---
title: "Operation Midnight Hammer: US strikes and damage assessments"
description: "On June 21–22, 2025, US forces attacked Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan using B-2 bombers, 14 GBU-57 penetrators and Tomahawk missiles. US officials reported severe damage, while the IAEA could not independently inspect the sites afterward."
url: "https://hasbara.co.il/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/joint-strike-neutralizes-iran-s-hardened-nuclear-facilities"
type: "resource-page"
locale: "en"
categories: ["The 12-Day War: US-Israel Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Sites 2025"]
---

# Operation Midnight Hammer: US strikes and damage assessments

*On June 21–22, 2025, US forces attacked Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan using B-2 bombers, 14 GBU-57 penetrators and Tomahawk missiles. US officials reported severe damage, while the IAEA could not independently inspect the sites afterward.*

The United States carried out Operation Midnight Hammer on June 21–22, 2025, striking Iran’s Fordow and Natanz enrichment facilities and nuclear-related sites at Isfahan. The Pentagon said seven B-2 bombers dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Fordow and Natanz, while a US submarine fired Tomahawk missiles at surface infrastructure at Isfahan. These were US strikes, separate from Israel’s Operation Rising Lion.

## What the US says it struck

The Pentagon’s June 22 briefing said the strike package used about 75 precision-guided weapons in total. Fourteen 30,000-pound GBU-57 bombs were used against two nuclear target areas; Tomahawks struck targets at Isfahan. The US described the operation as targeting three sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Its [official briefing](https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4222543/secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-gen/) provides the aircraft, munition and timing details.

The attack occurred at 2:10 a.m. Iran time on June 22, following the June 13 start of Israel’s campaign. Fordow is an underground enrichment plant; Natanz includes enrichment facilities, and Isfahan houses nuclear-related infrastructure.

## What damage officials reported

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine said initial US battle-damage assessments indicated all three sites sustained “extremely severe damage and destruction.” The US report gives no count of centrifuges destroyed and does not say that all nuclear material was eliminated.

The IAEA said it had no access to the facilities after attacks began on June 13, aside from the Bushehr nuclear power plant. It later reported using satellite imagery and open sources to monitor developments. The agency also said it had lost continuity of knowledge of Iran’s current nuclear-material inventories. See the [IAEA’s post-strike safeguards report](https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/documents/gov2025-50.pdf).

## How the US and Israeli operations differed

Israel’s June 13 operation targeted Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure over 12 days. The US intervention came later and employed B-2 bombers and GBU-57 penetrators. US officials said the aim was to destroy or severely degrade Iran’s nuclear program. Israel and the United States conducted separate operations during the same crisis. See [Israel’s campaign timeline](https://hasbara.co.il/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/operation-rising-lion-inside-israel-s-air-campaign) and [the IAEA finding that preceded it](https://hasbara.co.il/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/iran-s-2025-nuclear-escalation-and-the-iaea-resolution).

## Pages

- [Iran’s nuclear program and the June 2025 IAEA finding](/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/iran-s-2025-nuclear-escalation-and-the-iaea-resolution.md)
- [Operation Rising Lion: Israel’s air campaign and command strikes](/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/operation-rising-lion-inside-israel-s-air-campaign.md)
- [Mossad operations and the targeting of Iran’s nuclear scientists](/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/operation-narnia-decapitating-iran-s-nuclear-brain-trust.md)
- [Cyberattacks on Bank Sepah and Nobitex](/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/cyber-warfare-targeting-bank-sepah-and-nobitex-exchange.md)
- [Iranian missile attacks, Israel’s defenses and civilian protection](/resources/the-12-day-war-us-israel-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-2025/iranian-missile-assaults-and-israel-s-civil-defense-shield.md)

## Sources

- [defense.gov](https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4222543/secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-gen/)
- [iaea.org](https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/documents/gov2025-50.pdf)