U.S. President Donald Trump announced on June 21 that the United States had struck three major nuclear sites inside Iran as part of what he called “Operation Midnight Hammer.” With the attack, the United States joined Israel’s bombing campaign—aimed at derailing Iran’s program that both countries said was advancing close to producing nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies—that began on June 13.
Operation Midnight Hammer involved 125 aircraft and specialty B-2 bombers that carry 30,000-pound bombs named Massive Ordinance Penetrators—colloquially known as “bunker busters.” These bombs are only owned by the United States, and experts believe it is the only ordinance capable of destroying Iran’s subterranean nuclear sites. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said an initial assessment indicates that all three sites, Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, “sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.” It remains unclear whether the operation has thwarted Iran’s escalating uranium enrichment program and capacity to build nuclear weapons.
