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American Military News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Video: Massive intel operation that led to Iran strikes revealed by top Pentagon official
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine announced on Thursday that President Donald Trump's military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities came after two agents spent over 15 years gathering intelligence and developing the GBU-57 'bunker buster bombs.' During a Thursday press conference, Caine explained that two unidentified agents in the Defense Threat Reduction Agency worked for over 15 years to gather intelligence and develop the GBU-57 bombs that were used in the U.S. military strike against Iran's Fordow nuclear facility. Caine noted that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency is the 'world's leading expert on deeply buried underground targets.' Caine explained that a Defense Threat Reduction Agency officer was tasked to study and understand a 'major construction project in the mounts of Iran' in 2009. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that an 'additional teammate' worked with the agent for over 15 years on the intelligence mission. 'For more than 15 years, this officer and his teammate lived and breathed this single target, Fordow, a critical element of Iran's covert nuclear weapons program,' Caine said. Caine told reporters that the two agents documented everything at the Fordow nuclear facility, including the construction, electrical systems, ventilation, exhaust shaft, weather, discard material, and geology. Caine said the agents watched 'every nook' and 'every crater.' READ MORE: Video: Vance slams media over negative coverage of US military strikes on Iran 'They literally dreamed about this target at night when they slept,' Caine said. 'They weren't able to discuss this with their family, their wives, their kids, their friends, but they just kept grinding it out, and along the way, they realized we did not have a weapon that could adequately strike and kill this target.' Caine told reporters that the agents then worked with the 'industry and other tacticians' on the development of the GBU-57 bombs, conducted hundreds of tests, and dropped the bombs on 'extremely realistic targets' in order to 'kill this target at the time and place of our nation's choosing.' After over 15 years of working on gathering intelligence and developing the GBU-57 bombs, Caine said the work of the two agents finally paid off when Trump ordered the strikes on Iran's three nuclear facilities last weekend. Caine told reporters that he met with the two Defense Threat Reduction Agency officers on Wednesday and that one of the agents told him, 'I can't even get my head around this. My heart is so filled with the pride of being a part of this team. I am so honored to be a part of this.' 'Operation Midnight Hammer was the culmination of those 15 years of incredible work, the air crews, the tanker crews, the weapons crews that built the weapons, [and] the load crews that loaded it,' Caine added. IRAN WAR: The attacks on the bunkers in Iran were planned over years. General Dan 'Razin' Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, revealed that the recent destruction of Iran's nuclear infrastructure was the result of over 15 years of rigorous planning, deep strategic analysis, and… — @amuse (@amuse) June 26, 2025
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Secrets on Iran nuclear strike spill into open as Pentagon defends bombing
The Pentagon on Thursday released an extraordinary number of details about the military's top-secret bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities and its defense of an air base in Qatar. The unusual disclosures – including analysts briefed at secret locations, bombs dropped into ventilation shafts, and a small group of young service members left behind at a base to shoot down Iranian missiles – is being orchestrated by a White House angry over questions about the effectiveness of the U.S. strike, which targeted three Iranian nuclear targets on June 21. Trump insists Iran's nuclear program has been "obliterated," while an early military intelligence assessment said the strike might only have set back Iran's program by "months." Military officials say they need much more time to assess the damage. Here's what we've learned: In 2009, a U.S. officer working for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency was brought into a vault at an undisclosed location and shown highly classified photos of a construction site in the Iranian mountains, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. MORE: Trump admin launches full-court press defending Iran strikes as questions remain Caine said the officer and another colleague would go on to spend 15 years studying the site. They analyzed the weather and the geology of the mountain, along with any items discarded from the site. They eyed ventilation shafts, electrical systems and environmental control systems too, he said. "Every nook, every crater, every piece of equipment going in and every piece of equipment going out -- they literally dreamed about this target at night when they slept," Caine said. When the analysts realized they did not have a weapon to strike Fordo if needed, Caine said they teamed up with industry in a top-secret effort to build the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or GBU-57, specifically to hit it. MORE: Trump, Hegseth slam news coverage of US intel report on Iran attack, say B-2 pilots upset "Then, on a day in June of 2025, more than 15 years after they started their life's work, the phone rang and the president of the United States ordered the B-2 force" to strike the target, Caine said. One of them later told Caine, "I can't even get my head around this." MORE: Israel-Iran live updates: Hegseth defends Iran bombing, says media undermining 'success' In a bid to defend the strikes as successful, both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in recent days have publicly disclosed that 12 of the 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators used in the June 21 strike were dropped on the nuclear facility at Fordo. At the briefing on Thursday, Caine went further, describing that six bunker-buster bombs were dropped down each of the two ventilation shafts with fuses programmed to detonate at specific times. Caine said the Iranians had covered the ventilation shafts with concrete caps, but the first bomb blew off the caps. After that, the next four bombs were programmed to drop more than 1,000 feet per second and "explode in the mission space." The final bomb was designated as a "flex weapon," or backup, he said. "All six weapons at each vent, at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go," Caine said, adding that the result was "a mix of overpressure and blast ripping through the open tunnels and destroying critical hardware." Caine said the fighter pilots who trailed the B-2 bombers said that after the first bomb struck the target "the pilots stated, quote, this was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight." About a day after the attack, the Defense Intelligence Agency produced an early assessment estimating Iran's nuclear program was set back by "months." According to the two people familiar with the classified report, the bombing sealed off the entrances to two of the three nuclear sites targeted in the attack but that most of the damage was done to structures above ground, leaving the lower structures intact. The assessment also found that at least some enriched uranium remained – possibly moved from the nuclear sites ahead of the blasts. President Donald Trump insists the enriched uranium wasn't moved in advance. Hegseth, visibly angry that details of the report had leaked, said "new intelligence" estimates the Iran program has been knocked back by "years," not months, and he read from the classified assessment to reporters. "It points out that it's not been coordinated with the intelligence community at all," said Hegseth, adding that the report was labeled "low confidence." Two days after the strike, U.S. officials got word that Iran was planning to launch a retaliatory attack on an American air base in Qatar called al-Udeid. According to Caine, officials quickly evacuated the base in part of extend the security perimeter, leaving behind two Patriot missile batteries and some 44 soldiers. Of the troops left to defend the base, the oldest was a 28-year-old captain. Caine said the group listened to "chatter" of the impending attack in the oppressive heat and were told to ensure their missile batteries were pointed north. Iran began launching short- and medium-range missiles, prompting the soldiers to unleash "round after round" of Patriot missiles from their canisters. Caine called the operation the "largest single Patriot engagement in U.S. military history," noting the Qataris aided in the defense. "I'm not going to tell you how many rounds were shot," Caine said, noting the number was classified. "But it was a bunch." ABC News' Chris Boccia contributed to this report.
26-06-2025
- Politics
Secrets on Iran nuclear strike spill into open as Trump defends bombing
The Pentagon on Thursday released an extraordinary number of details about the military's top-secret bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities and its defense of an air base in Qatar. The unusual disclosures – including analysts briefed at secret locations, bombs dropped into ventilation shafts, and a small group of young service members left behind at a base to shoot down Iranian missiles – is being orchestrated by a White House angry over questions about the effectiveness of the U.S. strike, which targeted three Iranian nuclear targets on June 21. Trump insists Iran's nuclear program has been "obliterated," while an early Pentagon intelligence assessment said the strike might only have set back Iran's program by "months." Military officials say they need much more time to assess the damage. Here's what we've learned: There was a 15-year, top-secret mission to figure out how to destroy Iran's Fordo nuclear facility In 2009, a U.S. officer working for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency was brought into a vault at an undisclosed location and shown highly classified photos of a construction site in the Iranian mountains, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Caine said the officer and another colleague would go on to spend 15 years studying the site. They analyzed the weather and the geology of the mountain, along with any items discarded from the site. They eyed ventilation shafts, electrical systems and environmental control systems too, he said. "Every nook, every crater, every piece of equipment going in and every piece of equipment going out -- they literally dreamed about this target at night when they slept," Caine said. When the analysts realized they did not have a weapon to strike Fordo if needed, Caine said they teamed up with industry in a top-secret effort to build the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or GBU-57, specifically to hit it. "Then, on a day in June of 2025, more than 15 years after they started their life's work, the phone rang and the president of the United States ordered the B-2 force" to strike the target, Caine said. One of them later told Caine, "I can't even get my head around this." 12 bombs were dropped down two ventilation shafts capped with concrete. In a bid to defend the strikes as successful, both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in recent days have publicly disclosed that 12 of the 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators used in the June 21 strike were dropped on the nuclear facility at Fordo. At the briefing on Thursday, Caine went further, describing that six bunker-buster bombs were dropped down each of the two ventilation shafts with fuses programmed to detonate at specific times. Caine said the Iranians had covered the ventilation shafts with concrete caps, but the first bomb blew off the caps. After that, the next four bombs were programmed to drop more than 1,000 feet per second and "explode in the mission space." The final bomb was designated as a "flex weapon," or backup, he said. "All six weapons at each vent, at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go," Caine said, adding that the result was "a mix of overpressure and blast ripping through the open tunnels and destroying critical hardware." Caine said the fighter pilots who trailed the B-2 bombers said that after the first bomb struck the target "the pilots stated, quote, this was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight." DIA says Fordo damaged, but questions remain on impact to Iran's nuclear program. About a day after the attack, the Defense Intelligence Agency produced an early assessment estimating Iran's nuclear program was set back by "months." According to the two people familiar with the classified report, the bombing sealed off the entrances to two of the three nuclear sites targeted in the attack but that most of the damage was done to structures above ground, leaving the lower structures intact. The assessment also found that at least some enriched uranium remained – possibly moved from the nuclear sites ahead of the blasts. President Donald Trump insists the enriched uranium wasn't moved in advance. Hegseth, visibly angry that details of the report had leaked, said "new intelligence" estimates the Iran program has been knocked back by "years," not months, and he read from the classified assessment to reporters. "It points out that it's not been coordinated with the intelligence community at all," said Hegseth, adding that the report was labeled "low confidence." A couple of dozen service members in their 20s defended a U.S. airbase in Qatar. Two days after the strike, U.S. officials got word that Iran was planning to launch a retaliatory attack on an American air base in Qatar called al-Udeid. According to Caine, officials quickly evacuated the base in part of extend the security perimeter, leaving behind two Patriot missile batteries and some 44 soldiers. Of the troops left to defend the base, the oldest was a 28-year-old captain. Caine said the group listened to "chatter" of the impending attack in the oppressive heat and were told to ensure their missile batteries were pointed north. Iran began launching short- and medium-range missiles, prompting the soldiers to unleash "round after round" of Patriot missiles from their canisters. Caine called the operation the "largest single Patriot engagement in U.S. military history," noting the Qataris aided in the defense.
26-06-2025
- Politics
How the US used its bunker-buster bombs at Iranian nuclear sites
WASHINGTON -- The deep penetrating bombs that the U.S. dropped into two Iranian nuclear facilities were designed specifically for those sites and were the result of more than 15 years of intelligence and weapons design work, the Pentagon's top leaders said Thursday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing that they are confident the weapons struck exactly as planned. Caine, the nation's top military officer, offered new details about the work that went into building the 'bunker-buster' bombs and how the U.S. used them to burrow into the Iranian sites. He sought to show the level of destruction but did not directly address President Donald Trump's assertion that Tehran's nuclear program has been 'obliterated.' The bombs, called the GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, have their roots in a decades-old classified briefing 'of what looked like a major construction project in the mountains of Iran,' Caine said. That turned out to be the Fordo fuel enrichment plant, with construction believed to have started around 2006. It became operational in 2009, the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence. The classified briefing was shown in 2009 to a Defense Threat Reduction Agency officer, who with a colleague 'lived and breathed' Fordo for the next 15 years, studying the geology, construction dig, the earth moved and 'every piece of equipment going in and every piece of equipment going out," Caine said. What they concluded: The U.S. didn't have a bomb that could destroy those sites. So the Pentagon got to work, Caine said. 'We had so many Ph.D.s working on the mock program — doing modeling and simulation — that we were quietly and in a secret way the biggest users of supercomputer hours within the United States of America,' he said. The 30,000-pound bomb is comprised of steel, explosive and a fuse programmed to a specific detonation time. The longer the fuse, the deeper the weapon will penetrate before exploding. Over the years, the military tested and retested it hundreds of times on mock facilities, Caine said. Crews fine-tuned the bombs to detonate in the mock enrichment rooms, delaying detonation until they had reached a position to send a pressure blast through open tunnels to destroy equipment underground. Fordo had two main ventilation routes into the underground facility — and officials carefully eyed these entry points as a way to target the site. Each route had three shafts — a main shaft and a smaller shaft on either side, which looked almost like a pitchfork in graphics provided by the Pentagon. In the days preceding the U.S. attack, Iran placed large concrete slabs on top of both ventilation routes to try to protect them, Caine said. In response, the U.S. crafted an attack plan where six bunker-buster bombs would be used against each ventilation route, using the main shaft as a way down into the enrichment facility. Seven B-2 stealth bombers were used, carrying two of the massive munitions apiece. The first bomb was used to eliminate the concrete slab, Caine said. The next four bombs were dropped down the main shaft and into the complex at a speed of more than 1,000 feet per second before exploding, he said. A sixth bomb was dropped as a backup, in case anything went wrong. In addition to the 12 bombs dropped on Fordo, with six on each ventilation route, two more hit Iran's main Natanz facility, Caine said. Each crew was able to confirm detonation as they saw the bombs drop from the aircraft in front of them: 'We know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function,' Caine said. The pilots reported back that it was the brightest explosion they had ever seen — that it looked like daylight, he said. Caine said the munitions were built, tested and loaded properly, guided to their intended targets and then exploded as designed. 'Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed,' Hegseth said. However, questions remained as to whether the highly enriched uranium that Iran would need to develop a nuclear weapon was at the site at the time. Asked repeatedly, Hegseth did not say if the uranium had been destroyed or moved. 'I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be — moved or otherwise,' Hegseth said.
Boston Globe
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
How the US used its bunker-buster bombs at Iranian nuclear sites
A classified briefing that pushed US work on bunker busters The bombs, called the GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, have their roots in a decades-old classified briefing 'of what looked like a major construction project in the mountains of Iran,' Caine said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up That turned out to be the Fordo fuel enrichment plant, with construction believed to have started around 2006. It became operational in 2009, the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence. Advertisement The classified briefing was shown in 2009 to a Defense Threat Reduction Agency officer, who with a colleague 'lived and breathed' Fordo for the next 15 years, studying the geology, construction dig, the earth moved and 'every piece of equipment going in and every piece of equipment going out,' Caine said. What they concluded: The U.S. didn't have a bomb that could destroy those sites. So the Pentagon got to work, Caine said. Advertisement 'We had so many Ph.D.s working on the mock program — doing modeling and simulation — that we were quietly and in a secret way the biggest users of supercomputer hours within the United States of America,' he said. How the bunker busters are designed The 30,000-pound bomb is comprised of steel, explosive and a fuse programmed to a specific detonation time. The longer the fuse, the deeper the weapon will penetrate before exploding. Over the years, the military tested and retested it hundreds of times on mock facilities, Caine said. Crews fine-tuned the bombs to detonate in the mock enrichment rooms, delaying detonation until they had reached a position to send a pressure blast through open tunnels to destroy equipment underground. How the US said it bombed an Iranian underground nuclear facility Fordo had two main ventilation routes into the underground facility — and officials carefully eyed these entry points as a way to target the site. Each route had three shafts — a main shaft and a smaller shaft on either side, which looked almost like a pitchfork in graphics provided by the Pentagon. In the days preceding the U.S. attack, Iran placed large concrete slabs on top of both ventilation routes to try to protect them, Caine said. In response, the U.S. crafted an attack plan where six bunker-buster bombs would be used against each ventilation route, using the main shaft as a way down into the enrichment facility. Seven B-2 stealth bombers were used, carrying two of the massive munitions apiece. The first bomb was used to eliminate the concrete slab, Caine said. The next four bombs were dropped down the main shaft and into the complex at a speed of more than 1,000 feet per second before exploding, he said. A sixth bomb was dropped as a backup, in case anything went wrong. Advertisement In addition to the 12 bombs dropped on Fordo, with six on each ventilation route, two more hit Iran's main Natanz facility, Caine said. Each crew was able to confirm detonation as they saw the bombs drop from the aircraft in front of them: 'We know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function,' Caine said. The pilots reported back that it was the brightest explosion they had ever seen — that it looked like daylight, he said. Questions remain about the whereabouts of Iran's highly enriched uranium Caine said the munitions were built, tested and loaded properly, guided to their intended targets and then exploded as designed. 'Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed,' Hegseth said. However, questions remained as to whether the highly enriched uranium that Iran would need to develop a nuclear weapon was at the site at the time. Asked repeatedly, Hegseth did not say if the uranium had been destroyed or moved. 'I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be — moved or otherwise,' Hegseth said.
