The Pentagon on Thursday released footage of 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs designed to destroy fortified underground targets like Iran's Fordow site. Gen. Dan Caine said all six bombs "went exactly where they were intended," pushing back on claims the sites weren't damaged.
Key Details:
The footage shows a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) plunging into a target and igniting a fireball through a shaft--highlighting the bomb's ability to penetrate before detonating.
Gen. Dan Caine told reporters, "Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won't see an impact crater because they're designed to deeply bury and then function."
Caine added the strikes on Iran's Fordow enrichment facility were precise: "All six weapons at each vent... went exactly where they were intended to go."
Diving Deeper:
The Pentagon on Thursday released dramatic footage illustrating the destructive power of America's most advanced bunker-busting weaponry--just days after questions emerged about the effectiveness of strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
The video showcases the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound bomb specifically engineered to burrow into heavily reinforced underground targets before detonating. One clip shows the bomb piercing a target and triggering a bright inferno shooting through a vertical shaft--highlighting its underground impact rather than surface-level destruction.
"Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won't see an impact crater because they're designed to deeply bury and then function," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine during Thursday's briefing at the Pentagon.
Caine confirmed that the U.S. deployed six bunker-busters per vent at Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment facility and emphasized that "all six weapons... went exactly where they were intended to go." The statement appears to directly contradict anonymous claims cited by CNN earlier in the week, which suggested that U.S. strikes had failed to damage nuclear targets.
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"A bomb has three effects that cause damage: blast, fragmentation, and overpressure," Caine explained. "In this case, the primary kill mechanisms... were a mix of overpressure and blast." He concluded with a warning: "Imagine what this looks like six times over."
Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader emerges from his bunker to declare victory over the US and Israel.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's aging theocratic ruler, emerged from hiding Thursday to make his first public remarks since hostilities erupted between Israel and Iran earlier this month. Appearing via video on state-run television, Khamenei painted a picture of Iranian triumph and American failure, using characteristically fiery rhetoric to assert dominance in the aftermath of a fragile ceasefire.
"The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America's face," Khamenei declared, referencing Iran's symbolic missile strike on the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. Though the attack resulted in no casualties or structural damage, Khamenei used it to posture strength, warning, "Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price."
Khamenei has remained out of sight since June 13, when Israel initiated a targeted campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities and top-level military figures. Following a retaliatory strike by U.S. forces on June 22 -- involving the use of seven stealth bombers and over a dozen bunker-busting bombs -- speculation swirled over the regime's internal chaos. Khamenei's reappearance on Thursday appeared aimed at dispelling doubts about Iran's control and resolve.
He dismissed America's involvement as ineffective, saying the United States "achieved no gains from this war." According to Khamenei, the U.S. only intervened after realizing the "Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed" without assistance.
CNN immediately offered the Ayatollah a $1.5 million per year contract to serve as their international affairs correspondent.
CNN's analyst is convinced: The bombs worked as intended and as Trump said they did.
Here's the Ayatollah declaring that the bombs didn't do nuffin':