Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine laid out the details of the clandestine operation to cripple Iran’s key nuclear sites in a briefing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reporters at the Pentagon on Sunday.

With careful timing and under absolute secrecy, the U.S. carried out “Operation Midnight Hammer” on Saturday night, targeting Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in an unprecedented strike that dished out “extremely severe damage” to the sites, Caine told reporters Sunday. As the bombers make their way home, the world now awaits how Iran will respond to the attacks, with the country’s decision determining the future of the Middle East.

“This was a complex and high risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and disciplined by our joint force,” Caine told reporters. “I want to thank every service member, planner, operator, that made this mission possible. Their actions reflect the highest standards of the United States Armed Forces.” (RELATED: Trump Announces US Bombing Of Iran)

A diagram of “Operation Midnight Hammer” shown to reporters during a Pentagon press briefing June 22, 2025. (Screenshot/DOD)

On Saturday night, seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers departed Whiteman Air Force Base in the middle of Missouri. Caine said only “very few people” had direct knowledge of the operation’s timing and details. Hegseth added that members of Congress were “immediately” notified after the attack took place, and did not receive any advance warning of the attacks.

Over the course of 18 hours, the bombers made their way to their targets in Iran as multiple mid-air refuelings ensured their arrival on target. The flight was the second longest B-2 mission in U.S. history, only topped by the bombing mission on Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, Caine said during the briefing.

Caine also said a small group of B-2 bombers sent to the Pacific theatre earlier Saturday was a calculated diversion known to an “extremely small number of planners and key leaders.”

Upon entering Iranian airspace, no countermeasures or any other munitions targeted the bombers, Caine said during the briefing. Numerous “fourth and fifth generation aircraft” acted as a diversion ahead of the bombers, linking up with the strike group just outside Iranian airspace to draw potential fire away from the bombers.

From 6:40 p.m. EST to 7:00p.m. EST, the B-2 loosed 14 GBU-57 “bunker buster” bombs over Fordow and Natanz, scoring key hits on the nuclear facilities, Caine told reporters. More damage assessment will be necessary to determine the extent of the damage.

Isfahan nuclear site was hit by a barrage of more than 24 tomahawk missiles from U.S. ships and submarines just south of Iran, which occurred after the B-2s crossed into Iranian airspace.

The bombers exited Iranian airspace shortly after, with no damage reported to any of the aircraft.

The strike marks the first combat use of the specialty 30,000 lb Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), which are designed to hammer into the ground up to 200ft and destroy fortified positions. Hegseth stopped short of saying that the Iranian nuclear program was completely destroyed, but said that the objective of the operation was met while awaiting additional damage assessments. (RELATED: JD Vance Says US ‘Not At War’ With Iran)

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Hegseth also shot down fears that the strikes would grad the U.S. into another protracted war in the Middle East, while also saying the Trump administration was not pursuing any regime change aspirations or a protracted conflict in the region.

“This is most certainly not open-ended. It doesn’t mean it limits our ability to respond,” Hegseth said during the briefing.” We will respond if necessary.”

However, both officials emphasized that U.S. forces would be ready to respond to any attacks on American bases in the region. Hegseth also added that “public and private messages” were sent to Iran urging them to come to the negotiating table.

“Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice,” Caine said during the briefing. “We will defend ourselves the safety of our service members, and civilians remains our highest priority.”

Hegseth did not name a particular moment as to when Trump decided to pull the trigger on bombing Iran, but spoke to a moment among the administration where they realized that something  to “minimize the threat.”

“The scope of this was intentionally limited, that’s the message that we’re sending, with the capabilities of the American military nearly unlimited,” Hegseth said during the briefing. “So Iran, in that sense, has a choice, but we’ve made it very clear to them. This is a line that the president has set…now is the time to come forward for peace.”

Caine and Hegseth said the operation was chiefly led by the U.S., and Israel only ensured the air space was clear to carry out the operation.

“I want to recognize the pilots, who flew those bombers, who flew those fighters, who flew those refuellers. I want to recognize the sailors on those destroyers, in those subs, on those carriers. Warriors, all of them,” Hegseth said in his remarks. “Every American involved in this operation performed flawlessly.”

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