Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine laid out the details of the clandestine operation to cripple Iran’s key nuclear sites in a briefing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reporters at the Pentagon on Sunday.
With careful timing and under absolute secrecy, the U.S. carried out “Operation Midnight Hammer” on Saturday night, targeting Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in an unprecedented strike that dished out “extremely severe damage” to the sites, Caine told reporters Sunday. As the bombers make their way home, the world now awaits how Iran will respond to the attacks, with their decision determining the future of the Middle East.
“This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force,” Caine told reporters. “I want to thank every service member, planner, and operator who made this mission possible. Their actions reflect the highest standards of the United States Armed Forces.”
A diagram of Operation Midnight Hammer was shown to reporters during a Pentagon press briefing on June 22, 2025 (Screenshot/DOD)
On Saturday night, seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers departed Whiteman Air Force Base in the middle of Missouri. Caine said only “very few people” had direct knowledge of the operation’s timing and details.
Hegseth added that Congressional members were “immediately” notified after the attack took place.
Over the course of 18 hours, the bombers made their way to their targets in Iran as multiple mid-air refuelings ensured their arrival on target. The flight was the second longest B-2 mission in U.S. history, only topped by the bombing mission on Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, Caine said during the briefing.
After dropping 14 GBU-57 “bunker buster” bombs on Fordow and Natanz, the bombers exited Iranian airspace and turned home. The Isfahan nuclear site was hit by a barrage of Tomahawk missiles from U.S. ships and submarines just south of Iran, which occurred after the bombings.
Hegseth also shot down fears that the strikes would drag the U.S. into another protracted war in the Middle East, while also saying the Trump administration was not pursuing any regime change aspirations with the mission.
However, both of them emphasized that U.S. forces would be ready to respond to any attacks on U.S. bases in the region.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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Author: Wallace White
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