The US attack has “devastated” Tehran’s nuclear program, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
The US aerial strikes on Iran were an “incredible and overwhelming success” and “obliterated” the country’s “nuclear ambitions,” according to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The Pentagon chief made the remarks on Saturday evening during a large press conference alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to detail the attack, codenamed “Operation Midnight Hammer.”
“The order we received from our commander-in-chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear,” Hegseth stated. “We devastated the Iranian nuclear program, but it’s worth noting the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people,” he added, claiming that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.”
The operation involved more than 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers, as well as assorted reconnaissance planes, refueling tankers and fighter jets, according to Caine.
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,” Caine stated.
The planes dropped a dozen 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on nuclear facilities in Fordow and Natanz, he said. The installation in Isfahan was hit by a cruise missile salvo fired by a submarine.
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