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News.com.au

2 hours ago

• News.com.au

US strikes on Iran: what we know

The United States has carried out strikes that caused "extremely severe damage" to three of Iran's nuclear facilities, the top US military officer, General Dan Caine, said on Sunday. President Donald Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path to replace the nuclear deal with Tehran that he tore up during his first term in 2018. But he ultimately decided to take military action against Iran's nuclear program, which had already been bombarded in a more than week-long Israeli campaign that has also targeted Tehran's top military brass. Below, AFP examines what we know about the US strikes on Iran -- an operation dubbed "Midnight Hammer." - Major operation - Caine told journalists the strikes involved more than 125 US aircraft including B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, fighters, aerial refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. "This mission demonstrates the unmatched reach, coordination and capability of the United States military," the general said. "No other military in the world could have done this." Caine said it was "too early" to comment on what remains of Iran's nuclear program, but that "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." - B-2 bombers - The US employed seven B-2s in the strikes -- aircraft that can fly 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 kilometers) without refueling and which are designed to "penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most valued, and heavily defended, targets," according to the US military. "This was the largest B-2 operational strike in US history and the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown," according to Caine. Several B-2s proceeded west over the Pacific as a decoy while the bombers that would take part in the strikes headed east -- a "deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders," the general said. "Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us. Throughout the mission, we retained the element of surprise," Caine said. The United States used the B-2 in operations against Serbian forces in the 1990s, flying non-stop from Missouri to Kosovo and back, and the bombers were subsequently employed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in the 2000s. - Massive Ordnance Penetrator - Caine said the B-2s dropped 14 bombs known as the GBU-57 or Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- a powerful 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) bunker-busting weapon that made its combat debut in the Iran operation. The bombs -- which are designed to penetrate up to 200 feet (60 meters) underground before exploding -- were needed to hit deeply buried Iranian nuclear facilities. Testing of the weapons began in 2004 and Boeing was in 2009 awarded a contract to complete the integration of GBU-57 with aircraft. - Tomahawk cruise missiles - In addition to the bombers, a US guided missile submarine in the Middle East launched more than two dozen missiles at unspecified "surface infrastructure targets" at Isfahan, one of three nuclear sites struck in the operation, Caine said. The missiles are "designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds, and are piloted over an evasive route by several mission tailored guidance systems" and were first used in 1991 against Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm, according to the US military. - Aim of the strikes - US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told journalists the strikes were launched to "neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defense of our troops and our allies." "This mission was not, has not been, about regime change," Hegseth told journalists. A number of key figures in Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement have vocally opposed US strikes on Iran, and his promise to extract the United States from its "forever wars" in the Middle East played a role in his 2016 and 2024 election wins. - What comes next? - Trump has called on Iran to "agree to end this war," saying that "now is the time for peace." But it remains to be seen whether the strikes will push Tehran to deescalate the conflict, or to widen it further. If Iran chooses the latter option, it could do so by targeting American military personnel who are stationed around the Middle East, or seek to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of global oil output.

ABC News

3 hours ago

• ABC News

How the US struck Iran's nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer

When America's B-2 bombers took off from a military base in Missouri and some of them made their way towards the Pacific, flight tracking enthusiasts had noted that was unusual and it would turn out to be intentionally so. The United States had launched a B-2 bomber "strike package" but to maintain tactical surprise, some of the aircraft very visibly proceeded West and into the Pacific "as a decoy". "The main strike package, comprised of seven B-2 spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area," General Dan Caine said at a Pentagon briefing on Sunday morning, local time. Any movement of those B-2 aircraft would have been closely watched because these are the war machines capable of delivering the so-called "bunker busting bombs" that Israel has been wanting deployed in its war against Iran. Each bomber can carry two "massive ordinance penetrators" bombs in its weapons bay and as the group of B-2s broke east towards Iran they were fully loaded. After taking off at midnight on Saturday, local time, the B-2s were joined by an escort "support package" 17 hours later, and from there it was just less than two hours until they would be over their targets. "The aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuelling. Once overland, the B-2 linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex tightly timed manoeuvrer requiring exact synchronisation ... in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications," General Caine said. At the same time, a US submarine in the region "launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets", he said. "As the Operation Midnight Hammer strike package entered Iranian airspace, the US employed several deception tactics, including decoys, as the [escort] aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface to air missile threats." By early Saturday evening Washington time, the B-2s and their escorts crossed into Iranian airspace. We now know the specific targets for this mission were the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites. The decoys were set, the three components of American military had come together and were now making their way to their targets to drop the massive payload on the facilities the US and Israel believe are critical to Iran's nuclear potential. At approximately 6:40pm, Washington time, the lead B-2 dropped two massive ordnance penetrator (MOPs) weapons on the first target, which was the Fordow nuclear facility. "The remaining bombers then hit their targets as well, with a total of 14 MOPs dropped against two nuclear target areas. All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6:40pm and 7:05pm Eastern Time," General Caine said. "The Tomahawk missiles being the last to strike ... to ensure we retain the element of surprise throughout the operation." Once the bombs had been released, the aircraft left Iranian airspace and the "package began its return home". General Caine called the decoy move a "deception effort" and said it was only known to an "extremely small number of planners and key leaders" in Washington and Tampa, Florida where the US Central Command is based. US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said the targets were obliterated, but are yet to provide evidence of the extent of the damage. General Caine was more measured, saying damage assessments would take some time, but that: "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." Inside Iran, state media initially downplayed the damage, saying they had prepared for the attack, but it is also hard to verify those claims. General Caine said throughout the mission, the US retained the element of surprise. "Iran's fighters did not fly and it appears that Iran's surface to air missile systems did not see us," he said. The president of the United States had spent the week seemingly racing towards a decision on whether to strike inside Iran, only then to issue a single-line statement via his press secretary that he would give himself two weeks to make the decision. In the end, he took two days. And from details released on Sunday, local time, at the Pentagon, it appears that the US plan to send its finest war machines to bomb a former ally was very much ready, just waiting to be put in motion. Mr Hegseth said: "This mission was not and has not been about regime change." "The president authorised a precision operation to neutralise the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defence of our troops," he said. '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." ABC

Sydney Morning Herald

4 hours ago

• Sydney Morning Herald

How Iran could hit back after US strike

The US military has a presence at no fewer than 20 bases in the Middle East and the surrounding regions. The majority of these would be within the 2000-kilometre range of Iran's Sejil-2 ballistic missile. American bases in Iraq and Syria would be likely to be first on the hit list, with Tehran then turning its attention to outposts in Arab countries. Any attempt to strike US military facilities in the Middle East is likely to be less effective than the ballistic missile attack on two US bases in Iraq in January 2020 to avenge the assassination of Qassem Soleimani ordered by Trump at the end of his first term. Although the attacks on the two American bases caused no fatalities, partly because Iran had issued a warning, 110 servicemen suffered concussions and other brain injuries because of the force of the impact. So great was the extent of the damage that it may have deterred Trump from retaliating. Washington also has two hulking aircraft carriers, with a third en route, deployed to the Middle East, which would be considered prime targets for Iranian missiles. Targets Israel has proven just how hard ballistic missiles, which are fired up high into the Earth's atmosphere before travelling to the ground at supersonic speeds, can be to intercept, even with what is considered one of the most sophisticated air defence systems in the world. The US military possesses at least two tried and tested surface-to-air systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles – Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, known as THAAD. Loading And they've slowly been redeploying these systems from Asia to the Middle East for months amid mounting tensions between its ally, Israel, and Iran and its Islamist proxies. America's bases in Iraq – Erbil and Ain al‑Asad air bases – have Patriot batteries positioned, which have been used to fend off militant attacks. American commanders also ordered Patriots to be removed from South Korea and placed at Isa Air Base, Bahrain, and Al Udeid Air Base in recent months. Capacity Of course, mass barrages of ballistic missiles can confuse and overwhelm these systems, as witnessed in both Israel and Ukraine. US servicemen and women will, however, be quietly confident that the Israel Defence Force has significantly reduced Iran's capacity to launch hundreds of missiles at once. Iranian salvos have drastically shrunk in size in recent days. What started as 100-projectile blitzes aimed at Israel has been reduced to just dozens of missiles being fired off at any one time. Iran's production capacity has been significantly eroded, with Israel striking various elements of the supply chain in recent days. Loading Fabian Hoffmann, a missile expert, said: 'Iran is heavily constricted in the missile domain. 'The likelihood that Iran can cause a large amount of damage is very, very slim. 'It could also be counterproductive because if you strike American infrastructure, there will be an even greater cost because you risk the Americans getting involved and really getting involved. So I think that's also a huge political consideration.' Proxies Iran's network of regional proxies was always considered its first line of defence. Hezbollah and Hamas were responsible for keeping Israel's military occupied and unable to strike at the Islamic Republic. The Yemen-based Houthi rebels also distracted the West by targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Militants armed by Iran have been responsible for deadly attacks on the US base in Iraq, using one-way attack drones. It's most likely that the Houthi rebels will once again resume targeting American shipping containers travelling through the Red Sea. The militants had briefly paused attacks on American ships after Trump ramped up strikes on the group. In Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah could likely carry out its threat to 'act directly against its [US] interests and bases across the region'. But Israel's decimation of these proxy groups – chiefly Hamas and Hezbollah – in the past year is one saving grace that will comfort the Americans. 'The fact that virtually the only missiles and drones that are launched against Israel right now are coming from Iran is striking,' said Dmitri Alperovitch, chair of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank in Washington. Strait of Hormuz Tucked between the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf's western flank lies one of Tehran's most powerful weapons against the West. Nothing hurts a government more than the price of oil, and this narrow stretch of water between Oman and Iran is vital in the global supply. The Islamic Republic has the means to effectively shut down access to the strait, crippling shipping through the region because there are no alternative routes. The threat of its closure is perhaps why the USS Nimitz, one of America's largest aircraft carriers, is being moved into the region. Iran could quite easily close the strait by mining it, repositioning mobile ballistic missile launchers, and using maritime drones. It employed similar tactics during the so-called Tanker Wars of the 1980s – although it never fully succeeded, largely due to UK Royal Navy and later US Navy efforts to escort commercial vessels through the Gulf. This, US officials fear, would keep American naval warships in the Persian Gulf. 'Mine clearance is one of the US Navy's few weaknesses,' Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy officer, wrote in The Telegraph this week. For Tehran, closing the strait is one of the most likely ways of bringing the US into the conflict. Trump was happy to expend billions of dollars in strikes against Houthi rebels, the Iranian-backed militia, when they attempted to snarl up Western shipping through the Red Sea. The US president is acutely aware of global oil prices, and with a fifth of global petroleum shipped through Hormuz, any blockages would be likely to lead to him sanctioning some strikes to restore shipping. The other fact that makes this option particularly nuclear for Tehran is that China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, uses the strait for shipping its purchases. This hasn't stopped Iran from meddling with shipping through GPS navigation interference. Two tankers collided and caught fire on the narrow stretch of water after allegedly being impacted by the disruption. US officials have claimed the GPS meddling originated from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, located just north of the strait. Some analysts believe Iran is unlikely to carry out such threats, fearing it would provoke Arab states into the conflict and complete Tehran's global isolation. Oil fields If the Iranian regime believed it faced an existential crisis or the irreversible destruction of its nuclear program, it could play what analysts describe as its 'last big card' by also attacking energy infrastructure in the Gulf. The world got a glimpse of what could be to come in 2019 when drone and missile strikes hit the Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility – but both the US and Saudi governments accused Iran of orchestrating the attacks. Loading The attacks temporarily knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production, triggering a sharp spike in global energy prices. Abqaiq, which processes 7 million barrels of crude a day – more than two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's production capacity – would almost certainly be a prime target if Iran followed through on its threats. Other potential targets include oil and LNG terminals in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as oil tankers moving through the region's waters. In May 2019, limpet mines damaged three tankers and a bunkering ship off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE. No one claimed responsibility, but Western officials suspected Iranian frogmen were behind the attacks. Cyber Over the years, Iran and its regional proxies have claimed responsibility for numerous cyberattacks against Israel. They include destroying data, phishing campaigns and information operations. Given the threat poses a danger to both civilian and military worlds, the US government has been appealing for information on Iranian hackers responsible for targeting critical infrastructure. A $US10 million ($15.5 million) reward was posted for details on a group, known as CyberAv3ngers, who US officials have linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.