The United States entered Israel’s war against Iran after attacking nuclear facilities with stealth bombers, a guided missile submarine, and an array of support aircraft in a night operation on June 22.
Three nuclear facilities in Iran were the target of the attacks.
A map showing US strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
President Donald Trump announced the military operation in a June 22 night address, stating that Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities were “obliterated” and threatening future attacks if Iran did not “make peace”.
In a separate briefing, General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined the details of the operation, codenamed “Midnight Hammer”. Here’s what we know so far.
How the attacks unfolded on June 22
12am ET (12pm SGT)
B-2 bombers launch from the US
B-2 bombers take off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, with some heading west as a decoy. This is to divert attention from the main strike force, comprising seven bombers heading east to Iran.
Dozens of tanker aircraft provide midair refuelling for the bombers at multiple points over the Atlantic Ocean.
About 5pm ET (5am SGT)
B-2s link up with fighter aircraft that will escort them into Iran
After approximately 18 hours of flying, the B-2s enter airspace controlled by US Central Command, which is responsible for military operations across the Middle East, and link up with fighter aircraft that escort the bombers into Iran.
About 5pm ET (5am SGT)
US submarine attacks Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site
Prior to the strike force entering Iran, a US submarine launches more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles at the Isfahan nuclear site in Iran.
From 6.40pm to 7.05pm ET (6.40am to 7.05am SGT)
Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites attacked
The bombers hit the nuclear sites at Fordow and Natanz. The cruise missiles launched by the US submarine hit Isfahan. Approximately 75 precision-guided munitions are expended during the attacks. They include 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, “bunker busters” designed to hit deeply buried targets.
7.30pm ET (7.30am SGT)
Flight back to the US
The American bombers leave Iranian airspace and begin their flight back to the US.
What weapons were used in the attack
Gen Caine told journalists the strikes involved more than 125 US aircraft, including B-2 bombers, fighters, aerial refuelling tankers, a guided missile submarine and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.
According to US Department of Defence documents, the GBU-57 is a guided, penetrating weapon with the ability to reach and destroy targets in deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels. The warhead case is made from a high performance steel alloy, which allows for a large explosive payload while maintaining integrity during impact.
“This was the largest B-2 operational strike in US history and the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown,” according to Gen Caine.
Subsequent satellite images show the extent of damage caused at the three principal nuclear sites in Iran – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Fordow is Iran’s most important nuclear enrichment facility. It is the country’s most protected nuclear site, built deep inside a mountain to withstand attacks.
Satellite images show that while the facility is not destroyed, it has been badly damaged.
An analysis done by The New York Times revealed that the attacks were at the precise locations where ventilation shafts might be located.
Ventilation shafts “are probably the most vulnerable points of the facility”, said Mr Scott Roecker, a vice-president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to reducing the spread of nuclear weapons.
Source: Maxar Technologies
Natanz is the site of Iran’s largest uranium enrichment centre. It is said to have its underground fuel enrichment plant situated about three floors below ground.
The satellite imagery reveals that the craters from the attacks sit directly above the suspected location of the complex’s underground enrichment halls.
The extent of the damage underground is currently unknown.
Source: Maxar Technologies
The facility at Isfahan is Iran’s largest nuclear research complex. The satellite images reveal that the attacks have damaged several structures aboveground.
Source: Maxar Technologies
The US has been building up military equipment in the area
The US military operates from several facilities near Iran and Israel. Recently, it moved some aircraft and ships from bases seen as vulnerable to potential Iranian attacks.
A map showing bases and facilities the US military operates out of in the Middle East.
Following the air strikes on Iran, protests broke out in multiple countries around the world, with demonstrators rallying against Israel and the US.