Pete Hagseth and General Dan Kane Photo: Abaca Press
The United States launched a devastating strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, which involved 125 aircraft and a submarine with Tomahawk missiles. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hagel and Coordinator of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane spoke about the operation’s progress and results at a briefing at the Pentagon.
“It was an incredible and complete success. The United States delivered a devastating blow to Iran’s nuclear programme. No civilians or Iranian army units were harmed. It was a brilliant operation planned by President Trump,” said Hughes.
He stressed that in the event of an Iranian response, the United States would respond even more forcefully.
General Kane said that seven B-2 strategic bombers took off directly from the Missouri base, flying an 18-hour route with multiple mid-air refuelling to strike targets in Fordo and Natanz.
The first bombs were dropped at 02:10 Tehran time. Another wave of attacks – about 20 Tomahawk missiles launched by a US submarine – hit targets in Isfahan.
To divert the attention of Iranian forces, a B-2 unit first conducted a demonstration flight in the Pacific.
At the same time, to prevent the launch of Iranian fighters or air defence systems, other US aircraft attacked military airfields and air defence systems in advance.
None of the main B-2 strike bombers were attacked and returned safely to base.
Hagseth and Kane stressed that the operation was not aimed at regime change in Iran or a long-term conflict – only the destruction of the country’s nuclear weapons capability.
The United States also confirmed that the attack was exclusively American, although coordination with Israel was established to avoid overlapping military operations in the airspace.
“Our forces are on high alert. An Iranian strike would be a big mistake – we will respond. The United States wants Iran to return to negotiations – such signals have already been transmitted through several diplomatic channels,” the Pentagon chief stressed.
