# Understanding the Bunker Buster Act

This bill gives the President authority to help Israel prepare for a potential Iranian nuclear threat by providing military infrastructure, weapons, and training. Specifically, it allows the U.S. to work with Israel to build runways and storage facilities designed to handle large bunker-busting bombs called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)—weapons designed to destroy underground nuclear facilities. The bill also authorizes storing these weapons in Israel and potentially transferring them to Israeli control under strict conditions.

The bill is built on Congress's concern that Iran has been steadily increasing its uranium enrichment levels. The legislation documents how Iran went from agreeing to keep enrichment below 3.67 percent under a 2015 nuclear deal to enriching uranium at 60 percent and claiming it could reach 90 percent weapons-grade levels. Congress sees this as a threat and wants to ensure Israel has the military capability to respond if diplomacy fails.

Before any of this can happen, the President must study Israel's military needs and report back to Congress within six months. The President can then authorize these actions only if they're consistent with that study and deemed vital to U.S. national security. Importantly, if the U.S. actually transfers the bunker-busting weapons to Israel, there's a "dual key" control system requiring the President's personal approval before Israel could use them. The bill also explicitly states it does not authorize military force against Iran itself—it's about preparation and deterrence, not authorization for war.

Bunker Buster Act

Bunker Buster Act This bill authorizes the President take certain actions to help Israel prepare for all contingencies if Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon, if certain conditions are met. The President may take such actions, including storing in Israel large ordnance systems designed to destroy underground nuclear infrastructure or supporting infrastructure construction in Israel to accommodate such ordnance systems only if, among other requirements, the President certifies to Congress that the action is vital to U.S. national security interests. The President may transfer such ordnance systems to Israel upon making additional certifications, including a certification that Israel has no other means of destroying Iran's underground nuclear infrastructure.