In one of the most secretly executed military operations in recent times, the United States launched a surprise precision strike on three of Iran’s most critical nuclear sites—and did it without being detected.
The mission, called “Operation Midnight Hammer,” was more than just a bombing raid. It was a carefully staged military deception that kept the entire world — including Iran — looking the wrong way.
On Saturday, a group of B-2 stealth bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and headed toward Guam, a US territory in the Pacific. To global military analysts, it looked like the US was preparing for an eventual strike in the region, but not just yet.
That was the point. The flight to Guam was a decoy.
Real Bombers Were Already En Route
While everyone’s attention was on the Pacific, seven actual B-2 bombers were already on an 18-hour mission toward Iran, flying under radar, keeping communications minimal, and refueling mid-air.
Even US fighter jets helped sell the illusion, flying ahead of the bombers as decoys, sweeping the skies to distract Iranian air defences.
As the stealth bombers neared Iran, a US submarine launched over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles to knock out key radar and defence systems. Then came the final blow: the B-2s dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators—30,000-pound “bunker busters”—on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
A Massive and Unseen Air Operation
This was no small-scale mission. The Pentagon said it was the largest B-2 coordinated operation ever and the second-longest B-2 flight in history—only topped by one after the 9/11 attacks. Over 125 aircraft supported the mission.
According to General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the strike caught Iran completely off guard. “Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface-to-air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise,” he said during a press briefing.
Caine didn’t confirm whether Iran’s nuclear program had been completely destroyed but said early damage reports from the ground were severe.
Even Washington Was Kept in the Dark
What made this operation even more surprising was how tight-lipped the US had been internally. “Very few people knew the timing or nature of the plan,” Caine said. “Many in Washington only learned about it when President Donald Trump posted about it late Saturday night.”
The strike came just days after Israel launched its own missile attack on Iran under a mission called “Rising Lion.”
Satellite Images Show Big Damage
Satellite photos shared by Maxar Technologies and released via Reuters showed what appeared to be large craters at the Fordow site, including structural damage near tunnel entrances.
Some experts believe the attack may have seriously crippled the centrifuges Iran uses for uranium enrichment, but others say it’s too early to confirm how much of the program was really destroyed.
Iran continues to insist its nuclear program is peaceful. But in response to the US strike, Tehran launched its own wave of missiles at Israel, injuring dozens in Tel Aviv and flattening several buildings.
