BUNKER BUSTING QUESTIONS June 27, 2025

Right after Air Force B-2s dropped “bunker busters” on Fordo and Natanz last Saturday, President Trump announced that those facilities had been “obliterated.” Did he jump the gun?

A preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency report—I emphasize “preliminary”— stated that Iran’s nuclear program had been set back by only two to three months. In a few days, more optimistic views emerged.

CIA director John Ratcliffe said that Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged,” several key sites “destroyed.” According to Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, centrifuges at Fordo are no longer operational.

The Israel Atomic Energy Commission assessed that Iran’s nuclear weapons program has been set back by “many years.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Holland attending NATO meetings with Trump, agreed. His reasoning (quite rational): a facility that converts enriched uranium from gas into the metal needed for a nuclear weapon had been destroyed.

I hope that Iran’s nuclear program has suffered a years-long setback. Obliteration? As I write, no one knows the exact extent of the damage. Or what may follow. 

There’s a saying that the first casualty of war is truth. Hyperbole obscures truth. In challenging times, Americans need less hyperbole, more truth.

There’s another saying: It’s not just what you say but how you say it. Americans need less anger and pomposity from Washington, more civility and modesty.

At a press conference during the NATO meetings, Trump bristled after being asked about the preliminaryintelligence report regarding Iran’s nuclear program being delayed only a few months. He could have calmly said that he had additional, classified intelligence, and that more intelligence was being gathered; he believed the damage would prove extensive. “Let’s wait and see.”

Fuhgeddaboudit. Trump castigated “fake-news CNN” for “demeaning” the B-2 crews. He also doubled down on “obliterated.” 

No one demeaned the pilots. Everyone has hailed their skills, and the technology and tactics they employed. So why that accusation? Trump took yet another opportunity to point a finger at anyone who questions his mangling of facts, so he can widen the divide between his “patriotic” MAGA base and the traitorous, un-American “coastal elites.” 

Trump’s hyperbole continued when he equated the attack on Iran with atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War Two in the Pacific. Ten days of Israel and Iran trading missiles represent a terrible military conflict. (My family in Israel hunkered down in bomb shelters.) Rationally, how does that comparison hold up?

It would be helpful if Trump and his minions took a breath while professionals continue gathering and analyzing intelligence. Kudos to Chief of Staff Gen. Dan Caine for taking this position. Yes, Iran’s nuclear program seems to have suffered a set-back. Hopefully, a major one. But it’s prudent to lower the celebratory tone and ask more questions. 

Will Iran abandon its nuclear ambitions? (Not likely.) Has Iran hidden enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon? How long would that take? And how can we best prepare for the next crisis? (Another will come.)

The U.S. Intelligence Community continues looking for answers. Meanwhile, a solution to the Iran nuclear problem will be better advanced by halting the braggadocio, stopping ridiculous political attacks and—gasp!—listening.

Dealing with an uncertain future demands a full measure of another rare element—humility. 

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