US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that despite a surprise attack overnight on Iranian nuclear sites, America “does not seek war.” Hegseth said it was important to note that US strikes did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, a veiled effort to indicate to Iran that they don’t want retaliation on American targets in the region.
Hegseth said that a choice to move a number of B-2 bombers from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday was meant to be a decoy to throw off Iranians.
He added that the U.S. used other methods of deception as well, deploying fighters to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s most powerful nuclear site. He said that all of these tactics helped the U.S. drop the bombs without tipping off Iran’s fighter jets or its air missile systems.
Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, gave the name assigned to the operation at the Pentagon briefing. He also said: "This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force." "This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan."
Seven stealth bombers were used in the US attack against Iranian nuclear sites, which apparently saw little response by Iran's military, top general Dan Caine said Sunday.
Describing the complex operation, dubbed "Midnight Hammer," Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the "main strike package comprised of 7 B-2 Spirit bombers" flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings.
"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," Caine added.
A Pentagon-provided map shows the path of B-2 bombers
A Pentagon-provided map of the flight path taken by B-2 stealth bombers indicates that their approach to Iran took them over the Mediterranean and then over Israel, Jordan and Iraq.
It is not immediately clear when those three countries were made aware of the flights. Israel has said the U.S. strikes were carried out in coordination with its military. The U.S. said the strikes did not involve Israeli jets.
The Pentagon released the map to journalists as it gave details of the mission, which it described as causing “extremely severe damage and destruction” to three Iranian nuclear sites.
Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has shared the timeline of the US attacks:
"At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States as part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise."
"At approximately 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (2100 GMT) last night, and just prior to the strike package entering Iran, a U.S. submarine in the Central Command area of responsibility launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets at Isfahan."
"All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Eastern Time. Again, that's about 0210 in the morning local time in Iran."
The bombers exited Iran around 7:30 p.m., according to the map shown at the briefing.
Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, gave more details on the attacks. He said:
The U.S. used 75 precision weapons during the operation.
Iran's surface-to-air systems did not see the US operations, they maintained an element of surprise throughout.
All three Iranian sites sustained "extreme damage and destruction".
More than 125 U.S. military aircraft took part.
It is the largest operational B-2 strike in U.S. history.
The Trump administration said that its attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities was not about toppling the country’s government.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Sunday news briefing.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed that the goal of “Operation Midnight Hammer” had destroyed the nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.
*With Agency Inputs
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