"Devastated Iran's Nuclear Programme": Pentagon Chief On Op Midnight Hammer

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that American military strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities have, in his words, "devastated the Iranian nuclear programme."  Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing, Mr Hegseth said that the operation was executed under direct orders from US President Donald Trump and was the result of months of meticulous preparation involving "deception" and high-level operational secrecy.

"The order we received from our commander-in-chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear," Mr Hegseth said. "We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme."

The military campaign, designated Operation Midnight Hammer, targeted Iran's primary nuclear enrichment sites at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. The coordinated assault involved over 125 military aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, the deployment of 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, and more than 30 Tomahawk missiles launched from US submarines in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.

"No other country on planet Earth could have conducted the operation that the Chairman is going to outline this morning, not even close. Just like Soleimani found out in the first term, Iran found out when POTUS says 60 days that he seeks peace and negotiation, he means 60 days of peace and negotiation. Otherwise, that nuclear program, that nuclear capability will not exist. 

No Nukes

Mr Hegseth warned that any retaliation from Iran would result in US replying with "force greater than what was witnessed." 

"This is not the previous administration. President Trump said no nukes. He seeks peace and Iran should take that path. He sent out a truth last night saying this. Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.," he said.

General Dan Caine, the top-ranking US military official overseeing the operation, said that the air strikes were "designed with precision and executed without warning".

"Initial battle damage assessments indicate all three sites sustained severe structural degradation and destruction. The full extent of Iran's remaining nuclear capabilities is still being assessed," he said. 

The targets were struck between 0200 and 0330 local time on Saturday, with simultaneous air and sea-based launches to maximise strategic disorientation of Iranian air defence systems.

Trump's Provocation 

President Trump, in a late-night address from the White House, praised the mission as a "spectacular military success". Flanked by senior military advisers, he said: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. There will be peace, or there will be tragedy."

The strikes came days after a stalled round of nuclear negotiations in Rome and followed Trump's announcement of a self-imposed two-week ultimatum to Iran's leadership to accept new disarmament conditions. When Tehran refused, the US launched the operation.

Following the attack, Trump posted a series of increasingly hostile messages on his Truth Social platform, stating in capital letters: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

In one post, he directly threatened Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

"We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding... We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," he wrote. 

Later, in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump clarified that the assassination of Khamenei had been considered but ultimately rejected.

Bunker-Busting In Fordow

According to General Caine, Fordow, Iran's most fortified facility, located beneath a mountain in Qom, was struck by six 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs. Simultaneously, Tomahawk missiles launched from the USS Georgia and USS Florida hit critical infrastructure at Natanz and Isfahan, both key to uranium processing and centrifuge assembly.

"This is a plan that took months and weeks of positioning and preparation so that we could be ready when the President of the United States called. It took a great deal of precision. It involved misdirection and the highest level of operational security," Mr Hegseth added. 

He confirmed that B-2 bombers entered Iranian airspace undetected, conducted the strike missions, and exited without alerting regional radar systems. "Our bombers went in and out of these nuclear sites without the world knowing at all," he said. 

He also reiterated that civilian areas and Iranian troop formations were not targeted.
 "This mission was not, is not, about regime change," Mr Hegseth said. "It was about neutralising specific threats to American national security."

Iran's Response

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) issued a statement confirming the strikes. It said the targeted facilities were hit but that there were no radiation leaks and no civilian casualties. It added that the country's nuclear programme would continue for peaceful purposes.

Iran's state-run news outlets have not aired footage of the aftermath, but reports suggest a significant presence of emergency response teams near Qom and Isfahan. Iran's Supreme National Security Council convened an emergency session on Sunday morning. No official retaliation has yet been announced, but a spokesperson for the Iranian military said: "This attack will not go unanswered. Iran reserves the right to defend its sovereignty."

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