In a decisive and highly impactful military operation dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the United States launched extensive airstrikes against three critical Iranian nuclear facilities on the night of Saturday, June 21, 2025. The Pentagon confirmed the strikes targeted the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan complexes, marking a direct and significant intervention in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Under the direct orders of President Donald Trump, the multi-faceted assault involved an array of advanced U.S. military assets. Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers reportedly delivered fourteen 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, including the first operational use of these powerful “bunker-busters” against the deeply buried Fordo and Natanz sites. Simultaneously, Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched from U.S. submarines, struck targets in Isfahan and Natanz, completing a meticulously planned and executed operation that involved over 125 aircraft and support units.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed “Operation Midnight Hammer” as an “incredible and overwhelming success,” asserting that the strikes had “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear ambitions. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, elaborated that the mission achieved its objectives with surprise, facing no aerial opposition or missile response from Iran, and all U.S. assets returned safely. The operation’s primary goal, according to Washington, was to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapon infrastructure and halt its progress toward a nuclear bomb.
Iran, however, largely downplayed the impact of the strikes. While confirming the attacks, Iranian state media claimed that no major damage occurred at the sites and, crucially, that there was no leakage of hazardous radioactive materials. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and regional regulatory bodies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait independently corroborated the absence of any detectable increase in radiation levels in the aftermath of the strikes.
This direct U.S. military involvement significantly escalates the long-running shadow war in the Middle East, which recently saw direct missile exchanges between Israel and Iran. While the immediate radiological threat appears to have been averted, the strategic implications are profound. The international community watches anxiously for potential Iranian retaliation and the trajectory of regional stability in the wake of this dramatic military action.