Latest news with #OperationMidnightHammer
San Francisco Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
How the US bombarded Iranian nuclear sites without detection
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — It was an unprecedented attack years in the making, with some last-minute misdirection meant to give the operation a powerful element of surprise. U.S. pilots dropped 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummeling for more than a week. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. officials say the plan was characterized by a 'precision strike' that 'devastated the Iranian nuclear program,' even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate. Taking off from the U.S. heartland, B-2 stealth bombers delivered a total of 420,000 pounds of explosives, aided by an armada of refueling tankers and fighter jets — some of which launched their own weapons. U.S. officials said Iran neither detected the inbound fusillade, nor mustered a shot at the stealthy American jets. The operation relied on a series of deceptive tactics and decoys to maintain the secrecy, U.S. officials said hours after the attack, which was preceded by nine days of Israeli attacks that debilitated Iran's military leadership and air defenses. A decoy plan Even before the planes took off, elements of misdirection were already in play. After setting parts of the plan in motion, Trump publicly announced Thursday that he'd make a decision within two weeks on whether to strike Iran — ostensibly to allow additional time for negotiations, but in actuality masking the impending attack. One group of B-2 stealth bombers traveled west from Missouri on Saturday as decoys, drawing the attention of amateur plane spotters, government officials and some media as they headed toward a U.S. air base in the Pacific. At the same time, seven other B-2s carrying two 'bunker buster' bombs apiece flew eastward, keeping communications to a minimum so as not to draw any attention. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at Sunday's briefing that it was all "part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise' and that only 'an extremely small number of planners and key leaders' knew about it in Washington and Florida, where U.S. Central Command is based. After 18 hours of furtive flying that required aerial refueling, the armed B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, arrived on time and without detection in the Eastern Mediterranean, from where they launched their attack runs. Before crossing into Iran, the B-2s were escorted by stealthy U.S. fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft. A graphic released by the Pentagon showed the flight route as passing over Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. It was unclear whether those countries were notified of the U.S. overflight in advance. Most U.S. lawmakers were also kept in the dark, with some Republicans saying they were provided a brief heads-up by the White House before the strike. 'Our B-2s went in and out and back without the world knowing at all,' Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters Sunday. A multifaceted attack About an hour before the B-2s entered Iran, Caine said that a U.S. submarine in the region launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles against key targets, including a site in Isfahan where uranium is prepared for enrichment. As the U.S. bombers approached their targets, they watched out for Iranian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, but encountered none. At 6:40 p.m. in Washington and 2:10 a.m. in Tehran, the first B-2 bomber dropped its pair of GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators on the deeply buried Fordo uranium enrichment plant. It was the first time these so-called 'bunker busters' had ever been used in combat. Each 30,000-pound bomb is designed to burrow into the ground before detonating a massive warhead. The Fordo site received the bulk of the bombardment, though a couple of the enormous bombs were also dropped on a uranium enrichment site at Natanz. The U.S. bombs fell for about half an hour, with cruise missiles fired from submarines being the last American weapons to hit their targets, which included a third nuclear site at Isfahan, Caine said. Both Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the sites. A look at the numbers The mission included: — 75 precision-guided weapons: these included 14 GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs deployed by the seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and more than two-dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a U.S. submarine. — 125 aircraft, including the B-2 bombers, fighter jets and refueling planes. A female pilot Hegseth said Sunday that 'our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.' But a U.S. official said one woman was among those piloting the B-2 bombers. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the mission publicly. A bit of history Caine said the use of the bunker-buster bombs made the mission historic, as did other elements. 'This was the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following 9/11," he told reporters Sunday. ___ Lolita C. Baldor in Narragansett, Rhode Island and Nicholas Ingram in Knob Noster, Missouri, contributed reporting. Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina.
Sky News
15 minutes ago
- Politics
- Sky News
The Americans want the attack on Iran's nuclear sites to be a 'one-and-done'
The Pentagon briefing was big on what happened but short on detail of what happens next. Neither defence secretary Pete Hegseth nor General Dan "Raisin" Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, can answer that. Mr Hegseth called the bombing an "incredible and overwhelming success" with "focused and clear" instructions from President Trump. The focus now is on what follows and that's not so clear. The briefing laid out the details of the military deception plan behind Operation Midnight Hammer. B-2 stealth aircraft were flown west towards the Pacific on Saturday as a decoy, while the B-2s with bunker-busting bombs on board flew east towards Iran. 1:15 Mr Hegseth called it a plan that took months and weeks of positioning and came down, in the end, to "precision, misdirection and operational security". Gen Caine, Mr Trump's top military man, offered a measured assessment. While Mr Trump had spoken of Iran's nuclear sites being "obliterated", Gen Caine revised that downwards when he spoke of "extremely severe damage". Full battle damage assessment will reveal the complete picture - only then can the mission's success be measured in full, mindful that Iran had shifted at least some of its enriched uranium in the days before the strike. On the politics of it, Mr Hegseth said this wasn't about regime change in Iran. It might offer precious little reassurance to Tehran, particularly as he also said part of the operation was to defend Israel and the ongoing defence of Israel. 2:38 If the US is tethered to Israel's interests to the extent of an unprecedented attack on Iran, where does its influence end? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared almost giddy in response to the US attack. He is a PM strengthened by Mr Trump's spectacular response to his rhetoric around Iran. Suspicions weren't softened around Netanyahu's influence over Mr Trump when Mr Hegseth was asked about the basis for the attack. He has long lobbied the US president on Iran being close to building a nuclear bomb, contrary to American intelligence which indicates otherwise. Mr Hegseth was asked what was the new intelligence, was it American or from other countries? He avoided a direct answer, saying only that Mr Trump had looked at all the intelligence information and concluded Iran was a threat. There were a number of questions about what comes next, with an assortment of non-answers in response from Mr Hegseth. 4:00 A consistent line was that the US wanted Iran to negotiate peace, coupled with the threat of further aggression if it doesn't. The US defence secretary said Washington was in touch with Tehran privately and publicly, giving it every opportunity to come to the table, every opportunity for peace. He made the point that America hadn't targeted Iranian troops or civilians - clearly, a measure by the US to limit response and leave open a door. The Americans want this attack to have been a "one-and-done". The scenario it's left with, however, is an Iran talking of a diplomatic door closed and sending its foreign minister travelling to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. Iran is wounded, no doubt. Combined attacks have left it degraded and, without a network of support in the Middle East, its ability to strike back is limited. For now, if not necessarily forever. Donald Trump clearly enjoyed the sugar rush of military success but he will be wary of the come-down and all of its uncertainties.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marco Rubio Says It's 'Irrelevant' Whether U.S. Intel Showed Iran Building Nuclear Weapons
Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to say on Sunday whether the United States actually had intelligence that Iran was building a weapon of mass destruction before bombing the Gulf country's nuclear sites ― dismissing any such assessment as 'irrelevant' to the Saturday night attack that will very likely lead to wider conflict. Rubio was one of several Trump administration officials to oversee the attack titled 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' in which the U.S. bombed three key nuclear sites in Iran as part of Israel's war on the longtime foe. The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said that the attack caused 'extremely severe damage and destruction' to the sites before acknowledging that a complete assessment determining the extent of the damage will take more time. Appearing Sunday on CBS News' 'Face the Nation,' the secretary of state described Iran as having 'weaponization ambitions' ― leading host Margaret Brennan to press whether U.S. intelligence had specifically shown that Iran's supreme leader already ordered nuclear weaponization. 'That's irrelevant,' Rubio said, to which Brennan pushed, 'But that is the key point in U.S. intelligence assessments, you know that.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio says "it's irrelevant" whether the U.S. had intelligence showing Iran's supreme leader had specifically ordered nuclear weaponization, saying "it doesn't matter whether the order was given. They have everything they need to build nuclear weapons."… — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 22, 2025 Brennan was referring to a March assessment by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in which she testified to Congress that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had not 'authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.' President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed his own intelligence chief's March assessment as 'wrong,' with the White House last week saying Iran only needs the green light from Khamenei to create a weapon within weeks. After a back-and-forth with Brennan, Rubio acquiesced by saying it 'doesn't matter if the order was given' by Khamenei, pointing instead to assessments made by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations-backed nuclear watchdog. 'Forget about intelligence,' the secretary of state said. 'What the IAEA knows [is] they are enriching uranium well beyond anything you need for a civil nuclear program. So why would you enrich uranium at 60% if you don't intend to one day use it to take it to 90 and build a weapon? Why are you developing [Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles]?' Brennan said she's not disputing that information, citing the IAEA's censure of Iran earlier this month for failing to comply with its obligations under the nonproliferation agreement, including watchdog investigations into undeclared nuclear material. The host re-upped her question of whether there was U.S. intelligence that Iran was specifically ordered to proceed with nuclear weaponization prior to the airstrikes. 'We have intelligence that they have everything they need to build a nuclear weapon,' Rubio maintained. 'And that's more than enough.'
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Microwave, toilet, refrigerator: Inside B-2 stealth bombers that flew 37 hours for Iran strike
Seven B-2 bombers were deployed for Operation Midnight Hammer to destroy three nuclear plants in Iran in almost radio silence. They took off from the Whiteman Air Force Base outside Kansas City on Friday and flew 18 hours to enter Iran. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now After demolishing their targets, the B-2s were on their way back home, unattached. The bombers refuelled several times mid-air, and as they are stealth bombers, they were virtually invisible to Oranian radar. B-2 bombers are equipped for such long-haul flights. There is enough room for one pilot to lie down while the other flies the plane. There is a toilet, a refrigerator and a microwave for snacks. The B-2 first entered service in 1997 and each one costs more than $2 billion; the US Air Force has a fleet of 19, after losing one in a crash in 2008. One of the B-2's most striking features is its unique design. Lacking a fuselage or tail, the aircraft is a flying wing, which necessitates highly precise control of its surfaces. With a wingspan of 172 feet and a crew of just two pilots — the B-2 relies on automation to help complete long-haul flights. The 37 hours spent to attack Fordow marked the longest B-2 bomber mission since the initial American assault on Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. There were layers of secrecy and minute planning behind every stage of the operation. While the B-2 bombers moved towards the east, a decoy group of B-2 bombers moved towards the west. As the attack bombers approached Iran, they were joined by support aircraft and a fleet of fighter jets. 'The B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications,' Gen Daniel Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in the Pentagon briefing. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The lead B-2 bomber dropped two GBU-57 'bunker buster' munitions on the 'first of several aim points at Fordow." 'The remaining bombers then hit their targets, as well, with a total of 14 MOPs (Massive Ordnance Penetrators) dropped against two nuclear target areas,' Gen Caine added.
Mint
18 minutes ago
- Politics
- Mint
US-Israel strikes on Iran: Netanyahu says ‘we are very, very close to completing the objectives'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (June 22) said Israel was nearing its strategic goals in Iran following a series of high-profile US-led airstrikes on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure. 'I have no doubt that this is a regime that wants to wipe us out, and that's why we embarked on this operation to eliminate the two concrete threats to our existence: the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat,' Netanyahu said, addressing reporters. 'We are moving step by step towards achieving these goals. We are very, very close to completing them.' He stressed that the campaign would end only when those objectives were met. 'We won't pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won't finish too soon,' he added. Netanyahu made it clear that Israel would avoid getting bogged down in prolonged conflict. 'We won't be dragged into a war of attrition but also won't end the campaign prematurely,' he said. He also revealed that Israeli intelligence had new insights: 'We have interesting intel on the location of Iran's 60% enriched uranium,' he said, suggesting further strikes could be imminent. Hours after the strikes, Netanyahu visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem to pray for US President Donald Trump, whose administration authorized the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. In a video released by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Netanyahu is seen praying with his wife Sara and placing a handwritten note into the wall. 'Bless, protect and help the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has taken it upon himself to drive out evil and darkness in the world,' he prayed. President Donald Trump, who authorised the strikes as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, defended the decision and warned Iran against retaliation. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' Trump declared. He added a stark warning: 'There will either be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran.' The Pentagon confirmed that B-2 bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iran's key nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. While Iran and the IAEA said there was no radiation leak, the Pentagon said the facilities had suffered 'sustained, extremely severe damage and destruction.' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned, 'The Americans must receive a response to their aggression,' in remarks made to French President Emmanuel Macron. 'The warmongering and lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,' Araghchi said, adding that he would fly to Moscow to coordinate with Russia. Despite the aggressive strike, the Trump administration signaled openness to diplomacy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refrained from specifying whether the US would respond with military force if Iran attempted to close the Strait of Hormuz or if Iranian proxy groups targeted oil infrastructure. "I'm not going to take options away from the president, that's not something we're talking about right now in terms of being immediate." Rubio acknowledged that while such a move would impact the U.S., it would have far greater consequences globally—particularly for China. "That would be a suicidal move on [Iran's] part, because I think the whole world would come against them if they did that," Rubio said.
