Israel weighs options to destroy Fordow if it has to go it alone without help from the US

If President Trump decides not to bid a onslaught connected Iran’s main underground enrichment tract astatine Fordow, Israel has a fig of options to destruct Iran’s atomic enrichment installation buried heavy nether a upland southbound of Tehran.

One enactment includes sending elite Israeli Air Force commandos from Unit 5101, known arsenic Shaldag, which, successful Hebrew, means kingfisher, a vertebrate known to beryllium diligent and dive heavy nether h2o to find its prey.

In September, members of this elite unit amazed the satellite by entering an underground rocket mill utilized by Iran successful Syria.

"There was a tract that likewise looked similar Fordow," erstwhile Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin told Fox News successful an exclusive interview.  "Even though smaller, the Syrian installation produced precocious ballistic missiles, precise ballistic missiles utilizing Iranian technology, arsenic good arsenic Iranian money."

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"There was a tract that likewise looked similar Fordow," erstwhile Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin told Fox News successful an exclusive interview.  (Amos Yadlin)

Israel attacked the tract from the aerial a fewer times but was not capable to destruct the site.

Unit 5101 (Shaldag) utilized the screen of acheronian and diversionary airstrikes to participate the concealed site, works explosives and destruct the complex. Like Iran's Fordow upland analyzable southbound of Tehran, it was 300 feet underground.

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"The Air Force took attraction of each the guards astir the perimeter, and Shaldag got in, and the spot is gone, destroyed," Yadlin said with a flimsy smile.

It's not the archetypal clip Israel has had to program to instrumentality retired a concealed atomic analyzable against the likelihood and alone. In 1981, Israel flew a daring ngo to weaponry Iraq's atomic reactor astatine Osirak.

Yadlin was 1 of 8 young Israeli F-16 pilots who carried retired the concealed attack.

In 1981, Israel flew a daring ngo to weaponry Iraq's atomic reactor astatine Osirak. Yadlin was 1 of 8 young Israeli F-16 pilots who carried retired the concealed attack. (Amos Yadlin)

"We didn't person aerial refueling astatine that time. We didn't person GPS. It was dumb bombs, astute pilot, but a precise hard operational ngo erstwhile Iraq was successful a warfare (with Iran). So, the authorities of alert was very, precise high," Yadlin recalled. He and the different pilots believed it mightiness beryllium a termination mission, and they mightiness not person capable substance to instrumentality home.

More recently, retired Maj. Gen. Yadlin served arsenic the caput of Israel's Military Intelligence successful 2007, erstwhile Israel blew up a suspected Syrian atomic reactor that the satellite did not cognize about. The White House astatine the clip did not privation to assistance successful the strike. Yadlin has seen past alteration aft Israel has acted unsocial carrying retired daring missions similar the exploding pagers that killed astir of the apical commanders of Iran’s proxy successful Lebanon, Hezbollah.

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In 2008, erstwhile it was determined that Israeli F-16s could not scope Iran's atomic sites, Yadlin ordered Mossad to travel up with different mode to instrumentality retired Iran's uranium enrichment astatine Natanz. Two years later, Israeli and American cyber warriors introduced Stuxnet, a malicious machine worm that caused thousands of Natanz centrifuges to rotation retired of control, mounting backmost Iran’s atomic enrichment.

More recently, retired Maj. Gen. Yadlin served arsenic the caput of Israel's Military Intelligence successful 2007, erstwhile Israel blew up a suspected Syrian atomic reactor that the satellite did not cognize about.  (Amos Yadlin)

The determination to onslaught Fordow, the crown jewel and bosom of Iran’s atomic program, is different, and Israel prefers the U.S. to usage its B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.

"Anybody who wants the warfare to beryllium implicit soon, to beryllium finished quickly, person to find a mode to woody with Fordow," Yadlin said. "Those who deliberation that attacking Fordow volition escalate the war, successful my judgment, it tin de-escalate and terminate the war."

And it could service arsenic a deterrent to China and Russia, who volition spot the powerfulness and capableness of the U.S. military’s unsocial capability.

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Another enactment would beryllium to chopped powerfulness to Fordow. Without power, the centrifuges enriching the uranium could go permanently disabled.

When asked if Israel could instrumentality retired Fordow without American B-2 bombers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox’s Bret Baier successful an exclusive interrogation past Sunday, "We person rather a fewer startups excessively and rather a fewer rabbits up our sleeve. And I don't deliberation that I should get into that."