Updated June 22, 2025 at 4:38 AM AKDT
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Iran's nuclear ambitions were "obliterated" after President Trump ordered strikes on three nuclear sites across the country Saturday.
"The order we received from our commander in chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear," Hegseth said Sunday morning at a press conference at the Pentagon. "We devastated the Iranian nuclear program. But it's worth noting the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people."
The U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites involved seven B-2 Stealth Bombers and also included at least one submarine, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon press conference.
Caine said the mission, dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer," represented the largest B-2 strike in U.S. history, involving more than 125 aircraft — including decoy flights — and saw 75 precision guided weapons dropped on the sites. "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.
Those are some of the details emerging hours after the first U.S. offensive operation in war between Israel and Iran.
The B-2 bombers dropped 14 30,000-pound, bunker-busting bombs on two Iranian nuclear sites, Fordo and Natanz.
The U.S. has used those planes previously, but this marks the first time these massive bombs have been used in combat.
In addition, at least one U.S. submarine fired two dozen Tomahawk missiles at a third nuclear site in Isfahan.
The U.S. planes flew round-trip from an air base near Kansas City and did not come under fire while in Iranian air space, Caine said.
President Trump described Saturday's attacks as a "spectacular success" though it will take some time before a detailed damage assessment is possible.
"Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated," he said in an address from the White House Saturday night. "Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier."
Republican congressional leaders praised the president's actions, while Democratic leaders said the president violated the Constitution by not seeking congressional authorization and put American servicemembers and other personnel abroad at risk.
A U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that senior Democratic leadership was notified of the strike right before Trump's social media post. The Army Ops Center notified senior Army leaders around the same time. It is unclear when senior Republican leadership was informed, though sources familiar with the communications told NPR that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did get a heads up.
"The President gave Iran's leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement," Johnson said in a statement Saturday night. "President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity."
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., noted that Trump has repeatedly vowed to end foreign wars but said that his actions in Iran risk starting a new one.
"The American people deserve more than vague rhetoric and unilateral decisions that could set off a wider war," Warner said in a statement. "The president must come before Congress immediately to articulate clear strategic objectives and lay out how he plans to protect American lives and ensure we are not once again drawn into a costly, unnecessary, and avoidable conflict."
In his announcement of the airstrikes on his Truth Social platform, Trump also declared, "NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" and threated Iran against any retaliation.
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