Assessing the Damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program

Having learned the lessons of the Israeli strike on Iraq’s Osirak reactor in 1981, and Syria’s al-Kibar reactor in 2007, Iran placed its nuclear installations in various locations, some heavily fortified and buried deep underground. One of the main sites, known as Fordow, is especially well protected, and destroying it—while a relatively straightforward task for U.S. air force—poses significant challenges to Israel. Then again, few believed Israeli jets had the capacity to strike Iran at all before last year. And last night, the IDF reportedly destroyed the air defenses near Fordow.