Trump says damage to Iran's nuclear sites is 'far below ground level'

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters the mission was a “complex and high-risk mission” that was known to only a few people and relied on decoys to protect the integrity of the mission.

The B2 bombers deployed shortly after midnight on what would become the longest flight involving the B2 fleet since 2001, Caine said. A total of 14 bunker buster bombs known as MOPS were dropped, with the first two dropped at 2 a.m.

The attack also involved a U.S. submarine that launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles surface targets, according to Caine.

“This was a complex and high risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force," he said.

Iran did not deploy fighters or surface to air missiles during the mission, Caine said: “Throughout the mission, we maintained the element of surprise."

It was also the first use of the massive ordnance penetrator, or MOP, which had only been used in a testing role, according to Caine.

“This is a plan that took months and weeks of positioning and preparation so that we could be ready when the President of the United States called,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a briefing from the Pentagon.

“It took a great deal of precision. It involved misdirection and the highest of operational security. B-2s went in and out of downtown Tehran -- not Tehran, excuse me -- up these nuclear sites in and out and back without the world knowing at all,“ said Hegseth.

“In that way, it was historic, the strike that included the longest B-2 Spirit bomber mission since 2001. And the first operational employment of the MOP a massive ordinance penetrator mission demonstrated to the world the level of joint and allied integration that speak to the strength of our alliance and our joint forces," said Hegseth.

"As President Trump has stated, the United States does not seek war. But let me be clear, we will act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners, or our interests are threatened," Hegseth also said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is briefing reporters on the U.S. strike on Iran, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, declaring that “we’ve devastated the Iranian nuclear program” and that Iran’s nuclear program has been “obliterated.”

Hegseth called the military strike “bold and brilliant.”

“When this president speaks, the world should listen,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Oman all expressed concern over the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry published a statement noting its "great concern" and expressing the need "to exert all efforts to exercise restraint, de-escalate and avoid escalation" in such "highly sensitive circumstances."

Qatar's Foreign Ministry warned "that the current dangerous tension in the region could lead to catastrophic consequences at both the regional and international levels," while noting its "grave concern" and stressing "the urgent need to halt all military operations and to immediately return to dialogue and diplomatic channels to resolve outstanding issues."

Oman -- which has in the past served as a mediator in talks between Washington and Tehran -- described the American strikes as "illegal aggression" and a "serious violation of international law" in a Foreign Ministry statement posted to X.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, meanwhile, said there was a "grave risk posed by attacks targeting religious leaders or nuclear facilities" in Iran, per a readout published on the Foreign Ministry's website.

"Such actions could spark widespread chaos and destabilize the entire region," the readout said, adding that "any strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could lead to a humanitarian and environmental disaster."