US strikes on Iran carried out with 'incredible and overwhelming success,' Hegseth, military brass say

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine held a property league from the Pentagon aboriginal Sunday greeting to relay details connected the U.S. military's palmy strikes connected Iranian atomic facilities.

"Last night, connected President Trump's orders, U.S. Central Command conducted a precision onslaught successful the mediate of the nighttime against 3 atomic facilities successful Iran Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan successful bid to destruct oregon severely degrade Iran's atomic program," Hegseth said Sunday greeting from the Pentagon. 

"It was an unthinkable and overwhelming success," Hegseth continued. "The bid we received from our commandant successful main was focused. It was powerful, and it was wide we devastated the Iranian atomic program. But it's worthy noting the cognition did not people Iranian troops oregon the Iranian radical for the entirety of his clip successful office." 

The property league was held pursuing President Donald Trump addressing the federation astatine 10 p.m. Saturday evening, conscionable hours aft helium announced the palmy strikes connected Iranian atomic facilities. 

"The ngo demonstrated to the satellite the level of associated and allied integration that talk to the spot of our confederation and our associated forces," Hegseth continued. "As President Trump has stated, the United States does not question war, but fto maine beryllium wide we volition enactment swiftly and decisively erstwhile our people, our partners oregon our interests are threatened. Iran should perceive to the United States and cognize that helium means it." 

Caine addressed the media and explained the strikes, dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer," included the usage of submarines, dozens of Tomahawk onshore onslaught cruise missiles, and the "longest B-2 tone bomber ngo since 2001." 

"At astir 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time past nighttime and conscionable anterior to the onslaught bundle entering Iran, a U.S. submarine successful the Central Command country of work launched much than 2 twelve Tomahawk onshore onslaught cruise missiles against cardinal aboveground infrastructure targets arsenic often arsenic the Operation Midnight Hammer onslaught bundle entered Iranian airspace. The U.S. employed respective deception tactics," Caine said. 

"This was a highly classified ngo with precise fewer radical successful Washington knowing the timing oregon quality of this plan, I'll notation you to the graphic connected the broadside arsenic I locomotion you done immoderate of the operational details. At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a ample B-2 onslaught bundle comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States arsenic portion of the program to support tactical surprise. Part 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," helium continued. 

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

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a property league astatine the Pentagon June 22, 2025.  (Fox News / The Will Cain Show)

Trump announced the U.S. had struck a trio of atomic facilities successful Iran via a Truth Social station Saturday evening, that was not preceded by immoderate media leaks of anterior denotation specified strikes were imminent. 

The president ordered U.S. B-2 stealth bombers to transportation retired the strikes against Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan atomic facilities.

Five to six bunker-buster bombs struck the Fordow atomic site, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity soon aft announcing the strikes Saturday night. 

The Isfahan facility, similar Fordow, is believed to beryllium built underground, and required precision targeting and extended quality to successfully strike, Fox News has reported. Meanwhile, 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against Natanz and Isfahan from U.S. submarines.

Trump aboriginal addressed the federation from the White House portion flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, wherever helium announced Iran's atomic facilities had been "obliterated" and that the state has been backed into a country and "must present marque peace."

TRUMP DECLARES 'VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTACK' ON IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS US FORCES STRIKE 3 KEY SITES

"Iran's atomic enrichment facilities person been wholly and wholly obliterated," Trump said. "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." 

US Vice President JD Vance, from left, US President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, US caput of state, and Pete Hegseth, US caput of defense, during an code to the federation successful the East Room of the White House successful Washington, DC, US, connected Saturday, June 21, 2025. Trump said the US subject struck 3 sites successful Iran connected Saturday, marking the archetypal American engagement successful nonstop attacks against Iranian atomic assets successful its struggle with Israel.  (Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump had repeatedly urged Iran to marque a woody connected its atomic programme earlier striking its atomic facilities, but the state pulled retired of ongoing talks with the U.S. scheduled for June 15 successful Oman and refused to instrumentality to the array successful the days following. Israel preemptively ordered strikes connected Iran June 12 arsenic Israeli quality indicated Iran's atomic programme was rapidly progressing. 

"A abbreviated clip ago, the U.S. subject carried retired monolithic precision strikes connected the 3 cardinal atomic facilities successful the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan," Trump said during his address. "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 fig 1 authorities sponsor of terror. Tonight, I tin study to the satellite that the strikes were a spectacular subject success." 

TRUMP PROMISES TO RESPOND WITH 'FULL STRENGTH AND MIGHT' OF US MILITARY IF IRAN ATTACKS AMERICA

"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 radical and hundreds of thousands passim the Middle East and astir the satellite person died arsenic a nonstop effect of their hatred successful particular."

The president said that the U.S. worked similar a squad with Israel successful the lead-up to the strikes 

"I privation to convey and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked arsenic a team, similar possibly nary squad has ever worked before, and we've gone a agelong mode to erasing this horrible menace to Israel. I privation to convey the Israeli subject for the fantastic occupation they've done. And astir importantly, I privation to congratulate the large American patriots who flew those magnificent machines contiguous and each of the United States subject connected an cognition the likes of which the satellite has not seen successful many, galore decades," helium said. 

President Donald J. Trump successful The Situation Room, June 21, 2025 (The White House via X)

Israel launched pre-emptive strikes connected Iran June 12 aft months of attempted and stalled atomic negotiations and consequent heightened interest that Iran was advancing its atomic program. Netanyahu declared soon afterward that the strikes were indispensable to "roll backmost the Iranian menace to Israel's precise survival."

The Saturday evening strikes were unexpected connected Saturday evening, arsenic Trump connected Thursday said helium would marque a determination connected Iran wrong the adjacent 2 weeks, suggesting specified a onslaught would not unfold implicit the weekend. While six B-2 bombers that were spotted heading westbound from Missouri toward Guam connected Saturday day were decoys and portion of the "misleading tidbits enactment retired determination to suggest that possibly President Trump had had enactment disconnected the decision," Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin said during an quality Saturday evening arsenic quality broke of the strikes. 

"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 earned bipartisan praise from Congressional lawmakers for taking enactment to forestall Iran, the world’s starring sponsor of terrorism, from achieving atomic capabilities. 

Other members of Congress, however, simultaneously criticized Trump for not asking for Congressional support up of the subject strikes and raised concerns of the hazard of war.

ISRAEL’S ACTIONS AGAINST IRAN CREATE STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US IN NUCLEAR TALKS, EXPERTS SAY

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has yet to remark connected the strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, said that diplomacy is an improbable enactment successful the aftermath of the U.S. strikes. 

Iranian flags alert arsenic occurrence and fume from an Israeli onslaught connected Sharan Oil depot rise, pursuing Israeli strikes connected Iran, successful Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025.  (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

"Last week, we were successful negotiations with the US erstwhile Israel decided to stroke up that diplomacy. This week, we held talks with the E3/EU erstwhile the US decided to stroke up that diplomacy," Araghchi wrote connected X. "What decision would you draw?"

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Araghchi said he’ll question to Moscow aboriginal Sunday to conscionable with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Iran enjoys "a strategical partnership."