Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Out of reach? Inside the Fordow nuclear site – deep in Iran’s mountains that Israel would likely need the US to topple
There’s just one Iranian nuclear facility left on Israel’s hit list — and it may be up to the US to take it out.
Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is a fortress built deep within the mountains — up to 300 feet underground.
That’s out of reach of Israel’s known munitions. Only America’s 15-ton bunker-buster bomb, GBU-57A/B Massive Ordinance Penetrator, is thought to be capable of touching it.
While Israel has surprised Western intelligence in the past with the scope of their arms and strategies, nothing the Jewish state has shown off so far suggests it has the means to penetrate Fordow’s defenses, said Nicholas Carl, a research manager at the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.
“America is the only partner who can step in and do that,” Carl told The Post.
So far, President Trump has suggested that he’s much more interested in playing peacemaker than wading into the conflict on Israel’s side.
Completed in 2009, Fordow lies hidden in the mountains about 100 miles south of Tehran as one of three major nuclear enrichment sites in Iran.
Iran has spent years fortifying the facility, which has been able to avoid most major attacks from Israel that target Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Tehran has made sure the facility can survive airstrike attacks, making Fordow a much harder target than the other facilities that have been hit through the years,” Carl explained.
While the base does not necessarily house the most advanced nuclear enrichment plants in Iran, it does have highly advanced centrifuges that are a prime target for Israel.
“The entire operation… really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordow,” Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, told reporters on Friday during the first wave of attacks.
To reach those centrifuges, Israel would need America’s so-called “bunker busters,” bombs specifically designed to penetrate deep below ground to blow up its target.
The “MOP” and other American bunker busters are several times more powerful than the 1-ton American-made bombs that the Israeli air force reportedly used to burrow underneath Beirut to kill Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last year.
It remains unclear if Israel has more powerful penetrating bombs than that on hand.
But while Washington has the capability, the White House may not have the same initiative to lend its firepower for a direct strike against Iran.
“The US, without a doubt, has a strategic interest to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons… but if we do get involved, we need to be cognizant of the risks involved,” Carl said. “The US needs to calculate the outcome from this type of attack on Iran.”
While Iran still has other nuclear enrichment bases scattered across the country, with another even more heavily fortified lab reportedly under construction, many analysts believe that the fall of Fordow would be necessary to fulfill Israel’s ambition of ending Tehran’s nuclear ambition once and for all.
“If you don’t get Fordow, you haven’t eliminated their ability to produce weapons-grade material,” Brett McGurk, who has served as Middle East coordinator for several American presidents, told The New York Times.
Chaotic video captures moment fed-up driver runs over ‘No Kings’ protester in Los Angeles
Woman ran over by an individual driving a car during protests over the weekend in Los Angeles, California.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 16, 2025
The woman was seen blocking the car when the driver had clearly had enough.
Police are investigating the incident. According to KTLA, the woman who was struck was… pic.twitter.com/wa1deT51SZ
Below when protestors pulled the truck driver out and murdered him ..
This👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/Dc2xzFMPm2
— Marie Isabella (@MarieIsabellaB) June 16, 2025
Don’t Rely on Mystical Protection,” Rabbis Warn Bnei Brak Residents After Deadly Missile Strike
In the wake of a direct Iranian missile strike that killed 75-year-old Avraham Cohen in Bnei Brak early Monday, leading rabbis are urging residents to ignore rumors of supernatural protection and instead adhere strictly to the life-saving instructions issued by the IDF Home Front Command.
Yedioth Ahronoth reports that senior rabbis from United Hatzalah—including Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karlitz, national halachic director Rabbi Naftali Halperin, and Bnei Brak branch head Rabbi Effi Feldman—met Monday morning with some of the generation’s leading halachic authorities. The delegation presented video footage, photographs, and firsthand accounts from the impact site, which is located just steps from a local school.
Following the meeting, the rabbis released a public letter warning against complacency and theological misunderstandings. “There is a complete obligation to enter a shelter or safe room upon hearing a siren,” the rabbis wrote. “Only if no such option exists should one move to the stairwell. Do not rely on statements falsely attributed to the Chazon Ish regarding protection over Bnei Brak. Such claims are inaccurate and endanger lives.”
The warning comes amid reports that some Bnei Brak residents have continued to dismiss alerts, citing the presence of Torah learning and revered sages in the city as a form of spiritual shield. While these beliefs have deep cultural roots, the rabbis made clear that they cannot substitute for practical action in a time of war.
Radio host and journalist Yisrael Cohen addressed the issue on Monday’s broadcast of his show on Kol Barama, saying, “Even I didn’t always take shelter during sirens. But now, we go down to the basement. My wife cleaned it out. There’s a sense that this time is different—this is more serious than anything we’ve known.”
According to United Hatzalah, their rabbinic team is in ongoing communication with Home Front Command officials to ensure the needs of the observant community are being met. Among the practical concerns discussed is the dissemination of emergency alerts on Shabbat, a matter that will be addressed in accordance with halachic rulings issued by top rabbinic authorities.
In the words of one rabbi involved in the meeting, “Pikuach nefesh—saving a life—overrides everything. There is nothing more mystical than preserving life through responsible action.”
Monday, June 16, 2025
Viznitz Rebbe Quotes Chazon Ish ...Minutes Later a Bomb Falls in Bnei-Brak and Kills Resident
From Chaim Shaulson
So the Viznitzer Rebbe told his Chassidim that the Gaon The Chazon Ish said that there would be no rockets falling in Bnei Brak and added that the Gaon Harav Kanievsky years later said that he was "taking responsibility and that the promise was still valid,"
And then with humility, the Rebe added "Today I am taking responsibility."
No sooner did these holy words come out of his mouth than Rockets started falling and murdered an elderly man!
DIN:
Relying on this Chazon Ish, Businesses started using the Public shelters in their Building as Offices! A huge scandal now in Bnei Brak!
Relying on this Chazon Ish, Businesses started using the Public shelters in their Building as Offices! A huge scandal now in Bnei Brak!
A Shul in Bnei Brak was heavily damaged!
Mark Levin Torches MTG’s ‘Fake MAGA’ Tirade on Iran: ‘We’re Team Trump!’
Greene attacked pro-Trump Republicans over the weekend for agitating to get the U.S. involved in Israel’s ongoing conflict with Iran. The Georgia lawmaker accused her own allies of abandoning Trump’s “America First” doctrine in favor of foreign interventionism.
“Anyone slobbering for the U.S. to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA,” she wrote in a lengthy viral X post on Sunday. “Wishing for murder of innocent people is disgusting. We are sick and tired of foreign wars. All of them.”
In a post on X on Monday, however, Levin tore into Greene’s attempt to draw a purity line within the movement.
“Who died and named Marjorie Taylor Greene the queen of MAGA?” he wrote. “Trump is MAGA. He received 77 million votes. You’re a little known politician from Georgia. Hate to break the news to you. We’re Team Trump. Go Trump!”
Levin’s rebuke comes as he aligns with other prominent MAGA voices pushing for a hardline stance against Iran and backing Trump’s ambiguous signals on military action in a fallout that now verges on a full-on ideological brawl with anti-interventionists like Greene, Steve Bannon, and Tucker Carlson.
Who died and named Marjorie Taylor Greene the queen of MAGA? Trump is MAGA. He received 77 million votes. You’re a little known politician from Georgia. Hate to break the news to you. We’re Team Trump. Go Trump! https://t.co/kj2Gtgijh2
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) June 16, 2025
IDF Bombs Iran's Official TV Station.. Footage Shows Moment of Attack
Israeli Air Force has eliminated roughly one-third of Iran’s ballistic missile launch systems
The Israeli Air Force has eliminated roughly one-third of Iran’s ballistic missile launch systems and significantly disrupted Iran’s ability to carry out large-scale attacks on Israel, according to IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.
Speaking at a press conference, Defrin detailed that Iran launched two major barrages since last night, firing 65 ballistic missiles and deploying dozens of drones. Most were intercepted, but three missiles struck Israeli territory, resulting in eight fatalities.
He added that Iran had originally intended to launch at least twice as many missiles overnight, but Israeli preemptive action curtailed that effort. In one coordinated strike, Israeli jets destroyed 20 ballistic missiles in Iran before they could be launched.
In addition to that operation, around 50 Israeli fighter jets and drones hit multiple targets, including missile storage facilities and command centers where Iranian forces were preparing further launches.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the IDF reports that over 120 Iranian missile launchers have been destroyed—approximately one-third of Iran’s pre-conflict arsenal. The military also confirmed that airstrikes in Isfahan overnight hit more than 100 military assets.
200,000 Israelis stranded abroad; airline heads warn government rescue plan falls short
Around 200,000 Israelis are currently estimated to be stranded overseas amid the ongoing flight shutdown due to the conflict between Israel and Iran, prompting criticism from the heads of the Israir and Arkia airlines that the government’s rescue plan is insufficient and could take weeks to bring everyone home.
Rescue flights are not expected to begin arriving before Thursday at the earliest.
Meanwhile, under a new plan implemented by the Transportation Ministry and the Israel Civil Aviation Authority, Israelis will be prohibited from flying out of the country for the time being, according to a report from The Marker.
The directive is aimed at preventing large crowds at Ben Gurion Airport — a major civilian target — and therefore reducing the risk of mass casualties in the event of further Iranian attacks.
Key updates in the Israel and Iran conflict: What you need to know
How much damage has Israel inflicted on Iran's nuclear program?
Trump rushes troops to Middle East as Israel wipes out Iran's leadership in terrifying 'regime change plot'
US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is heading towards the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals into all-out war.
Donald Trump earlier warned that Iran will experience 'the full strength' of the American military if it attacks the US amid the conflict with Israel, despite reports he had vetoed Israel's plans to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader.
The US President warned Tehran that if 'we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before'.
Iranian missiles rained down on Israel in the early hours of Monday, damaging the US Embassy as Tehran called for its allies to form an Islamic Army to wage war against Tel Aviv.
At least 24 Israelis were killed and dozens more injured when a barrage of Iranian missiles breached Israel's multi-layered defense systems, hitting both Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa.
The strikes destroyed homes and residential buildings, hours after Israel killed three more high-ranking security figures, destroyed Iran's main nuclear facility in Natanz and raised the prospect of a regime change.
Iranians have been filmed shouting anti-regime slogans from windows and rooftops in Tehran and Karaj, according to independent media, with chants said to include 'Death to the dictator' and 'Death to Khamenei'.
More than 220 Iranians have been killed and 1,200 injured, according to authorities, as Israeli strikes have continued to hit the country since Friday.
But Iran has shown no signs of backing down, signaling its intention to involve allies in waging war against its arch-foe by forming an 'Islamic Army' and threatening to leave the Jewish state 'uninhabitable'.
Two and Half Minutes of DemonRats Calling for Violence
Two and a half minutes straight of Democrats calling for violence.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 15, 2025
The Democratic Party is the party of violence. pic.twitter.com/mCTd0CbCnJ
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