2025 United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites

2025 United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
Part of the Twelve-Day War
Fordow
Natanz
Isfahan
2025 United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites (Iran)
Location
Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, Iran
Planned by United States
Commanded byDonald Trump
Anthony J. Cotton
Michael Kurilla
ObjectiveDestruction of Iran's nuclear facilities
DateJune 22, 2025 (2025-06-22)
02:10–02:35 (IRST)
Executed by
OutcomeIranian strikes on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar

Per U.S. officials:

  • All three sites sustained "extremely severe damage and destruction"
  • Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed while Fordow and Isfahan suffered "major damage"
  • Iranian nuclear program set back around two years

Per leaked DIA report

  • Sites damaged but not destroyed.
  • Iranian nuclear program delayed by a few months.

Per Israeli intelligence

  • Sites damaged but Iran's nuclear program has not been destroyed.

Per Iran:

  • Sites endured "significant and serious damages"
  • Sites sustained "quite superficial" damage with no irreversible harm (initial claim)

Per the IAEA:

  • Sites "suffered enormous damage"
CasualtiesNone

On June 22, 2025, the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran as part of the Twelve-Day War, under the code name Operation Midnight Hammer. The Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, the Natanz Nuclear Facility, and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center were targeted with fourteen GBU-57A/B MOP "bunker buster" bombs carried by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarine. According to U.S. president Donald Trump, US F-35 and F-22 fighters also entered Iran's airspace to draw its surface-to-air missiles, but no launches were detected.

The attack was the United States' only offensive action in the Twelve-Day War, which began on June 13 with surprise Israeli strikes, and ended with the ceasefire on June 24, 2025. It was the first U.S. attack on an Iranian target since the 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani, and on Iran's territory since a 1988 naval offensive. President Trump said the strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities; a final bomb damage assessment of the strikes was still ongoing as of August 2025. A July 2025 Pentagon assessment found that Iran's nuclear program was likely set back around 2 years. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that nuclear sites sustained severe damage.

Congressional Republicans largely supported Trump's action, while most Democrats and some Republicans were concerned about the constitutionality of the move, its effects, and Iran's response. World reaction was mixed, as some world leaders welcomed the move to incapacitate Iran's nuclear program while others expressed concern over escalation or otherwise condemned the strikes. Iran responded by attacking a U.S. base in Qatar. The next day Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. On July 2, Iran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).