According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the US attack has “devastated” Iran’s nuclear program.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described the US aerial strikes on Iran as an “incredible and overwhelming success” that had “obliterated” the country’s “nuclear ambitions.”
The Pentagon chief, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, provided details of the attack, codenamed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” during a press conference on Saturday evening.
Hegseth stated, “The order we received from our commander-in-chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear,” adding, “We devastated the Iranian nuclear program, but it’s worth noting the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people,” and claiming that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.”
Caine reported that the operation involved over 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers, along with reconnaissance planes, refueling tankers, and fighter jets.
Caine stated that At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States. As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy,”
He said that the planes dropped a dozen 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on nuclear facilities in Fordow and Natanz, while the installation in Isfahan was struck by a cruise missile salvo fired from a submarine.
Caine said the operation “was planned and executed across multiple domains and theaters with coordination that reflects our ability to project power globally with speed and precision at the time and place of our nation’s choosing.”
Hegseth cautioned Tehran against retaliating, stating that “both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians” indicating it would be a “very bad idea.”
He emphasized that “The United States will respond very strongly to any Iranian attack on US interests or allies in the region.”
Shortly after the attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi denounced the strikes as a violation of international law and all relevant treaties, warning that Tehran reserves “all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people.”
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