Updated 22 June 2025 at 18:29 IST
Washington: The United States military has officially named its latest precision strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities as Operation Midnight Hammer, Pentagon officials announced on Sunday. The high-stakes operation was launched after President Donald Trump ended his 60-day peace deadline and authorised direct military action to dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The strike package included seven US B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, which flew a secretive and historic long-range mission. These aircraft dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) also known as bunker-buster bombs, on three critical Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
According to the Pentagon, the mission was a complex, multi-domain strike coordinated across several theatres with the objective of crippling Iran's nuclear weapon capability.
Officials said the operation was highly classified, with only a select group in Washington privy to its timing or details. “It was executed with exceptional skill and discipline by the joint force,” US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth said.
Hegseth said that President Trump’s decade-long vow to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons had finally been fulfilled. “Many presidents dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran’s nuclear program only Trump could,” Hegseth said.
He praised the operation as a “brilliant and bold” plan that demonstrated America’s military might. “This was the longest B-2 bomber mission since 2001 and marked the first operational use of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. No other country could have pulled this off, " he added.
Hegseth also emphasised that the strike was a direct message to Iran to end the conflict and come to peaceful terms. “When POTUS said 60 days for peace and negotiation, he meant it. This is not the previous administration. Trump said: no nukes. Iran should take that path, said US Secretary of Defence.
Hegseth gave credit to Israel’s cooperation and support, stating the mission involved weeks of covert positioning, precision planning, and top-tier operational security. “This was joint coordination at the highest level,” he said, “a strike that took the world by surprise.”
Published 22 June 2025 at 18:05 IST