It has been fewer than 24 hours since Operation Midnight Hammer focused American air might on Iran’s three major nuclear enrichment sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. When he spoke to the nation last night, President Trump proclaimed the three sites to be “totally obliterated,” but time will tell on that front.
Meanwhile, Iran’s response so far has been limited to 30 missiles sent into Tel Aviv and Haifa, Israel. No lives were lost, but many were injured.
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What Iran ultimately plans in response to the U.S. strike has yet to unfold. The Iranian Parliament (right, a real democratic body) has already voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, but Israel and the U.S. — if it so chooses — can put a stop to that fairly quickly.
While the future unfolds, I need to correct some errors I made in last night’s hurried post. Most significantly, Israel was not a joint partner in the sense of dropping bombs, but coordinated the attack by keeping its planes out of the way of the U.S. onslaught.
At a press conference at the Pentagon today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth joined Air Force General Dan “Raisiin'” Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in discussing what is being called Operation Midnight Hammer. It turns out that 14, not 6, bunker busters were employed, along with a fleet of 125 aircraft.
Hegseth emphasized that the U.S. is not at war with Iran and that Iran should now join in realistic negotiations with the U.S. to end its nuclear bomb program, “but let me be clear, we will act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners or our interests are threatened.”
“This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force,” said General Caine.
“This operation was designed to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure. It was planned and executed across multiple domains and theaters with coordination that reflects our ability to project power globally with speed and precision at the time and place of our nation’s choosing.”
Typically, Demofiends in Congress condemned the attack with some calling for Trump’s impeachment. European leaders almost universally called for a cessation to hostilities and a return to the bargaining table.
Iran so far appears to want none of that scenario and is still threatening the U.S. and Israel with horrible consequences.
What else is new?
[Pictured: General Dan “Raisin'” Caine speaks to reporters on the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear sites]