Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and General Dan “Razin” Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a high-stakes press conference at the Pentagon early Sunday morning, offering the first in-depth look at the U.S. military’s precision strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—conducted under direct orders from President Donald Trump.
Hegseth opened the briefing with a clear and emphatic message“Last night, U.S. Central Command launched a precision strike against three key Iranian nuclear sites. The operation, directed by President Trump, was executed flawlessly. The objective was to destroy or severely degrade Iran’s nuclear program—and that’s exactly what we did.”
He emphasized that the mission did not target Iranian forces or civilians, reaffirming the administration’s message: “We do not seek war with the Iranian people.”
Operation Midnight Hammer: Deception, Precision, and Shock
General Caine, who oversaw operational command, described the strike—codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer—as one of the most complex and classified air operations since the early 2000s.
“This was a meticulously planned and tightly guarded mission,” Caine said. “Few in Washington were aware of the timing or scope. Even fewer knew about the deception maneuvers designed to ensure total surprise.”
According to Caine, B-2 Spirit stealth bombers launched from the continental U.S. around midnight. In a coordinated move, a decoy group of bombers was sent westward toward Guam to confuse adversaries and media observers.
Meanwhile, submarines stationed in the CENTCOM area launched over two dozen Tomahawk missiles, striking above-ground infrastructure just before the main bomber package entered Iranian airspace. “This was the longest continuous B-2 mission since 2001,” Caine added.
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