
US deploys B-2 stealth bombers capable of firing bunker buster bombs needed to target Iran nuke reactor to military base
THE US has deployed B-2 stealth bombers - the warplanes capable of firing the deadly bunker buster bombs needed to target Iran's nuclear reactor.
Donald Trump is all but poised to join Israel's campaign of bombing Iran as they both seek to obliterate Tehran's nuclear program – but currently has a two week deadline in place.
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Six B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri seem to be heading towards a US Air Force base in Guam, according to various flight tracking data, Fox News reports.
The B-2 are the only bombers capable of carrying the terrifying Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
At the heart of its nuclear program is the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is encased in steel more than 300 feet beneath solid rock - and has so far escaped serious damage.
Israel's arsenal lacks huge bunker buster bombs needed to destroy the underground enrichment facility - some 125 miles from capital Tehran.
Only America currently has the fearsome GBU-57 bombs capable of blitzing Fordow - and only the B-2 can deliver them.
Multiple strikes would still be needed to reach the fortified underground laboratories of Fordow, packed with centrifuge technology at the heart of Iran's Doomsday programme.
The 20-foot-long monster bomb can explode to obliterate enemy targets that are often hidden beneath mountains and massive layers of rocks.
Its 30,000lb weight means that its sheer kinetic force enables it to reach deeply buried targets – almost 200ft beneath the surface.
It comes after Israel announced it had killed the Iranian military commander who funded the October 7 attacks which detonated the Middle East crisis in a revenge air strike.
Evil terror kingpin Saeed Izadi - head of the Palestinian Division of Iran's Quds Force - was blown to bits in a pinpoint attack in the Iranian city of Qom.
Israel Defence Force said Izadi was 'one of the architects' of the horror in which 1,200 died and 250 were kidnapped 'and among the few who knew of it prior to its execution.'
Izadi was said to be a top money man in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who sent state cash Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Israeli military later said that it killed another commander of the Guards' overseas arm identified as Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle in western Tehran.
Shariyary was said to be "was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East".
The ongoing cull of top Iranian commanders - and their replacements - gathered pace along with another assassination of a top nuclear boffins.
IDF officials refused to identify the scientist said to play a vital role in the rogue Islamist regime's plans to build an atom bomb.
He was killed by a missile fired from a drone after being moved to a 'safe house' - which Israeli intelligence located overnight.
His death is the 11th assassination of a nuclear scientist in the past nine days in a special Israeli manhunt dubbed Operation Narnia.

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The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hegseth claims US ‘obliterated' Iranian nuclear sites despite lack of assessment
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, on Sunday repeated claims by Donald Trump that US strikes had completely destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities and its ability to acquire nuclear weapons even as the Pentagon acknowledged it was too early to provide a full damage assessment. At a news conference, Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, said the strikes, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, devastated the Iranian nuclear program. The remarks from Hegseth in particular amounted to repeated praise for Trump and the operation that targeted the nuclear enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow, the key facility buried deep underground, and a third site at Esfahan where Iran was seen to store enriched uranium. 'It was an incredible and overwhelming success. The order we received from our commander in chief was focused,' Hegseth said wearing a blue suit and US flag motif pocket square in the Pentagon briefing room, the first time he has appeared there since becoming the secretary. 'Thanks to President Trump's bold and visionary leadership and his commitment to peace through strength, Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated,' Hegseth said. 'The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant.' According to Caine, who was seen in pictures released by the White House to have been in the Situation Room as the operation unfolded, the bombing raid involved a two-part strike package of B-2 bombers and fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets launching from the US. The operation started around midnight on Friday, when the main contingent of bombers departed from the Whiteman air force base in Missouri and flew towards Iran, while another contingent flew in the opposite direction over the Pacific Ocean as a decoy effort. The main contingent involved seven B-2 bombers flying for 18 nonstop hours into Iranian airspace, refueling multiple times in the air, while unidentified fighter jets swept ahead of the group for possible Iranian fighter jets and surface-to-air missile threats over the nuclear sites. Caine said the Pentagon was not aware of any shots fired at the bombers as they flew into Iran and dropped the first of 14 so-called 'bunker buster' bombs, technically known as GBU-57s on the Fordow enrichment facility under the cover of darkness around 2.10am local time. After the bombers dropped the GBU-57s on Fordow and Natanz, Caine said, a navy submarine fired a series of Tomahawk missiles at the Esfahan site, as the aircraft turned around to fly back to the US. 'We are unaware of any shots fired at the Package on the way out. 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 added. The actual extent of the damage in particular to Fordow, the site Trump has been most focused on destroying because of its hard-to-reach nature, was not immediately clear. Neither Hegseth nor Caine provided details beyond their initial assessment that it had been 'obliterated'. Following Trump's remarks in a televised address from the White House on Saturday night that the US could launch more attacks on Iran unless they started peace talks, Hegseth said the administration was in contact with the country's leadership through public and private channels. 'They understand precisely what the American position is, precisely what steps they can take to allow for peace – and we hope they do so,' Hegseth told reporters. 'I think Tehran is certainly calculating the reality that planes flew from the middle of America and Missouri overnight, completely undetected over three of their most highly sensitive sites,' Hegseth added. 'We believe that will have a clear psychological impact on how they view the future.' Hegseth also said at the news conference that congressional leaders were notified about the strikes after the bombers left Iranian airspace – a decision that is sure to draw criticism from Democrats that Trump engaged in a conflict without the authorization of Congress.


Wales Online
43 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Iran update as it declares it has struck back against US bombing action
Iran update as it declares it has struck back against US bombing action The nation has been bombed by American B-2 stealth bombers that US President Donald Trump said had 'obliterated' their targets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in January 2025 (Photo) (Image: Getty/ 2025 Contributor#8523328 ) Iran has announced it has retaliated against US military strikes on three of its nuclear facilities. The eyes of the world had been waiting to see how Iran might respond after the bombings by B-2 stealth bombers. Nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan were targeted by the Trump administration overnight. The US President said the sites had been completely 'obliterated' - although subsequent US statements have not gone this far. There has been intense speculation Iran might target US military sites in the Middle East or take other measures such as shutting off the vital shipping route the Strait of Hormuz. Reports from Reuters and elswhere this afternoon suggest action in the strait remains under discussion. But as USA warned Iran of the risks of retaliating, Iran announced that it had actually already responded. The Financial Times reports that Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said 'powerful strikes' on Israel on Sunday morning were actually retaliation for the US activity. 'The attacks were in fact a response to the US aggressive policies, because the Zionist regime basically lacks the capacity and courage to stage attacks on the Islamic republic by itself,' Pezeshkian said at a cabinet meeting. 'The US attacks on our nuclear installations clearly showed that it was the main driver behind the Zionist regime's hostile actions against the Islamic republic." An Iranian strike hit a residential neighbourhood in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning. At least 16 people were reportedly injured. Article continues below Israel announced on Sunday that it had closed its airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the US attacks. What has US military said about the US strikes on Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan? In new media briefings within the last hour, America said it 'does not seek war' with Iran. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth made the claim in the aftermath of the US attack. The mission, called Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Mr Hegseth and US Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference on Sunday. Article continues below Mr Hegseth said it is important to note the US strikes did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people. The words might be seen as a veiled effort to indicate to Tehran they do not want retaliation on American targets in the region. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Mr Hegseth added. Mr Caine said the aim of the operation – destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan – had been achieved. US President Donald Trump earlier claimed the facilities had been 'completely and fully obliterated'. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Mr Caine said.


The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US defence secretary says strikes on Iran nuclear sites were 'overwhelming success'
Pete Hegseth said overnight airstrikes targeting the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities 'devastated' Iran's nuclear programme. At a press conference at the Pentagon, he said the strikes, which followed a 'focused, powerful and clear' order from the US president, Donald Trump, did not target Iranian troops or civilians