General Dan Kane, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided detailed information about the U.S. operation on Iran’s nuclear facilities, known as ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’. Speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon on Sunday, he stated that the U.S. attack on Iran was meticulously planned and executed by multiple branches of the military with precision.General Kane said the operation was carried out between Friday night and Saturday morning U.S. local time. To deceive the adversary, a fleet of B-2 stealth bombers departed westward from the United States, while the remaining aircraft silently advanced eastward. After an 18-hour flight, the planes entered Iran and struck the nuclear sites without facing any resistance.He added that before the warplanes launched their strikes, more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from a U.S. submarine targeting above-ground infrastructure at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility.General Kane further said that as the B-2 stealth bombers entered Iranian airspace, the U.S. military took several deceptive measures, including the use of fake aircraft. Fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets advanced first to face off against Iran’s warplanes and surface-to-air missile defenses.He stated that before reaching the Natanz and Fordow nuclear facilities, U.S. forces used high-speed suppression and combat aircraft to ensure safe passage for the B-2 bombers through Iranian skies.Later, from the lead B-2 bomber in the operation, two massive “bunker-buster” bombs were dropped on the Fordow nuclear facility. Other B-2 bombers then attacked their designated targets.The U.S. military carried out the strikes on Iran’s additional targets between 6:40 PM and 7:05 PM Eastern Time. According to Iranian local time, the strikes occurred around 2:10 AM on Sunday night.Kane noted that a total of 16 JBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs were used in the operation. He said the U.S. aircraft returned home after the mission, facing no gunfire or resistance from Iran during the journey.• Iran’s Nuclear Program Destroyed in the AttackU.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Saturday night’s operation was strategically carried out to “weaken” and “destroy” Iran’s nuclear capability. He stated that Iran’s nuclear program has been “destroyed” in the attack. However, there were no military or civilian casualties.Hegseth remarked that many U.S. presidents had dreamed of delivering a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear program, but only Trump succeeded in making it a reality.He described the operation as both brave and extraordinary. “When President Trump speaks, the world should listen,” said Hegseth. “No country other than the United States could have carried out such an operation.”• When Did Trump Decide on the Attack?At the Pentagon press conference, journalists asked Secretary Hegseth exactly when Donald Trump made the final decision to strike Iran. In response, Hegseth said President Trump was fully committed to a peaceful solution and had advocated for resolving the issue through dialogue.He said that Trump had given Iran every opportunity. But in return, Iran only provided weak excuses. “There wasn’t a specific moment,” Hegseth said, “but a situation emerged where the President felt it was necessary to act immediately to stop the threat.”Previously, on Thursday, the White House had stated that President Trump would decide within two weeks whether or not the United States would become involved in the Iran-Israel conflict.—• Regime Change in Iran Not the GoalThe aim of the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was not to change the Iranian government, said U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth. He clarified that the mission’s goal was to eliminate the threat posed to U.S. national interests by Iran’s nuclear program.When asked by journalists whether regime change in Iran was a strategic goal of the United States, Hegseth responded, “This mission was not about that. It wasn’t for regime change. It was solely about eliminating the threat stemming from Iran’s nuclear program.”
