President of the United States, Donald Trump, swallowed his pre-election promise not to drag America into “stupid wars” when he ordered the military to strike Iran, thereby inserting his country directly into the ongoing Israeli campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.
In what experts consider to be a risky gambit to weaken Iran, a longtime foe, the U.S. military struck three nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday. Seven B-2 bombers, one of them flown by a woman, dropped the powerful bunker-buster bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds, on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Each bomber had two crew members aboard.
The GBU-57 series MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) is a 30,000-pound (13,600 kg), 20.5-foot-long (6.2 m) precision-guided “bunker buster” bomb developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force (USAF). Composed of a BLU-127 bomb body and precision-guided munition kit, the there are several GBU-57 variants and BLU-127 weights.
“Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance,” according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference. He told journalists that America “does not seek war” with Iran and that the operation was not about regime change.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff concurred, disclosing that the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved.
“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.
But Secretary of StateMarco Rubio, has warned against Iranian attacks on countries in the region that host American military forces.
As reported by the Associated Press, AP, the Trump administration, despite Sunday’s attack, has signaled a willingness to renew talks with Iran and avoid a prolonged war.
President Trump, who had addressed the nation from the White House on Saturday night, allowed his national security team to speak for him the next morning, staying quiet on social media and scheduling no public appearances.
Th AP recalled that Israel had, on June 13, 2025, launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran, with Israeli officials declaring that the strikes were necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran has also retaliated with a series of missile and drone strikes in Israel, while Israel has continued to strike sites in Iran.
Regardless of Sunday’s bunker-busting operations by the US military, not everyone in America is happy about what they thought was Trump’s disregard for the United States Constitution which requires the President to seek congress approval before going to war with any nation.
Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginian democrat chided the Trump administration for not notifying Congress before the attacks.
“The United States should not be in an offensive war against Iran without a vote of Congress,” Kaine said. “The Constitution is completely clear on it. And I am so disappointed that the president has acted so prematurely.”
Kaine said he would force a floor vote in the Senate this week on a resolution that would require a vote ahead of military action against Iran.
“This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump’s urging, without any compelling national security interests for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress,” he added.
