US General shares details of 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' says "Op designed to degrade Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure"

Washington, DC [US], June 22 : After the strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, said Operation Midnight Hammer was designed to "severely degrade Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure."

Dan Caine said this while holding a Sunday press briefing at the Pentagon.

"At approximately 6:40 PM EST, 2:10 am Iran time, the lead B-2 two dropped GBU 57 MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) weapons on the first of several aim points at Fordow," he said.

"As the President stated last night, the remaining bombers then hit their targets as well with a total of 14 MOPs dropped against two nuclear target areas. All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6:40 PM and 7:05 PM EST (2:10 AM local time Iran) with the Tomahawk missiles being the last to strike at Isfahan to ensure we retain the element of surprise throughout the operation," he added.

The US military employed "several deception tactics," including decoys, to maintain tactical surprise, he said.

"As the Operation Midnight Hammer strike package entered Iranian airspace, the US employed several deception tactics, including decoys, as the 4th and 5th generation aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface Air missile threats."

"The strike package was supported by the US Strategic Command, US Transportation Command, US Cyber Command, US Space Command, US Space Force, and US European Command," he added.

Further, Caine stated that "at midnight Friday and Saturday morning, a large B2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States. As part of the plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the West and into the Pacific as a decoy, a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa."

"The main strike package, comprised of seven B2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the East with minimal communications," he added.

Higlighting the capabilities of the US joint forces, he stated, "Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuellings. Once over land, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly timed manoeuvre requiring exact synchronisation across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications. This type of integration is exactly what our joint force does better than anyone else in the world."

The operation, code-named Operation Midnight Hammer, was executed by US Central Command under the command of General Erik Kurilla.

"Last night, on the President's orders, US Central Command, under the command of General Erik Kurilla, executed Operation Midnight Hammer, a deliberate and precise strike against three Iranian nuclear facilities... This operation was designed to severely degrade Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure," he said.

"It was planned and executed across multiple domains and theatres with coordination that reflects our ability to project power globally with speed and precision at the time and place of our nation's choosing. This was a highly classified mission, and very few people in Washington knew the timing or nature of this plan," he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump said the "very successful" strikes had hit the Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan underground nuclear sites in Iran.

Speaking from the White House, Trump announced that America carried out "massive precision" strikes on Iran and warned Tehran of further retaliation if peace was not achieved.

Iran condemned the attacks, calling them a violation of international law and vowed to continue its nuclear program.

A statement issued by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) confirmed that early on Sunday morning, Iran's nuclear sites were "subjected to savage aggressionan act in violation of international laws, particularly the NPT."

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