Operation Midnight Hammer: B-2 bombers used in Iran attack return | LiveNOW from FOX

The United States bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites overnight, inserting itself into Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. attacks came after a week of open conflict between Israel and Iran, sparked by Israel’s sudden barrage of attacks against Iran’s nuclear and military structure.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted that the sites were "completely and fully obliterated," and warned there would be additional strikes if Iran retaliates.

In response, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the U.S. strikes have blown up any possibility of diplomacy with the Americans or Europeans.

U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.

In a joint press conference with Hegseth Sunday, Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said just before the "strike package" entered Iran, "more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles" were launched against "key surface infrastructure targets."

"In total, U.S. forces employed approximately 75 precision-guided weapons during this operation," Caine continued. "This included, as the president stated last night, 14, 30,000 pound GBU 57 massive Ordnance penetrators, marking the first ever operational use of this weapon. I know that battle damage is of great interest. Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.

"More than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in this mission, including B-2 stealth bombers, multiple flights of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine, and a full array of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals. As the secretary said, this was the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following 9/11."

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