What is Fordow and why is this nuclear fortress Israel's top target?

SPECIAL REPORT - BRIEFING 

Buried beneath 90 meters of solid rock and ringed by layers of air defenses, Iran’s Fordow enrichment facility isn’t just another nuclear site - it’s a symbol.

Buried deep beneath a mountain near the Iranian city of Qom, the Fordow enrichment facility is a purpose-built stronghold for military-grade enrichment, described by many as an “impregnable fortress”.

To Israeli defense planners, it’s akin to Mount Doom: a nuclear bastion wrapped in air defences and engineered to withstand even the most advanced aerial strikes. While the recently-targeted Natanz facility is larger and more widely known, Fordow is the facility designed to survive. It represents not only Iran’s technical persistence, but its strategic intent - to build a nuclear program resilient enough to endure a full-scale attack and still retain breakout capability.

As tensions escalate, Fordow has become the focal point in a broader Israeli campaign that has systematically targeted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure - but its unique location and strategic value make it a far tougher nut to crack.

History of Fordow

Originally constructed as a tunnel facility associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the site's existence remained undisclosed until September 2009, when Western intelligence agencies (spearheaded by US, UK & France) revealed its development.

Shortly thereafter, Iran formally notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the facility. Designed with military-grade uranium enrichment in mind, Fordow was intended to house up to 2,976 gas centrifuges across 16 cascades, enabling the production of highly enriched uranium suitable for nuclear weapons.

The facility's strategic location was chosen to protect it from potential aerial attacks, underscoring its significance within Iran's nuclear ambitions.

By December 2011, Iran had commenced uranium enrichment at Fordow, further intensifying international concerns. The site's fortified design and advanced security measures have since made it a focal point in discussions about Iran's nuclear capabilities and intentions.

This nuclear mountain now haunts Israel and they are desperate to destroy it - but how are the progressing in achieving this as the war commenced?

Iranian Nuclear locations hit by Israeli strikes

Since the war began, Israel has systematically struck key Iranian infrastructure - from nuclear facilities to military and energy assets. At the heart of these operations lies a singular focus: Fordow.

Often described as the crown jewel of Iran’s nuclear program, the fortified underground site remains a top priority. As Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael Leiter, recently put it: “The entire operation really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordow.”

3 Nuclear facilities have been targeted: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.

Natanz

Early analysis suggests Israel’s attacks on the Natanz nuclear facility delivered serious blows and not just surface-level damage, but deep disruptions to the lower levels housing uranium-enriching centrifuges.

The above-ground section of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, which has been active since 2003 and used to enrich uranium up to 60% purity, was reportedly wiped out.

Critical electrical systems including the main power station and backup generators were also taken offline in the strikes.

Isfahan

The full extent of the damage at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility wasn’t immediately clear, with conflicting reports coming out of Tehran and Tel Aviv in the aftermath.

While Iran downplayed the attack, saying only a storage shed had caught fire, the International Atomic Energy Agency later confirmed that four key buildings were in fact hit.

Israeli officials, on the other hand, were more direct. One IDF spokesperson described the damage as “significant” during a Saturday briefing, contrasting sharply with the Iranian narrative around the strike on what is considered the country’s largest nuclear research center.

Fordow

Hitting the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant poses a much greater challenge. Tucked deep within the mountains near the city of Qom in northern Iran, the facility is heavily fortified and home to advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to higher levels of purity.

While Israel included Fordow in its wave of strikes on Friday, the IAEA later reported that the facility remained untouched. The IDF has not confirmed any meaningful damage, and Iranian forces claimed they intercepted and brought down an Israeli drone operating near the site.

“The expectation has always been that Israel would not be able to reach Fordow, because it would need the kind of bunker-buster, massive ordinance bombs that only the United States has,” Ali Vaez, the Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group stated.

As we've established, Fordow’s fate could be pivotal to the overall success of Israel’s operation.

So the open questions remain: Has Israel secured a massive ordnance penetrator from Trump? Have they hatched another plan to destroy Fordow? Or is it simply in the “too hard basket”?

Time will tell.