In line with 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 navy missions in current historical past.
The strike occurred in the early hours of Sunday, June 22, 2025, local time in Iran. It concerned using GBU-57 bombs, often known as “large ordnance penetrators”, every weighing almost 14 tonnes. These weapons had been explicitly designed to destroy hardened underground services like Fordow, positioned about 100km south of Tehran.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, stated: “This was an traditionally profitable assault, and we must always rejoice it as Individuals,” the secretary stated. “It offers us an opportunity to have peace, an opportunity to have a deal, a chance 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 accomplish that.”
Fordow has lengthy been thought-about certainly one of Iran’s most fortified nuclear websites, deeply embedded in a mountain to guard towards airstrikes. In line with 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 Employees, stated two analysts on the Defence Risk Discount Company (DTRA) started finding out the positioning in 2009 after US intelligence recognized uncommon development exercise.
Preliminary evaluation
The American company, which specialises in countering threats from weapons of mass destruction, concluded early on that no present US weapon may attain the depth of Fordow.
Caine acknowledged that the GBU-57 bomb was developed in response, by way of over a decade of testing and refinement in cooperation with US non-public business and navy planners. The event course of concerned lots of of check photographs towards 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 Pressure Base in Missouri. US bombers flew more than 21,000km round-trip without landing. Twelve GBU-57 bombs had been launched on the goal. US intelligence has not but launched a whole 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 stated all bombs hit their meant targets and functioned as anticipated.
Following the strike, US navy installations within the Center East got here underneath retaliatory hearth. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts US Central Command’s ahead headquarters, was focused by Iranian missile hearth on June 23, 2025.
Basic Caine stated 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 programs
Patriot programs 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 military history. Qatari air defence models additionally participated within the interception.
In line with Caine, the missile defence programs had been in a position to neutralise the risk, although particles from each interceptors and incoming missiles created hazardous circumstances on the bottom. No casualties have been confirmed.
Hegseth, talking on the Pentagon information convention alongside Basic Caine, stated the US operation introduced an finish to hostilities between Iran and Israel. He credited the success of the airstrike with creating the circumstances for a ceasefire, although no formal settlement between the 2 international locations has been publicly introduced.
The USA 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 upfront 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 issues 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 more likely to improve safety round key infrastructure, together with oil services and navy bases. The potential of cyberattacks or uneven retaliation by Iranian proxies in international locations comparable 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 check 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 Pressure Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, conduct a information briefing on the Pentagon, on June 26, 2025. Credit score: Pentagon