Top US general describes ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’
America’s top military officer, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, told reporters on Sunday that overnight US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had included 14 massive ordnance penetrator or “bunker-buster” bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft.
Caine called “Operation Midnight Hammer” the largest B-2 operational strike in US history, explaining that seven B-2 stealth bombers had flown 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran and refueled mid-air several times along the way to carry out the mission.
Despite claims from President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated”, Caine said a battle damage assessment was still ongoing.
He said US troops in the region were given no advanced warning and remain on high alert. The general said initial assessments indicated “extreme damage and destruction” at three Iranian nuclear sites.
Caine said the US troops had used deceptive tactics and completed their mission of delivering some 75 precision-guided weapons to targets inside Iran undetected — maintaining the element of surprise throughout.
Adding that “no other military in the world could have done this,” Caine advised Iran to refrain from striking back against the US, saying that to do so would be “a poor choice.”
