China’s official media said on Sunday that the US bombing at three nuclear sites in Iran had already worsened in West Asia, although Beijing did not comment on tension in the region.
Meanwhile, experts here stated that the American bunker-bombs used in attacks may not be enough to destroy nuclear plants hidden inside the ground.
The US on Sunday morning destroyed the country’s nuclear program by attacking Iran’s Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear centers. US President Donald Trump said that the US Army has “very successful” attacks at three nuclear centers.
According to media reports, the attacks on Iran’s atomic sites were involved in B2 Stylth bombers.
China, which called on a ceasefire between Iran and Israel to stop the war on Saturday, has not yet officially responded to the US airstrikes, while the editorial of the government newspaper China Daily states that unilateral military attack by the US targeting the Iranian nuclear installations is a negligent step and it is an open violation of international law.
It states that such a unilateral policy weakens the rule-based international system and sets an example of a dangerous “power-to-right”. It was also said that the attacks have made the situation worse.
Chinese experts stated that the actual effectiveness of the US campaign is still unclear, and may not be enough to completely destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Fellow Lee Gixin, auxiliary research at the China Institute of International Studies, told the government global Times that the nuclear plant of the Fordo is located about 100 meters below the ground, which is very difficult to completely destroy it with one or two attacks, even using bunker-bomb bombs.
Military affairs expert Zhang Junashe also expressed a similar view.
He said that the first wave of US attacks would not have been enough to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
For example, the Fordo site is located 90 meters below the solid rock, which makes it highly resistant. Although Israel sees it as a major goal, it does not have the means of attacking it effectively.
Zhang said that the US uses a B-2 bombary aircraft equipped with a 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker bunkers, which are believed to have only 65 meters.
He said that in principle, the use of two bombs in order may be necessary, but this strategy has never been tested in public, so the success of the initial attack remains uncertain.
Citing the statement given by the Irani officer to the BBC, Iran “did not suffer a major setback, as the material was already evacuated”, he said, “This also makes it clear how difficult it is to completely destroy the nuclear material of Iran for the US Army.”
He said that whether the Fordo facility in the first attack has been completely destroyed or not, it is clear that the US air strikes have caused great damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. He said, “Bunker-and-weapons B-2 strategic bombers, Israeli’s F-15, F-16 and F-35 are more powerful than bombs and missiles carrying by fighter jets.”
Zhang said, “Therefore, the damage by the US is undoubtedly more than the damage provided by Israel. In this background, Iran’s nuclear features can be preserved or not, it remains uncertain.”
Lee said that this shows that America’s attack on Iran could not be a one -time operation. “In the coming days, the US may further increase its attacks on Iran’s major facilities,” he said. Also, he said that no party wants the situation to get out of control.
He said that therefore, the US attack is likely to remain within a limited scope, and instead of carrying out a large -scale attack on other infrastructure of Iran, it will be mainly focused on specific atomic sites.