Newly released satellite imagery has confirmed the devastating impact of “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the covert U.S. military strike that hit three of Iran’s most critical nuclear sites in the early hours of Sunday. The operation, involving stealth bombers and precision-guided munitions, marked one of the most dramatic uses of American airpower in decades.
General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced at a Pentagon briefing that seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, each loaded with two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), dropped a total of 14 of these 30,000-pound “bunker-busters” on the deeply buried nuclear enrichment facilities at Fordo and Natanz. Simultaneously, U.S. submarines launched a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles targeting the Isfahan site.
“This is the first time the MOP has ever been used in combat,” Caine said. “Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three facilities sustained extensive, potentially irreparable damage.”
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show enormous craters blasted into the ridge above the Fordo facility, which lies more than 300 feet underground. Before-and-after comparisons reveal multiple tunnel entrances now sealed by debris and ash, as well as surface structures flattened by the impact.
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