The U.S. Air Force Is Practicing Bombing Runs On Iran's Buried Nuclear Targets

A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit over the Pacific Ocean in May 2006. Wikipedia

Michael Crowley, Politico: Plan B For Iran

If the nuclear negotiations go bad, the U.S. has a backup: Obama can drop the MOP, the world’s largest non-nuclear bomb.

President Barack Obama’s nuclear diplomacy with Iran may yet fail. On Tuesday, exactly one week before a June 30 deadline for an agreement, Iran’s Supreme Leader delivered his latest in a series of defiant statements, setting conditions for a deal—including immediate relief from sanctions, before Iran has taken steps to limit its nuclear program—that Obama will never accept. Secretary of State John Kerry warned last week that the U.S. is prepared to walk away from the talks. And even if a deal is reached, the story is not over. The Iranians may break or cheat on an agreement, and try build a nuclear weapon anyway.

That’s why, at least three times in the past year, a B-2 stealth bomber has taken off from an Air Force base in Missouri and headed west to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. For these missions, the $2 billion plane was outfitted with one of the world’s largest bombs. It is a cylinder of special high-performance steel, 20 feet long and weighing 15 tons. When dropped from an altitude likely above 20,000 feet, the bomb would have approached supersonic speed before striking a mock target in the desert, smashing through rock and burrowing deep into the ground before its 6,000 pounds of high explosives detonated with devastating force.

“It boggles the mind,” says one former Pentagon official who has watched video of the tests.

Update: U.S. Air Force Rehearses Bombing Iran's Buried Nuclear Targets -- Zachary Keck, National Interest

WNU Editor: I am sure that the US Air Force has the means and plans to bomb and destroy Iran's nuclear sites .... but this has never been an issue on having the military means to destroy Iran's facilities .... this has always been an issue of international politics and the White House trying its best to address the fears of our allies in the region. Bottom line .... the U.S. is not going to attack Iran unless they directly attack our allies in the region .... but the problem is that as the nuclear talks go on I am now starting to get the impression that our allies are rapidly losing confidence that the U.S. may not intervene even if that happens. If this continues to grow .... I am deeply worried on what may happen next. Nuclear proliferation? An Israeli strike? A Saudi strike? A massive arms buildup? Forget about America's Plan B for Iran .... we should be more focused on what are Israel's, Saudi Arabia's, etc.  Plan B for Iran.