A surprise US attack on three key Iranian nuclear sites left a number of questions unanswered, including what the potential for a wider escalation in the situation means for the UK
Officials in the US have insisted America “does not seek war” with Iran following a surprise US attack on three key Iranian nuclear sites. Overnight, the US carried out Operation Midnight Hammer, aimed at destroying nuke sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Seven B-2s – America’s flagship aircraft – are said to have flown 37 hours non-stop from Missouri in the sortie. It was the longest B-2 mission since just after the September 11 attacks and officials say more than 75 precision guided missiles were fired.
The US strike on Iran has fuelled fears that Israel’s war with Tehran could escalate to a wider regional conflict. US President Donald Trump had said on Thursday that he would decide within two weeks whether to get involved. In the end, it took just days, and Washington inserted itself into Israel’s campaign with its early attack early on Sunday.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said at a Pentagon news conference on Sunday. He and US Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the mission did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, a veiled effort to indicate to Tehran they do not want retaliation on American targets in the region.
It is not clear if the US will continue to attack Iranian sites along with its ally Israel which is locked in a nine-day war with Iran, but concern over potential escalation in the region remains. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that while the “door to diplomacy” should always be open, “this is not the case right now”.
So just how was the attack carried out? What comes next? And what does this all mean for the UK?
Operation Midnight Hammer
Midnight Hammer was a daring raid designed to outwit Iran’s air defence system, which includes older Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, the $2 billion (£1.5 million) B-2s repeatedly refuelled mid-air to avoid detection. Insiders had earlier suggested the aircraft had been sent to the US air base at Guam – but US officials say it was a ruse to throw the Islamic Republic off the scent.
General Caine revealed more than 125 aircraft were used in the deception operation that saw bombers deployed over the Pacific as a “decoy”. But once the chosen B-2s arrived in Iran, around midnight in the UK, they dropped 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) 30,000lb bombs on the Fordow enrichment plant.
It is the first ever use of the MOP explosives, designed to penetrate up to 200ft of earth or 60ft of reinforced concrete before detonating. It is one of the most powerful conventional bombs in the US arsenal.
At the same time 30 long-range Tomahawk missiles – able to reach distances of up to 2,500 km – were fired from an Ohio-class nuclear powered submarine rained down on the Natanz and Isfahan facilities. Caine said all three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were hit between 11.40pm and 12.05am [GMT].
He said that the Tomahawk missiles were the last to strike at Isfahan to make sure the US kept “the element of surprise”. “It appears that Iran’s surface-to-air missile systems did not see us,” he said, adding that during the mission, the US was not aware of any shots fired at the group as they left.
Caine also noted that this was the “largest B2 operational strike in US history, and the second longest B2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following 9/11.”
No Iranian shots were fired at the bombers during the mission. Iran launched a ballistic missile barrage against Israel in retaliation to the US action.
Fordow has always been the main object of international concerns regarding Iran’s progress on uranium enrichment. Meanwhile the Tomahawk missiles are equipped with high-tech GPS systems, making them capable of flying at low altitudes and navigating complex terrain to avoid detection and reach their target with high precision.
Natanz Nuclear Facility, located about 150 miles south of the nation’s capital Tehran, is considered to be the country’s largest uranium enrichment plant. Intelligence indicates the facility is used to build centrifuges for uranium enrichment, according to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative.
The plant has six above-ground buildings and three underground facilities. Two of those underground buildings can hold 50,000 centrifuges.
The Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center in central Iran is the nation’s largest nuclear research complex. An estimated 3,000 researchers work at the center, which was built in 1984 with Chinese assistance, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Crisis in the Middle East
Sir Keir Starmer has warned of the Middle East spiralling further into a crisis. He said “all necessary measures” had been taken to protect British interests in the region if the conflict escalates.
Speaking at his Chequers country retreat, the PM said there was a “risk of escalation” adding: “That’s a risk to the region. It’s a risk beyond the region, and that’s why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.”
US Vice-President JD Vance said there is US hope for a “reset” and said the “Iranians can go down the path of peace or they can go down the path of this ridiculous brinksmanship of funding terrorism, of trying to build a nuclear weapon, and that’s just not something the United States can accept.”
But there are a number of ways Iran may choose to respond. Mr Araghchi, warned in a post on X that the US attacks “will have everlasting consequences” and that Tehran “reserves all options” to retaliate.
One of the ways it could do this is by using the remaining stock of its missile arsenal. It is believed to have around half of its 3,000 capacity following its exchanges with Israel this month. The US has a number of bases in the Middle East that could be seen as a potential target.
It may also use its Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy to launch so-called ‘swarm attacks’ on US Navy warships. This would involve the use of fast torpedo boats and drones to overwhelm US defences and is something Iran has practiced.
Perhaps a more likely form of response could be through its proxies. Both the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas have condemned the US strikes. The Houthis vowed to support Iran in its fight against “the Zionist and American aggression”.
In a statement on Sunday, the Houthi political bureau called on Muslim nations to join “the Jihad and resistance option as one front against the Zionist-American arrogance”. Hamas and the Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance, the collection of pro-Iranian proxies stretching from Yemen to Lebanon that for years gave Iran considerable power across the region.
Iran may also wait to retaliate, or even choose to engage in further negotiations. Waiting or not retaliating might make the Iranian regime, known for its strict theocracy and repression of its citizens, look weak.
What does this mean for the UK?
A British defence source told the BBC that military personnel are now on high alert. The PM said Britain was not involved in the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites, but that the Government was informed.
Despite this being a mission carried out by the US on its own, the UK remains a key ally in the West. Sir Keir sought to dodge questions about whether the UK could get dragged into the conflict if Iran targeted the bases of the US, a NATO ally.
“I’m not going to speculate about what may happen, because all of my focus is on de-escalation,” he said. Extra RAF Typhoon jets have already been moved to the region and Defence Secretary John Healey said “force protection is at its highest level” following the US strikes.
MI5 counter terrorism officers might also see a boost in their workload as Iran’s sympathisers in the Middle East and individuals in Europe look to retaliate.
The Mirror’s defence editor Chris Hughes suggested the West will “inevitably suffer “terrorist repercussions from the joint Israeli-American attack on Iran” and that “the risk of terrorism has now gone through the roof”.