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Pentagon Reveals Detailed Operation Midnight Hammer in Destroying Iran Underground Nuke Site

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, explains Operation Midnight Hammer. (Photo: defense.gov))

By Mark Wang

June 27, 2025
3:15 pm
Los Angeles, CA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Top Pentagon officials defended the success of Operation Midnight Hammer during a press briefing Thursday, asserting that the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities inflicted significant damage—despite leaked intelligence assessments suggesting otherwise. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the operation as a “resounding success,” claiming that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was “totally obliterated.” The strikes, launched late last week, targeted the Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites with 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators deployed by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers—the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced long-range strategic aircraft. “Our pilots carried out a textbook operation. Iran’s underground program is no longer operational,” Hegseth said, dismissing media coverage that questioned the scale of destruction. The use of the B-2 in the mission underscores the bomber’s enduring value more than three

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Top Pentagon officials defended the success of Operation Midnight Hammer during a press briefing Thursday, asserting that the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities inflicted significant damage—despite leaked intelligence assessments suggesting otherwise.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the operation as a “resounding success,” claiming that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was “totally obliterated.” The strikes, launched late last week, targeted the Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites with 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators deployed by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers—the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced long-range strategic aircraft.

“Our pilots carried out a textbook operation. Iran’s underground program is no longer operational,” Hegseth said, dismissing media coverage that questioned the scale of destruction.

The use of the B-2 in the mission underscores the bomber’s enduring value more than three decades after its debut. Developed by Northrop Grumman in the 1980s under intense secrecy, the B-2 was designed to penetrate sophisticated air defense systems with its radar-evading, flying-wing design. It became fully operational in the late 1990s and has since been a cornerstone of America’s global strike capability.

Though only 21 B-2s were ever built—at a cost of over $2 billion each—the bomber remains one of the few platforms capable of delivering bunker-busting payloads over intercontinental distances without detection. Its ability to operate undetected deep within hostile territory played a central role in the success of the Iran strikes, according to Pentagon officials.

“This mission was not possible without the B-2,” said Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “Its low-observable profile and precision targeting capabilities make it uniquely suited for these kinds of strategic, high-risk missions.”

Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Photo: Screenshot/Defense.gov)

In Operation Midnight Hammer, the B-2s reportedly launched from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, refueled mid-air over Europe, and used deceptive flight routes to avoid detection by Iranian radar systems. The bombers dropped their payloads directly onto reinforced underground shafts believed to house centrifuge arrays, before returning undetected.

The Pentagon’s assertions come in the wake of a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report suggesting the strikes may have set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities by only a few months. The leak has triggered political backlash and a Department of Justice investigation into its origin.

Gen. Caine repeatedly deferred to the intelligence community on damage assessments. “We execute. They assess,” he said. “It’s not appropriate for the Pentagon to speculate beyond our operational scope.”

Further complicating the narrative, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are reportedly preparing a revised assessment more closely aligned with the Pentagon’s version of events, though no formal document has been released.

Hegseth also accused outlets like The New York Times and CNN of “amplifying a partisan narrative” through selective coverage of the leaked documents. “They don’t want to admit this administration just pulled off the most sophisticated aerial strike in two decades,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hegseth used the platform to highlight broader U.S. strategic gains, including new NATO defense-spending commitments. “This is what leadership looks like,” he said. “We’re not just playing defense anymore—we’re shaping the battlefield.”

As the intelligence community prepares a finalized assessment, the Pentagon remains firm in its messaging: Operation Midnight Hammer was a success—and the B-2 Spirit proved that in modern warfare, stealth is still supremacy.