Why Israel Needs American Bunker-Buster Bombs to Strike Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Site

President Donald Trump is considering using military force to support Israel’s current campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities. Though Trump has expressed a desire to keep American forces out of the expanding conflict in the Middle East, Israel lacks the military capabilities required to directly destroy some of Iran’s nuclear facilities due to their location deep underground. To successfully destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear enrichment plant, which is housed beneath a mountain, Israel requires so-called “bunker-buster” bombs, which are designed to penetrate soil and concrete structures before striking their target. The only ordnance likely capable of reaching the facilities at Fordo, however, are American-made precision weapons owned exclusively by the U.S. military....