Latest news with #IranNuclearSites
CBS News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Bay Area residents worried for friends, family in Iran following U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities
News of the U.S. becoming directly involved in the Israel-Iran confrontation has some Bay Area residents feeling the distance from their loved ones. Arman Mahmoudi is from Milpitas, but he's also Iranian. "Yeah, I have friends, family," Mahmoudi said about the people he knows in Iran. "I'm worried. I'm worried about what's going to go on." Mahmoudi hasn't been able to speak to his family and friends since President Trump announced that U.S. forces struck three key Iranian nuclear sites. "Iran's been on a shutdown, three days, the entire country, no internet," Mahmoudi said. "You haven't been able to talk to anyone on any app. Any social media app. Your only choice is a landline, and you don't know if it's safe or what you can say. It has affected the relaying of news." Mahmoudi is an activist and organizer with Bay Area 4 Iran. The group voices their opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, one that they believe is shared by many Iranians. "Giving them the perspective of what the majority of Iranians, anywhere from 75% to 85% are opposed to this government," Mahmoudi said. But he admits the members of Bay Area 4 Iran are torn about how to view Saturday's airstrikes. "We have a lot of varying views within our team as far as is this attack good," Mahmoudi said. "I will say if it leads us to getting closer to getting rid of the Islamic regime and lessening the chance of execution, freeing our political prisoners, giving us freedoms that the people of Iran are seeking then probably it's a good step." When Mr. Trump addressed the nation about the airstrikes, he said that either peace or tragedy is next unless Iran immediately ceases hostilities. Mahmoudi said that through all of this, he just hopes the Iranian people will be safe. "Our emphasis is innocent civilian lives," said Mahmoudi. "Innocent civilian lives on either side, that's what we don't want to see, the innocent civilian lives lost. But personally, he does want to see a change in Iranian leadership. "Iran needs a secular democracy so our people can have everyday freedoms that we are seeing in advanced countries in the free world," Mahmoudi said. Bay Area 4 Iran will be holding a rally to stand with the Iranian people in their fight against the Islamic Republic. It will be at noon on Sunday at Harry Bridges Plaza.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon says US doesn't want to pursue war with Iran after bombing 3 of its nuclear sites
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that America 'does not seek war' with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country's nuclear sites. The mission, called 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Hegseth added. Caine said the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Caine said.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon officials reveal new details about strikes on Iran's nuclear sites
Washington — Senior Pentagon officials revealed new details about the U.S. operation to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran, with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saying it was the "largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history" and inflicted "extremely severe damage and destruction" to the targets. "This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan," Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman, said in a briefing at the Pentagon Sunday morning detailing the strikes against the Iranian nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Caine said the mission, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, included seven B-2 Spirit bombers that flew east from their base in MIssouri to Iran. The 18-hour flight required multiple in-flight refuelings, and the bombers met up with U.S. fighter jets and support aircraft once over land in the Middle East in a "complex, tightly timed maneuver," Caine said. At about 5 p.m. ET Saturday, just before the aircraft entered Iranian airspace, a U.S. submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets at the site in Isfahan. As the aircraft approached their targets, the U.S. deployed "several deception tactics, including decoys," and fighter jets cleared the airspace ahead of the bombers, checking for enemy aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. "We are currently unaware of any shots fired at the U.S. strike package on the way in," Caine said. At about 6:40 p.m. ET, or 2:10 a.m. in Iran, the lead B-2 dropped two "bunker-buster" bombs known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs, on the site at Fordo. Over the next 25 minutes, Caine said, a total of 14 MOPs would be dropped on two target areas. The Tomahawk missiles landed at Isfahan after bombs were dropped on the two other sites. Caine said no shots were fired at the planes as they left Iranian airspace. "Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us. Throughout the mission, we retained the element of surprise," Caine said. "More than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in this mission," Caine said, including the B-2 bombers, fighter jets, refueling planes and surveillance aircraft. More than 75 precision-guided weapons were used in the attack. "Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Caine said, noting that a full assessment will take time. The chairman warned Iran against taking an retaliatory action for the strikes. "Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice," Caine said. "We will defend ourselves." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the attack "an incredible and overwhelming success." "The order we received from our commander in chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear," Hegseth said at the briefing alongside Caine. "We devastated the Iranian nuclear program, but it's worth noting that the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people." He added: "The operation President Trump planned was bold, and it was brilliant, showing the world that American deterrence is back. When this president speaks, the world should listen." "Our B-2s went in and out … and back without the world knowing at all," Hegseth said. "In that way it was historic. A strike that included the longest B-2 Spirit bomber since 2001, and the first operational employment of the MOP, a Massive Ordnance Penetrators." Mr. Trump announced Saturday evening that the U.S. had launched strikes against Iran. He said in a national address later Saturday night that the sites "have been completely and totally obliterated." Flanked by Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at the White House, the president described the strikes as a "spectacular military success" and warned of "far greater" attacks if Iran does not "make peace." "If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill, most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes," he said. "There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago." Netanyahu reacts to U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites Some key Democratic congressional leaders left out of Trump's Iran attack plans Sneak peek: The Life and Death of Blaze Bernstein
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Pentagon says US doesn't want to pursue war with Iran after bombing 3 of its nuclear sites
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that America 'does not seek war' with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country's nuclear sites. The mission, called 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Hegseth added. Caine said the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Caine said.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Pentagon says US doesn't want to pursue war with Iran after bombing 3 of its nuclear sites
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that America 'does not seek war' with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country's nuclear sites. The mission, called 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Hegseth added. Caine said the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Caine said.
