US Secretary of Defense Pete HegsethFollowing American military airstrikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, US officials said on Sunday They are not seeking regime change However, Hegseth said that any response to these actions “will be met with much greater force than what was witnessed this weekend” warned about the matter.
“Operation Midnight Hammer” and Its Effects
“All of our precision munitions hit where we wanted them to and had the impact we wanted,” Hegseth told reporters at an early morning press conference a few hours after the military strike. “We believe we have succeeded in destroying the capabilities there. … It would be a very bad idea for Iran or its proxies to try to attack American forces [in response],” he added.
The airstrikes, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, were launched early Saturday morning from the US mainland on a top-secret mission. With American B-2 stealth bombers Shortly after the planes joined the escort fighters over Iranian airspace, American submarines launched an attack on Iranian facilities Tomahawk cruise missiles Within hours, the bombers 14 massive ordnance penetrators, 30.000-pound bunker-piercing bombs never before used in combat launched and the missiles reached their targets.
Total in operation 125 American aircraft, 75 precision weapons and numerous other military assets took place, targeting three of Iran's main nuclear facilities. The United States has made a big bet that rolling back Iran's nuclear program is worth the risk of another widespread conflict in the Middle East, especially if the Iranian military's retaliation causes major damage.
Security Measures and Battle Damage Assessment
Following Iran’s unprecedented direct attack, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is preparing for a possible attack that could further embroil the United States in the war that began less than a week ago.
Speaking alongside Hegseth, the Chief of General Staff General Dan Caine“Our forces remain on high alert and are fully positioned to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attack. That would be an incredibly bad choice,” he said. While the Pentagon’s battle damage assessments are still in the early stages, Caine said initial results showed “extremely severe damage and destruction to all three sites” of the targeted nuclear infrastructure.
Trump's Decision and Congressional Reactions
Until Saturday, Trump was undecided about whether to join the war in Iran. Israel’s own airstrikes had successfully targeted the Iranian leadership, but they lacked the firepower needed to do more lasting damage. The U.S. military was thought to have the only weapon in its possession capable of destroying Iran’s best-defended nuclear facilities, particularly the Fordo complex, dug into the mountainside and heavily reinforced with concrete.
With Saturday’s operation, those questions came to an end. Trump said in a statement from the White House, “There is no army in the world that can do what we did tonight, not even close.”
But by bringing its own military into the fray, the U.S. is opening itself up to a new level of risk. According to the Pentagon, the U.S. is responding to the ongoing crisis with more troops in the region than its normal 30.000. 40.000 to power Several of CENTCOM’s major bases, including its regional headquarters, are located in the Persian Gulf, within range of Iran’s massive arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles.
The backlash in Congress cut across party lines, with traditional defense hawks such as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker supporting the strikes while some members of the MAGA wing of the Republican Party took a critical stance, warning that U.S. intervention risked protracted war.
Hegseth said on Sunday that the aim of the operation was to roll back Iran's nuclear programme and that specific targets were deliberately avoided. "The scope of this was deliberately limited," he said, rejecting suggestions that the mission was "open-ended."
Trump said of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, “I decided a long time ago that I would not allow it.” Saturday’s attacks followed a rapid military buildup in the Middle East, with the United States sending warships, fighter jets and other support equipment to the region ahead of the attacks. The escalation is the continuation of a pattern that has repeated itself in the year and a half since Israel began a war in Gaza following an attack by the Hamas terrorist group.
