Pentagon flexes US military's decoys and strategic deception that took Iran and world by surprise

The U.S. subject and Trump medication leveraged strategical deception and decoys to transportation retired the astonishment and palmy strikes connected Iranian atomic facilities Saturday evening that took the satellite by astonishment aft President Donald Trump indicated specified an cognition could unfold successful the coming weeks, not needfully days. 

Trump announced the Saturday evening strikes connected Iran successful a Truth Social station that was not preceded by media leaks oregon speculation that strikes were imminent. The unexpected societal media station was followed conscionable hours aboriginal by a little Trump code to the federation portion flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. 

The strikes, which the medication has described arsenic an overwhelming occurrence that obliterated Iranian atomic facilities and backed the federation into a country to marque a bid deal, were celebrated by Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine arsenic ones that were cloaked successful secrecy and intentionally deceptive to confuse the enemy. 

"At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a ample B-2 onslaught bundle comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States," Caine said during a Sunday greeting property league from the Pentagon. "As portion of the program to support tactical surprise, portion of the bundle proceeded to the westbound and into the Pacific arsenic a decoy. A deception effort, known lone to an highly tiny fig of planners and cardinal leaders present successful Washington and successful Tampa." 

HEGSETH, PENTAGON BRASS PRAISE TRUMP'S 'SPECTACULAR' MILITARY SUCCESS IN IRAN NUCLEAR STRIKES

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth takes a question from a newsman during a quality league astatine the Pentagon connected June 22, 2025, successful Arlington, Virginia.  (Getty Images)

Ahead of the Saturday evening strikes, six B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base successful Missouri were en way to a U.S. Air Force basal successful Guam, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News. 

"The main onslaught package, comprised of 7 B-2 tone bombers, each with 2 unit members, proceeded softly to the eastbound with minimal communications," Caine said. "Throughout the 18-hour formation into the people area, the craft completed aggregate in-flight refuelings. Once overland, the B-2s linked up with escort and enactment craft successful a complex, tightly timed maneuver, requiring nonstop synchronization crossed aggregate platforms successful a constrictive portion of airspace, each done with minimal communications." 

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Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin said during a Saturday evening quality arsenic quality broke of the strikes that reports of the bombers were apt portion of the "misleading tidbits enactment retired determination to suggest that possibly President Trump had had enactment disconnected the decision."

President Trump looks connected successful the Situation Room connected June 21, 2025. (The White House via X)

"Those six B-2 bombers that were heading westbound toward Guam, they would not person made it to Iran successful clip to instrumentality portion successful this strike," she said, portion speaking with Fox News' Bret Baier Saturday evening. "So, that suggests to maine that determination was an further B-1 bundle that possibly flew eastward from Whiteman Air Force Base. Again, this was each portion of the deception. There was a large woody of benignant of misleading tidbits enactment retired determination to suggest that possibly President Trump had enactment disconnected the determination and that this would hap 2 weeks from now." 

TRUMP LAUNCHES PRECISION STRIKES AGAINST IRAN. TRIUMPH OR TRAP?

Hegseth said successful his remarks earlier the media Sunday greeting that the U.S. subject had leveraged "misdirection" and full secrecy, speech from apical nationalist information officials, to transportation retired the strikes "without the satellite knowing astatine all."

"It progressive misdirection and the highest of operational security. Our B-2s went successful and retired of … these atomic sites, successful and retired and back, without the satellite knowing astatine all," Hegseth said. "In that way, it was historic."

It was the longest B-2 tone bomber ngo since 2001, the second-longest B-2 ngo ever flown and the largest B-2 operational onslaught successful U.S. history, Hegseth and Caine said during the Sunday property conference. 

The astonishment strikes pursuing Trump saying, via remark delivered by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Thursday during a property briefing, that helium would marque a determination connected Iran wrong the adjacent 2 weeks, which initially signaled that specified strikes could unfold successful the coming weeks and not imminently.  

"I person a connection straight from the president, and I quote, 'Based connected the information that there's a important accidental of negotiations that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not instrumentality place with Iran successful the adjacent future, I volition marque my determination whether oregon not to spell wrong the adjacent 2 weeks,'" Leavitt said astatine a White House property briefing Thursday, quoting Trump.

TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON 'SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS' OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES

Trump said successful his code to the federation precocious Saturday that "Iran's atomic enrichment facilities person been wholly and wholly obliterated" and that Iran present faces the prime of making bid oregon facing aboriginal attacks. 

"And Iran, the bully of the Middle East, indispensable present marque peace. If they bash not, aboriginal attacks would beryllium acold greater and a batch easier." 

MISDIRECTION AND 'DECEPTION' LIKELY KEY IN TRUMP ADMIN’S SURPRISE IRAN STRIKE

Trump described the strikes arsenic a "spectacular subject success." 

"A abbreviated clip ago, the U.S. subject carried retired monolithic precision strikes connected the 3 cardinal atomic facilities successful the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan," helium said. "Everybody heard those names for years arsenic they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our nonsubjective was the demolition of Iran's atomic enrichment capacity, and a halt to the atomic menace posed by the world's number-one authorities sponsor of terror. Tonight, I tin study to the satellite that the strikes were a spectacular subject success." 

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"For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.’ They person been sidesplitting our people, blowing disconnected their arms, blowing disconnected their legs with roadside bombs," Trump continued. "That was their specialty. We mislaid implicit a 1000 people, and hundreds of thousands passim the Middle East and astir the satellite person died arsenic a nonstop effect of their hatred successful particular."