Battles & Wars › Modern conflicts › Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran)
Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)
June 22, 2025· Battle· Middle East & Africa
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
US bombing of Iran's Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites on June 22, 2025, the first combat use of America's heaviest bunker-buster.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Seven B-2 stealth bombers flew about 18 hours from Missouri, refueling in the air, while decoy bombers headed west toward Guam. Over Iran they dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, 30,000-pound bombs built to burrow deep before exploding, on Fordow, buried under a mountain, and on Natanz. A US submarine fired more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at Isfahan. More than 125 aircraft took part, and US officials said Iran's air defenses never fired on them.
Why it matters
It showed the US would strike Iran's nuclear program directly, and displayed a reach and bunker-busting power no other country has.
How we know
Pentagon briefings by Gen. Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, satellite imagery of the sites, and IAEA statements; a leaked early intelligence assessment and later official ones differed.
Still debated
Trump said the sites were 'obliterated'; an early Defense Intelligence Agency estimate suggested months of delay. Whether Iran moved its enriched uranium beforehand is unknown.
Connections (7)
▸Twelve-Day War (Israel and the US vs. Iran) drew in the US for Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Well documented
The connection
Israel's jets could not destroy Fordow, buried deep under a mountain; only US B-2s carry the 30,000-pound bomb built for such targets. After nine days of Israeli strikes, President Trump ordered the attack. Iran then fired missiles at a US base in Qatar, with warning, and a ceasefire followed.
When and how
Ordered by Trump and flown overnight June 21–22, 2025; Iran's retaliation on Al Udeid Air Base came June 23, the ceasefire June 24.
How we know
White House and Pentagon statements, Iran's own statements on its retaliation, and the documented timeline of the ceasefire.
Debates and open questions
Whether Trump's earlier talk of deciding 'within two weeks' was deliberate misdirection, and how far the ceasefire was arranged in advance, are debated.
▸Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites) used B-2 bombers, the long reach of Air power and strategic bombingWell documented
The connection
Douhet argued in 1921 that bombers could strike an enemy's vital centers directly, skipping the front lines. Midnight Hammer was a pure example: bombers from Missouri hit buried nuclear sites halfway around the world in one night, relying on stealth while fighters swept ahead for threats.
When and how
Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to Iran and back, June 21–22, 2025: about 37 hours round trip with several aerial refuelings.
How we know
Pentagon briefings, flight-tracking of tankers and decoy bombers, and satellite images of the bombed sites.
Debates and open questions
As with strategic bombing since World War II, whether air strikes alone can achieve political goals, here ending Iran's nuclear ambitions, is doubted.
▸Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites) was flown by B-2 Spirit stealth bomberWell documented
The connection
Only the B-2 could carry the 30,000-pound GBU-57 'bunker buster' meant to reach Iran's deeply buried enrichment halls. Seven B-2s flew about 18 hours from Missouri, refueling in the air, and dropped 14 of the bombs on Fordow and Natanz, while submarine-launched Tomahawks hit Isfahan.
When and how
Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to Iran, June 21–22, 2025; announced by President Trump and detailed by Joint Chiefs chairman General Dan Caine.
How we know
Pentagon briefings with maps and timelines, commercial satellite images of the sites, and Iranian statements confirm the strike itself.
Debates and open questions
The damage is disputed: US leaders said the program was 'obliterated'; a leaked preliminary intelligence estimate suggested a setback of months; Iran acknowledged serious damage.
▸Tomahawk cruise missile hit Isfahan from a submarine in Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Well documented
The connection
While B-2s struck Fordow and Natanz, a US submarine fired more than two dozen Tomahawks at Isfahan's above-ground nuclear facilities, which did not need bunker-busters. It was a role the Tomahawk had played since 1991: hitting fixed targets precisely from far away, with no pilot at risk.
When and how
Fired from a US Navy submarine in the region on June 22, 2025, timed to arrive with the bombers.
How we know
Gen. Dan Caine's Pentagon briefing and satellite imagery of the damage at Isfahan.
Debates and open questions
Which submarine fired them, and exactly what was destroyed at Isfahan, including tunnels that may hold enriched uranium, are not public.
▸Cyber warfare (Stuxnet) first sabotaged Natanz, later bombed in Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Mostly agreed
The connection
Stuxnet was a code-based attempt to slow Iran's enrichment at Natanz without bombs, wrecking about 1,000 centrifuges around 2009–10. It delayed the program but did not stop it. Fifteen years later the US and Israel bombed Natanz and Fordow outright, a physical answer to the same problem.
When and how
Natanz, Iran: Stuxnet active about 2007–2010, reportedly as the US–Israeli Operation Olympic Games; the site was bombed in June 2025.
How sure are we?
Stuxnet's code targeted Natanz's specific equipment and IAEA data show centrifuges removed; the US and Israel have never officially admitted building it.
Debates and open questions
How long Stuxnet actually delayed Iran (estimates run from months to two years), and whether it spurred Iran's own cyber program, are disputed.
▸Boeing built the bunker-buster bombs dropped in Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Well documented
The connection
Boeing built the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 30,000-pound bomb with a hardened steel case designed to punch through rock and concrete before exploding. It was developed in the 2000s for deeply buried targets exactly like Fordow. Midnight Hammer was its first use in combat.
When and how
Developed with the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency in the 2000s; 14 were dropped on Fordow and Natanz on June 22, 2025.
How we know
Air Force and Defense Threat Reduction Agency program records, Boeing contracts, and the Pentagon's briefing on the strike.
Debates and open questions
How deep the bombs reached at Fordow, and whether one strike could destroy its deepest halls, are classified and debated.
▸Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) and the B-2 built the B-2 bombers flown in Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Well documented
The connection
Northrop built the B-2, the only aircraft able both to carry the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator and to slip through air defenses. Jack Northrop's flying-wing idea, revived as a stealth bomber, made the strike possible. Only 21 B-2s were ever built, and seven flew this mission.
When and how
B-2s of the 509th Bomb Wing from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, June 21–22, 2025.
How we know
Pentagon briefings and Air Force records; the B-2's role as the bomb's only carrier is documented.
Debates and open questions
How long the aging B-2 fleet can stay in service, and whether Northrop's new B-21 Raider will take over on schedule.