pound American bomb.
White House officials on Tuesday told NBC News that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a range of options including striking Iran directly, after the American leader repeatedly asserted that his administration would not allow Iran to continue its nuclear program or reach bomb-making capability.
Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and wrote in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. has the ability to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote shortly after declaring “total control” over Iranian airspace.
The rapidly escalating conflict, triggered by Israel’s surprise attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities on June 13, has sent oil prices surging and put a region on edge. Initially encouraging of diplomatic talks with Tehran, Trump’s statements have become increasingly threatening as populations across the Middle East brace for what comes next.
But destroying Iran’s nuclear program — which Tehran asserts is for civilian energy purposes only — is no easy feat.
Iran’s most advanced and hardened nuclear facility, the Fordow plant in the country’s northwest, is a fortress.
Built inside a mountain some 300 feet underground and reinforced by layers of concrete, the plant — which is the most likely target of a potential American strike — is impenetrable by any bomb except the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The U.S. is the only country in the world that has this “bunker buster” weapon, as well as the only country with the aircraft capable of transporting and deploying it: the B2 Spirit stealth bomber.
Iran’s ongoing retaliatory attacks with ballistic missiles towards Israel are seen from Tel Aviv, Israel on June 17, 2025.
Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu | Getty Images
This is in part why Israel has been so eager for U.S. involvement in its offensive operations against Iran in addition to its defensive ones.
But a strike in itself would not be a one-and-done job, military experts say.
“So you have two challenges. You would have to drop two of these penetrators at the exact same site” and likely need multiple bombing rounds, according to David Des Roches, a professor and senior military fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
“And then you would never be precisely sure how much of the facility you’ve damaged,” he added, meaning personnel may need to be deployed on the ground.
“This leads me to believe that for those facilities, Israel will ultimately gain control of the air and then land forces on the ground, force their way into the facility by detonating the doors, and then go and place explosive charges, exfiltrate whatever intelligence they can get, and just detonate it from the inside,” Des Roches told CNBC.
Wider war for America?
Iran’s military capabilities have been severely degraded over the past few days by Israeli attacks, which have taken out substantial parts of its air defenses, ballistic missile batteries, command-and-control nodes, and dozens of top commanders.
Still, such a strike by the U.S. could trigger Iran to respond by striking at U.S. assets in the region like embassies and military bases. Trump has made clear that any attack on U.S. personnel would draw a fierce American response, which would then pull the world’s most powerful military more deeply into a regional conflict.
“The Iranians have signaled that they are ready to attack U.S. bases in the region in the event of a U.S. attack on their domestic soil,” said Gregory Brew, senior analyst on Iran and energy at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, noting that American bases in Iraq are particularly vulnerable.
“There are risks in that environment that an Iranian retaliation causes U.S. casualties, kills U.S. servicemen, and potentially compels President Trump to expand the scope of U.S. action and order additional strikes on Iran and that, of course, would threaten general escalation and drag us into not just a single operation, but potentially a protracted air campaign.”
Despite its enormous scale, the GPU-57 bunker buster would not create wide-scale damage beyond the area of the facility, Des Roches said. But it would have a “profound psychological effect on the Iranians,” he added, who have already seen significant damage and radioactive contamination risk wrought to the infrastructure of several of its nuclear sites in other parts of the country.
A further critical question remains whether the Trump administration will limit itself to targeting nuclear sites, or whether it will expand operations beyond that — something Israel’s government has also been urging, as it conveys its desire to see regime change for its longtime adversary.
“I think the conflict will end when Israel is confident that Iran has lost, for a significant period of time, the ability to make a nuclear weapon, and that its defenses are weakened enough that Israel will be able to go back and effectively disrupt any further effort by Iran to make a nuclear weapon,” Des Roches argued.
If Fordow remains operational, Israel’s attacks would barely slow Iran’s ability to build a bomb, nuclear analysts say. The decisions from the While House in the coming days will therefore prove decisive not only for the trajectory of Iran’s nuclear program, but for the survivability of the Islamic Republic’s regime as a whole.
Ali Vaez, Iran project director at non-profit Crisis Group, believes that “Iran can survive and rebuild its nuclear program,” even without a diplomatic avenue for a deal with the U.S.
“The U.S. entering the war will close the door on diplomacy,” Vaez told CNBC. “Trump might be able to destroy Fordow, but he won’t be able to bomb away the knowledge that Iran has already acquired.”
Environment
Tesla owner admits to driving drunk on Full Self-Driving, proving Tesla needs to do more
A Tesla owner admitted on video that he drives drunk on Full Self-Driving (FSD) – showing that Tesla doesn’t do enough to prevent abuse of its driver assist system.
29-year-old social media personality Landon Bridges went on comedian Bert Kreischer’s cooking show ‘Something’s Burning’ this week.
During the show, they were drinking, and Bridges admitted to being drunk. While visibly intoxicated, he accepted another drink from Kreischeir and then added:
“You know what’s the biggest game changer for me in 2025? I bought a Tesla, and it has Autopilot.”
He then looked at Kreischer suggestively – hinting that you can use it when drunk.
Kreischer responded: “Does it work like that?” – suggesting that it is good enough to use while intoxicated – and then said in a drunk voice: “Tesla, take me home.”
The only answer here would be: “No, it’s a driver assistance system and the driver is always responsible for the vehicle and therefore, they can’t be intoxicated to supervise the system.”
Instead, Bridges said:
Yeah. That’s the problem. That’s literally the problem. I’ll go after it. I’ll press the home button (in the navigation system), and as long as you look forward, you are home.
He then suggested that Kreisher, known for his heavy drinking, should consider getting a Tesla with Full Self-Driving.
Here’s the part of the episode where they have the conversation:
Electrek’s Take
This is wild. He openly admits to a potential felony on a YouTube show. The way he is thinking proves that Tesla is not doing enough to communicate to its owners that FSD is not a self-driving system, but rather a driver assistance system that requires the driver’s full attention, meaning sober, at all times.
He says “Autopilot”, but the way he describes the system points to it being “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” as Autopilot wouldn’t be able to take you through surface streets to take you home.
Tesla has been extremely careless in how it discusses its system publicly.
For example, Tesla recently tweeted that “FSD Supervised gives you back time”:
This suggests that you can do something else while driving, but this is not true based on the automaker’s own warnings and owner’s manual. The driver needs to be paying attention to the vehicle’s driving at all times and be ready to take control.
It is a direct contrast to how Tesla discusses FSD in court after being sued over the numerous accidents involving Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
In court, Tesla is quick to remind everyone that the driver is always responsible for the vehicle and that, despite its name, Full Self-Driving is only a level 2 driver assistance system, not a level 3-5 automated driving system.
Tesla needs to bring that same energy to its communications with buyers. Otherwise, it contributes to these morons thinking that they can use FSD drunk.
I hope Bridges realizes the carelessness and the danger of his behavior and suggests that others, like Kreischer, should do it.
But it wouldn’t be the first time a Tesla owner would think it OK to use FSD while drunk. We even learned of a crash in 2022 where a Tesla employee decided to use FSD, according to a witness, after day drinking, and his drive ended in a crash, leaving him dead.
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It may be small, but Honda’s new EV offers “class-leading” range and more interior space than you’d expect. Honda introduced the N-ONE e on Thursday, its first electric kei car, with prices starting at just over $18,000.
Honda launches the N-ONE e, an $18,000 mini EV
It’s pretty rare to find any vehicle, let alone an all-electric one, for under $20,000 these days. In the US, the average asking price for a new car was nearly $52,000 last month.
While some of the biggest names in the auto industry, including Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, and GM, to name a few, are gearing up to launch more affordable EVs, Honda just got a head of the game.
Honda introduced the N-ONE e on Thursday, its first electric kei car. The N-ONE e is Honda’s second mini-EV, following the N-VAN e, launched last year. However, unlike the van, Honda’s new model is designed for passenger use rather than commercial.
The new EV will go on sale in Japan on September 12, priced from just ¥2.7 million ($18,300). It’s based on the current gas-powered N-ONE, Honda’s retro-looking kei car sold in Japan.
Powered by the same 29.6 kWh battery as its electric van, Honda said the N-ONE e delivers “class-leading range” of up to 295 km (183 miles). That’s even more than the Nissan Sakura, Japan’s best-selling electric car with a WLTP range of up to 180 km (112 miles).
Although it may not seem like much with most EVs offering over 300 miles of range nowadays, it’s perfect for daily commutes in Japan.
Honda said the biggest challenge was ensuring it had enough space to make it fit for everyday use. To open up the interior, the company developed a thinner battery pack that lies flat beneath the floor.
It already has the most popular kei car and best-selling vehicle in Japan, the N-Box, but Honda believes its new EV could be an even bigger hit.
Mini EVs account for about 40% of new car sales in Japan. With more range, interior space, and more, Honda is betting on its small new EV to stay ahead of the competition. Honda expects the market to heat up with rival brands, including global EV leader BYD, Toyota and others, preparing to launch mini-EVs soon.
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Environment
Offshore wind has no future in the U.S. under Trump administration, Interior Secretary says
Offshore wind has no future as a source of electricity generation in the United States under the Trump administration, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at an energy conference in Italy this week.
“Under this administration, there is not a future for offshore wind because it is too expensive and not reliable enough,” Burgum told an audience at the Gastech conference in Milan on Wednesday.
It is the clearest statement yet from a senior Trump administration official that the president aims to shut down the nascent offshore wind industry in the U.S. Burgum oversees the leasing and permitting of offshore wind farms in federal waters as head of the Department of Interior.
President Donald Trump barred new leases for offshore wind farms on his first day in office through an executive order that was framed as “temporary.” Trump also ordered a review of permits, but the industry had hoped projects under construction would be allowed to move forward.
But Interior is “taking a deep look” at five offshore wind farms that are already under construction in the U.S., Burgum said Wednesday without naming the projects.
The offshore wind farms under construction are Revolution Wind off Rhode Island; Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts; Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind; Sunrise Wind off New York; and Empire Wind also off New York.
“Yes, they were permitted but they got moved through a very fast ideologically-driven permitting process,” Burgum said at the conference in Italy.
Interior ordered Danish renewable energy company Orsted to halt construction of Revolution Wind on August 22, citing national security concerns. The project is fully permitted and 80% complete with billions of dollars invested, according to Orsted.
Interior had issued a stop-work order for Empire Wind in April, but ultimately let the project resume construction in May after apparently striking a deal over new natural gas capacity.
Burgum told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan this week that the Trump administration is in discussions with Orsted and New England governors on Revolution Wind, though he wouldn’t say that the project might restart work.
“I can’t say for certain because some of these projects are a literal train wreck in terms of their economics,” Burgum told CNBC. “If we were to complete them then we’re just locking in billions and billions of taxpayer money which might be going to a hedge fund.”
Renewable energy executives told CNBC in August that the Trump administration’s attacks on solar and wind will lead to a power crunch that increases electricity prices.
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