A powerful US bunker-busting bomb was used in combat for the first time when Washington struck Iranian nuclear sites this weekend.

Israel had carried out a week of air strikes on Iran, but does not possess the GBU-57 -- a 30,000-pound (13,600 kilogram) weapon viewed as necessary to reach the most deeply buried facilities -- or the aircraft needed to deploy it.

General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, told journalists on Sunday that Washington's forces dropped 14 of the bombs in the massive operation aimed at knocking out Tehran's nuclear program.

- What are its capabilities? -

The US military says........

© Al Monitor