In response to Pentagon officers
A United States airstrike on Iran’s Fordow Gas Enrichment Plant has reportedly destroyed a key a part of the nation’s nuclear infrastructure and prompted a ceasefire within the 12-day battle between Iran and Israel.
‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, which was carried out by US B-2 Spirit bombers, is being described by American defence officers as probably the most complicated army missions in current historical past.
The strike occurred within the early hours of Sunday, June 22, 2025, native time in Iran. It concerned the usage of GBU-57 bombs, also referred to as “huge ordnance penetrators”, every weighing almost 14 tonnes. These weapons had been explicitly designed to destroy hardened underground amenities like Fordow, positioned about 100km south of Tehran.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, mentioned: “This was an traditionally profitable assault, and we should always have fun it as Individuals,” the secretary mentioned. “It offers us an opportunity to have peace, an opportunity to have a deal, a possibility to stop a nuclear Iran — which is one thing President Trump talked about for 20 years, and no different president had the braveness to truly achieve this.”
Fordow has lengthy been thought-about considered one of Iran’s most fortified nuclear websites, deeply embedded in a mountain to guard in opposition to airstrikes. In response to US officers, the plant was used to counterpoint uranium and was central to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Addressing a information briefing on the Pentagon on June 26, 2025, alongside Hegseth, Basic Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Workers, mentioned two analysts on the Defence Menace Discount Company (DTRA) started finding out the positioning in 2009 after US intelligence recognized uncommon building exercise.
Preliminary evaluation
The American company, which specialises in countering threats from weapons of mass destruction, concluded early on that no present US weapon might attain the depth of Fordow.
Caine said that the GBU-57 bomb was developed in response, by means of over a decade of testing and refinement in cooperation with US personal trade and army planners. The event course of concerned tons of of take a look at photographs in opposition to mock-up targets that replicated the traits of Fordow.
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The 36-hour mission to strike Fordow started on the night of June 21, 2025, from Whiteman Air Power Base in Missouri. US bombers flew greater than 21,000km round-trip with out touchdown. Twelve GBU-57 bombs had been launched on the goal. US intelligence has not but launched an entire evaluation of the harm, however early indications counsel the positioning was efficiently destroyed.
Pilots concerned within the operation reported vibrant, intense explosions on the level of affect. Officers mentioned all bombs hit their supposed targets and functioned as anticipated.
Following the strike, US army installations within the Center East got here below retaliatory fireplace. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts US Central Command’s ahead headquarters, was focused by Iranian missile fireplace on June 23, 2025.
Basic Caine mentioned round 44 US troopers remained on the base to function two Patriot missile defence batteries, whereas different personnel had been moved off-site as a precaution.
Patriot methods
Patriot methods had been activated in the course of the assault and reportedly intercepted a number of incoming missiles. US officers imagine the engagement was the largest single deployment of Patriot missiles in US army historical past. Qatari air defence items additionally participated within the interception.
In response to Caine, the missile defence methods had been in a position to neutralise the menace, although particles from each interceptors and incoming missiles created hazardous situations on the bottom. No casualties have been confirmed.
Hegseth, talking on the Pentagon information convention alongside Basic Caine, mentioned the US operation introduced an finish to hostilities between Iran and Israel. He credited the success of the airstrike with creating the situations for a ceasefire, although no formal settlement between the 2 international locations has been publicly introduced.
The US has not confirmed whether or not it coordinated the strike with Israel, nor has it disclosed whether or not different regional companions had been consulted prematurely of the strike.
Iranian officers have lengthy insisted that their nuclear programme is for peaceable functions. Nevertheless, the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company has repeatedly raised considerations about Iran’s uranium enrichment ranges and transparency relating to its nuclear actions.
Whereas US officers have hailed the mission’s technical success, the long-term penalties for regional safety and diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions stay unsure.
With tensions nonetheless excessive, regional governments are prone to improve safety round key infrastructure, together with oil amenities and army bases. The potential for cyberattacks or uneven retaliation by Iranian proxies in international locations equivalent to Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon additionally stays a priority.
The strike on Fordow marks a big second within the decades-long standoff over Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It additionally presents a brand new take a look at for diplomatic efforts to stabilise the area and revive stalled negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Picture: (L-R) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and US Air Power Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, conduct a information briefing on the Pentagon, on June 26, 2025. Credit score: Pentagon
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