The United States launched a massive airstrike operation against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure on Saturday, in a mission codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, which was completed in just 25 minutes without any retaliation from Iran’s air defences, according to top US officials.
General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the mission involved more than 125 military aircraft, including seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers that dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs, each weighing about 30,000 pounds (13,608 kg). These targeted key Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz, while over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at Isfahan from a US submarine.
The B-2 bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and flew for over 18 hours, making it the longest B-2 mission since the September 11 attacks. To deceive Iranian defences and maintain tactical surprise, some bombers were intentionally sent westward over the Pacific Ocean as a decoy, a move known only to a small group of planners.
The timeline of the operation was tightly orchestrated. At around 5 pm Eastern Time, US submarines began launching Tomahawk missiles at Isfahan. At 6:40 pm, the lead B-2 bomber dropped two bunker-busters on the Fordow site. The remaining bombers followed, striking their respective targets. By 7:05 pm, all aircraft had exited Iranian airspace without being engaged by Iranian air defences, suggesting the mission achieved complete surprise.
Caine emphasized that the final Tomahawk missile hit Isfahan to keep Iran’s defence systems distracted. “It appears Iran's surface-to-air missile systems didn’t see us,” he noted.
Standing beside him at the Pentagon briefing, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared the strike a major success, stating that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure had been “obliterated.” He stressed that President Donald Trump, who oversaw the mission from the White House Situation Room, had always made it clear that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.
The US strike came just two days after Trump hinted that he would make a decision within a fortnight about whether the US would support Israel's attacks on Iran. However, he swiftly ordered the mission, bypassing further delay.
The US operation followed Operation Rising Lion, an Israeli-led campaign launched on June 13 that targeted Iran’s missile infrastructure and air defence systems. According to Iranian state-run media citing the health ministry, over 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel’s campaign began. In contrast, Israeli authorities report 24 civilian deaths and 1,272 injuries from retaliatory strikes.
This escalation marks a critical moment in an already volatile region, which has seen over two years of conflict spanning Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. With Iran’s nuclear programme heavily damaged and international tensions at a peak, the Middle East now stands on the edge of a broader and more dangerous conflict.
