US military says attacks on Iran nuclear site planned over 15 years ago

The Pentagon disclosed new details about the US operation that struck Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facility at Fordow, describing it as the culmination of 15 years of classified planning and weapons development to overcome one of the most fortified sites in the world.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Operation Midnight Hammer was enabled by breakthrough munitions technology that allowed six precision weapons to penetrate Iran’s underground nuclear mission center, exploiting vulnerabilities in its ventilation shafts.

According to Caine, US intelligence had tracked Iran’s recent efforts to conceal the shafts by pouring concrete caps over them—an attempt thwarted when the first US weapon shattered the barrier. The subsequent strikes, traveling at speeds of 1,000 feet per second, delivered a combination of explosive force and overpressure that “neutralized” the target.

The mission was initiated over a decade ago by an officer from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) who, upon identifying Fordow as a hard target, recognized that the US lacked the weaponry to effectively reach it.

“I spoke to the two DTRA officers who lived this single target for over a decade,” Caine said. “Their hearts were filled with pride to be part of this.”

Following the Fordow strike, Iran retaliated with a barrage of missiles aimed at US and allied targets in the Persian Gulf. At Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, 44 American service members fended off the attack in what Caine called “the single largest Patriot missile engagement in US history.”

“They had two minutes to succeed or fail,” Caine said. “They absolutely crushed it.”