As Operation Midnight Hammer began on Saturday, a group of B-2 bombers took off from their base in the US state of Missouri and were spotted heading towards the Pacific island of Guam, in what experts saw as possible preparation for any US decision to attack Iran, Reuters reports.
But they were decoys. A real group of seven B-2 stealth bombers with bat wings flew eastward undetected for 18 hours, keeping communications to a minimum, refueling in mid-air, the US military revealed today, Reuters reported in its article "US bombing of Iran began as a deception".
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As the bombers approached Iranian airspace, a US submarine launched more than 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike the land. US fighter jets flew as decoys ahead of the bombers to monitor any Iranian fighter jets and missiles, Reuters reports.
The attack on three major Iranian nuclear facilities was the largest operational strike ever carried out by the B-2 stealth bomber and the second-longest B-2 operation ever conducted, surpassed only by those operations that followed the Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States (US) on September 11, 2001.
B-2 bombers dropped 14 GBU-57 bombs, each weighing 13.680 kilograms. More than 125 US military aircraft participated in the operation, according to the Pentagon.
The GBU-57, also known as the "Massive Ordnance Penetrator" (MOP), is a U.S. Air Force bunker-busting bomb.
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From the perspective of the US military, the operation was a huge tactical success. The Iranians failed to fire a single shell at the US aircraft and were completely caught off guard, Gen. Dan Kaine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon today.
"Iranian fighters were not flying, and it appears that Iranian surface-to-air missile systems did not see us during the entire mission. We maintained the element of surprise."
Kane said initial assessments of the damage from the battle showed that all three targeted sites had suffered extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear facilities might still be intact.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was more confident.
"It was clear that we had destroyed Iran's nuclear program," he said, standing next to Kane in the Pentagon briefing room.
"Midnight Hammer" was top secret, said Kane, "with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of the plan."
Many senior US officials only learned of this on Saturday evening from President Donald Trump's first social media post.
Hegseth said it took months of preparation to ensure the US military would be ready if Trump ordered the strikes. Kane said the mission itself, however, was completed in just a few weeks.
What happens next is not clear.
Gulf states, which host numerous US military bases, were on high alert today as they assessed the risks of conflict spreading in the region.
Guarding against a backlash, the US military has also deployed US military resources to the Middle East and increased protection for US troops.
Hegseth said the US military is positioned to defend itself in the Middle East, but also to respond if Iran continues with long-standing threats of retaliation.
The Trump administration has said it is not seeking a wider war with Iran, and Hegseth said private messages have been sent to Tehran urging them to negotiate.
But Trump also warned Iran that the US was prepared to hit additional targets if necessary, using far greater force.
"Iran would be smart to heed those words. They've said it before and they mean it," Hegset said.
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