Battle of Tora Bora Nov. 30 Dec. 17, 2001

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the 2001 battle. For the 2017 battle, see Battle of Tora Bora (2017).
Battle of Tora Bora
Part of the invasion of Afghanistan

Location of Tora Bora in Afghanistan,
34°07;N 70°13;E
Date November 30 – December 17, 2001[2]
Location
Pachir Wa Agam District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Result
US-led coalition victory[3][4][5]

Beginning of the Taliban insurgency
Osama bin Laden escaped
Tora Bora stronghold destroyed
 
Belligerents
 Islamic State of Afghanistan
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Germany
 Al-Qaeda
 Taliban

055 Brigade[1]
 Turkistan Islamic Party
 Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Commanders and leaders
 Bismillah Khan
 Hazrat Ali
 Abdul Zahir Qadir
 Mohammed Zaman
 Tommy Franks
 Dalton Fury[4]
 Gary Berntsen
 Michael Boyce
 Reinhard G;nzel Osama bin Laden
 Ayman al-Zawahiri[6]
 Abdul Latif Nasir (POW) (alleged)[7]
 Mullah Omar
 Hasan Mahsum
 Sufi Muhammad
Strength
2,500 Afghan Eastern Shura fighters[8]
70 U.S. 1st SFOD-D members
10 CIA SAD officers
10 5th Special Forces Group members
52 Special Boat Service members
10 Secret Intelligence Service agents[9]
Kommando Spezialkr;fte
other coalition forces (aircraft) ~1,500–2,000[8]
Casualties and losses
Afghan Militias: Unknown
Coalition: None[10] 220 killed, 60 captured[11]
vte
Afghan conflict
vte
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, from November 30 – December 17, 2001, during the final stages of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was launched by the United States and its allies with the objective to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant organization al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden were suspected of being responsible for the September 11 attacks three months prior. Tora Bora (Pashto: ;;;; ;;;;; Black Cave) is located in the Sp;n Ghar mountain range near the Khyber Pass. The U.S. stated that al-Qaeda had its headquarters there and that it was bin Laden's location at the time.

Background
In Operation Cyclone during the early 1980s, CIA officers had assisted the mujahideen fighters in extending and shoring up the caves to use for resistance during the Soviet–Afghan War.[8] The U.S. then supported their effort. Several years later, the Taliban formed and took control of most of the country, enforcing Islamic fundamentalist rule. Several cave areas were used in much earlier periods, as the difficult terrain formed a natural defensive position and had been used by tribal warriors fighting foreign invaders.

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom to dismantle the Taliban regime that had sheltered Osama bin Laden. To achieve this goal, the U.S. military joined forces with the Northern Alliance, a group of rebels who had long been waging a guerrilla war against the Taliban. Through a combination of air strikes and ground operations, the U.S. and its allies quickly gained the upper hand, seizing control of key Taliban strongholds and toppling the regime's grip on power. By November 13, 2001, the Northern Alliance had captured the capital city of Kabul.

The CIA was closely tracking Osama bin Laden's movements, hoping to locate and catch him. On November 10, 2001, he had been spotted near Jalalabad traveling in a convoy of 200 pick-up trucks heading in the direction of his training camp in Tora Bora mountain.[12] The U.S. had expected bin Laden to make a last stand at Tora Bora, hoping to repeat his success against the Soviets in the Battle of Jaji in 1987. Vice President Dick Cheney revealed in a November 29, 2001 television interview that bin Laden was believed to be in the general area of Tora Bora, surrounded by a sizable force of loyal fighters.[4] The CIA lead in the Panjshir, Gary Berntsen, sent a detachment to team up with Afghan tribal militias around Jalalabad who opposed the Taliban.[12] The Americans climbed the mountains guided by the locals who knew the terrain. After a few days of climbing, they arrived at the training camp in Tora Bora where hundreds of Al-Qaeda fighters could be spotted.[13]

Battle

U.S. air strikes on Tora Bora, November or December 2001
At the end of 2001, Al-Qaeda fighters were still holding out in the mountains of the Tora Bora region. Aerial bombardment ensued, including the use of large bombs known as daisy cutters.[14]

Twelve British SBS commandos, and one British Royal Signals Specialist from 63 Signals squadron (now known as 18 [UKSF] Signal Regiment), accompanied the U.S. special operations forces in attacking the cave complex at Tora Bora. Special Forces Operators of the German KSK took part in the battle as well. They were reportedly responsible for protecting the flanks in the mountains and conducting reconnaissance missions.[15]

On November 30, 2001, a coalition of U.S. Special Forces, Joint Special Operations Command soldiers, and a detachment of CIA operatives codenamed "Jawbreaker" led by Gary Berntsen, joined forces with Afghan tribal militias, and began to call in airstrikes on the Al-Qaeda training camp.[16][17]

On December 1, Berntsen made a request to general Tommy Franks to send in a battalion of 800 United States Army Rangers. The plan was to block off the mountain passes into Pakistan and cut off Osama bin Laden's escape, however, the request was denied by Franks.[2][18] Berntsen would later say that the failure to deploy the Rangers at Tora Bora and overreliance on the Afghan militias had allowed bin Laden to escape.[19]

On December 3, Hazrat Ali, one of the Afghan commanders, announced that the push to capture the mountain stronghold would begin. However, Hazarat Ali's failure to properly communicate the plan of attack to the other commanders resulted in many fighters being ill-prepared at the outset of the offensive.[8] On December 5, the Afghan fighters wrested control of the low ground below the mountain caves from the Al-Qaeda fighters. The Jawbreaker team and Special Forces teams equipped with laser designators called in Air Force bombers to take out targets; non-stop heavy air strikes including laser-guided bombs and missiles lasted for 72 hours.[20]

The tribal militias that the U.S. coalition was coordinating with lacked the motivation to engage in the fight wholeheartedly. To them, Al-Qaeda was a group of fellow Muslims, and with the battle taking place during Ramadan, the fighters would retire every evening to break their fast and spend time with their families off the mountain.[2] Moreover, the two Afghan commanders, Hazrat Ali and Mohammed Zaman, had a strong dislike and mutual distrust of each other. As a result, their factions often shot at each other instead of focusing on fighting Al-Qaeda. The animosity between the leaders and their respective militias was not a favorable sign for a successful outcome against a determined and cohesive enemy.[21]

The Al-Qaeda fighters withdrew to higher fortified positions and dug in for the battle. On December 8, a team of elite Delta Force soldiers led by Major Tom Greer, aka Dalton Fury, arrived.[22] They had put on traditional clothing and grown bushy beards to blend in with the Afghan militias, and were carrying the same types of weapons as their local counterparts.[4]

The Americans were able to pick up a radio from a dead Al-Qaeda fighter. This allowed the U.S. forces to eavesdrop on the Al-Qaeda fighter's communications, including Osama bin Laden himself. Greer has said that there was "no doubt" that it was bin Laden's voice on the other end of that radio, citing a CIA operative named Jalal, who had spent seven years studying bin Laden's voice, confirming it.[4]

Two British SBS Commandos from M Sqn were embedded with A Sqn Delta, one of whom continued to work for JSOC, albeit in a different capacity. During the hours of darkness, the Al-Qaeda fighters would light fires, which would reveal their specific location and aid laser-designated targeting for air-launched weapons.

The Afghan fighters continued a steady advance through the difficult terrain, backed by airstrikes and U.S. and British Special Forces.

The U.S. bombed the bunker that bin Laden was believed to be hiding in on December 9, however, he had already evacuated the bunker on the previous day. Journalist Peter Bergen says that bin Laden had a premonition of danger when he dreamed of a scorpion crawling into one of the trenches his men had dug for him.[23]

On December 10, Delta Force intercepted radio communications indicating that bin Laden was on the move, attempting to break through the siege line. Later that day, Afghan soldiers claimed they had spotted bin Laden and had him surrounded. In the evening, more communications revealed bin Laden's location just 10 kilometers away. However, Delta Force couldn't act on this opportunity due to being engaged in a fierce firefight with other Al-Qaeda fighters and their Afghan allies leaving to break their fast and observe Ramadan. Thomas Greer later expressed deep regret the failure to capitalize on this opportunity, feeling that he had let down his country in its time of need.[24]

On December 12, Al-Qaeda forces, facing defeat, negotiated a truce with a local Afghan militia commander to give them time to surrender their weapons. In retrospect, however, some critics believe that the truce was a device to allow important Al-Qaeda figures, including Osama bin Laden, to escape.[25]

...a severe and fierce bombardment began...not one second passed without warplanes hovering over our heads...[America] exhausted all efforts to blow up and annihilate this tiny spot – wiping it out altogether...Despite all this, we blocked their daily attacks, sending them back defeated, bearing their dead and wounded. And not once did American forces dare storm our position, what clearer proof of their cowardice, fear, and lies concerning the myth of their alleged power is there?!

Osama bin Laden, 2002[26]
Gary Berntsen was furious when he heard the news of the ceasefire. He didn't trust the Al-Qaeda fighters and was suspicious of their intentions to surrender. He grabbed his phone and screamed, "No cease-fire! No negotiation! We continue airstrikes!".[27] Thomas Greer has accounted that the Americans were only half-heartedly honoring the truce, even bombing Al-Qaeda positions at 5 AM, a full three hours before it was set to expire. One American pilot protested the proposed surrender by drawing a giant "8" in the sky, followed by the word "ON".[28]

On December 13, the fighting flared again, possibly initiated by a rear guard buying time for the main force's escape through the White Mountains into the tribal areas of Pakistan. Tribal forces backed by U.S. special operations troops and air support pressed ahead against fortified al-Qaeda positions in caves and bunkers scattered throughout the mountainous region.

The U.S. focus increased on the Tora Bora. Local tribal militias, paid and organized by Special Forces and CIA SAD paramilitary, numbering over 2,000 strong, continued to mass for an attack as the heavy bombing continued on suspected Al-Qaeda positions.[29] However, progress was painfully slow due to the Afghans retreating every night to break their fast, leaving only a small number of U.S. special forces to fend for themselves and allowing Al-Qaeda to regain control of all the terrain that had been gained during the day. On December 14, the Americans finally convinced Hazrat Ali to keep his men in position and continue advancing even after dark. But at this point, too much time had already been wasted, allowing most of the Al-Qaeda leadership to escape into Pakistan.[30]

Bin Laden is conventionally believed to have escaped Tora Bora on December 15. As the situation became increasingly precarious due to continued U.S. bombardment and with the Al-Qaeda fighters running low on food supplies, two groups of Al-Qaeda fighters descended the southern slopes toward Pakistan. They bribed local tribes in the area to elude Pakistani blocking forces. Historian Carter Malkasian has hinted that bin Laden may have escaped with one of these two groups.[31]

Peter Bergen's account states that bin Laden had already escaped towards Jalalabad on December 12 during the truce that had been negotiated that day. Bergen says that bin Laden took advantage of the truce that night and used the cover of the darkness to sneak out of the mountain range and make his way to the house of an ally in Jalalabad, where he spent the night. The next day, he rode north on horseback to the heavily forested mountains of Kunar, where he disappeared into a place so remote and obscure that it didn't appear on any maps.[32]

Another theory presented by Sean Naylor involves outside assistance. According to Naylor, a Delta operator observed multiple Mi-17 helicopters, which are used by the Pakistani armed forces, flying near the border at the Agam pass. The helicopters seemed to be making a quick landing in Afghanistan and then immediately returning to Pakistan. This observation led some Delta members to speculate that Pakistan might have been transporting bin Laden to safety.[33]

The failure to capture bin Laden at Tora Bora meant that the U.S. had squandered its best opportunity to capture the Al-Qaeda leader during the first year of the War on Terror.[10]

By December 17, 2001, the last cave complex had been taken and their defenders overrun.[34] Some of the most brutal fighting of the battle took place during these last couple of days as the most dedicated Al-Qaeda fighters remained in the caves to cover the retreat of their leadership.[35] The around 60 captured Al-Qaeda prisoners were put on display for the international media. These prisoners appeared worn out and thin, far from the image of the formidable warriors that many had presumed them to be.[36] U.S. forces continued searching the area into January, but did not find any signs of bin Laden or the Al-Qaeda leadership. Former CIA officer Gary Berntsen led the CIA team tasked with locating bin Laden.[37] He said that al-Qaeda detainees had reported that bin Laden escaped into Pakistan via an easterly route to Parachinar. Berntsen believed that bin Laden could have been captured during the battle if the U.S. military had committed more troops early in the battle.[38]

Ranger deployment
CIA intelligence had indicated that bin Laden and the al-Qaeda leadership were trapped in the caves early in the battle, and Berntsen had wanted to send less than 1,000 American Army Rangers to eliminate them, which he believed would have ended the War on Terror very quickly. However, the request was turned down by the Bush administration, which had argued that the Pakistanis would capture bin Laden if he attempted to flee into Pakistan.[39]

Former CIA agent Gary Schroen has agreed with Berntsen's opinion in a 2005 interview, in which he cited the opportunity to take out bin Laden and the senior Al-Qaeda leadership early on in the conflict by deploying the Rangers.[40] Historian Carter Malkasian, a former adviser to American military commanders in Afghanistan, has argued that bin Laden always had a good chance of escaping the caves and that the Rangers would not have been able to completely seal off the mountain range.[10]

Bin Laden's whereabouts
After the failure to capture Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora, the Bush administration initially denied any evidence of his presence in the battle. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld argued that the threat posed by Islamist extremism went beyond one individual, and there was no certainty about bin Laden's presence. Vice President Dick Cheney avoided addressing the matter entirely, choosing to never mention or talk about the battle's occurrence.[41]

On January 7, 2002, General Tommy Franks, who was the general commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan at the time, told the Associated Press that bin Laden had been at Tora Bora.[42] However, he later backpedaled on this comment, writing in an October 2004 opinion article in The New York Times:

We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Some intelligence sources said he was; others indicated he was in Pakistan at the time ... Tora Bora was teeming with Taliban and Qaeda operatives ... but Mr. bin Laden was never within our grasp.[4]

According to Lieutenant General Michael Delong, Franks's deputy at CENTCOM at the time, officials in Washington were well aware of bin Laden's presence at Tora Bora during the battle. He later wrote in his memoir:

We were hot on Osama bin Laden’s trail. He was definitely there when we hit [the Tora Bora] caves. Every day during the bombing, Rumsfeld asked me, ‘Did we get him? Did we get him?’[42]

During the 2004 presidential election, the question of whether Osama bin Laden was present at Tora Bora became a highly debated issue. John Kerry, the Democratic contender, criticized the Bush administration, accusing them of failing to capture bin Laden despite having him cornered in the caves and with the world's most powerful military at their disposal. This criticism sparked a strong reaction from the Bush campaign, as it challenged the president's claim of being tough on terrorism. Dick Cheney vehemently dismissed Kerry's critique of the Tora Bora campaign as "absolute garbage."[42]

In the spring of 2005, the Pentagon released a document to The Associated Press. The document admitted that Pentagon investigators believed that bin Laden had indeed escaped at Tora Bora. This was the first time such information had been made public.[43]

Many enemy fighters fled through the rough terrain and into tribal areas of Pakistan to the south and east. Allied forces estimated that around 200 of the al-Qaeda fighters were killed during the battle, along with an unknown number of anti-Taliban tribal fighters. No coalition deaths were reported. Bin Laden would not be seen until 2004, when a video of him surfaced on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network.[4]

In 2009, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations led an investigation into the Battle of Tora Bora. They concluded that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks had not committed enough troops during the battle to secure the area around Tora Bora. They believed that Osama bin Laden had likely been at Tora Bora and his escape prolonged the war in Afghanistan.[4]

Delta Force commander's account

The first US team to enter the Tora Bora mountain range
The former Delta Force officer Thomas Greer,[44] using the pen name "Dalton Fury", who was the ground force commander at Tora Bora, wrote that bin Laden escaped into Pakistan on or around December 16, 2001. Fury gives three reasons for why he believes bin Laden was able to escape: (1) the US mistakenly thought that Pakistan was effectively guarding the border area, (2) NATO allies refused to allow the use of air-dropped GATOR mines, which might have kept bin Laden and his forces inside the Tora Bora area, and (3) over-reliance on native Afghan military forces as the main force deployed against bin Laden and his fighters. Fury theorized that, because the battle took place over the holy religious month of Ramadan, the Afghan forces would leave the battlefield in the evenings to break fast, giving al-Qaeda a chance to regroup, reposition, or escape.[45]

In an October 2008 interview on 60 Minutes, Fury said that his Delta Force team and CIA Paramilitary Officers traveled to Tora Bora after the CIA had identified bin Laden's location. Fury's team proposed an operation to attack bin Laden's suspected position from the rear, over the 14,000 foot-high mountain separating Tora Bora from Pakistan. He said unidentified officials at higher headquarters rejected his proposal. Fury suggested dropping GATOR mines in the passes leading away from Tora Bora, but this was also denied. Fury and his team approached the suspected position from the front and were within 2,000 meters, but withdrew because of uncertainty over the number of al-Qaeda fighters and a lack of support from allied Afghan troops.[46]


Delta force operators wearing Afghan garb.
A short time later, the Afghan military forces declared a ceasefire with al-Qaeda. In his 2008 book, Kill bin Laden, Fury described the following. His team planned to advance again on the al-Qaeda forces, but after the cease-fire, Afghan soldiers drew their weapons on the US soldiers. After 12 hours of negotiations, the Afghans stood down, but bin Laden and his bodyguards had left. Fury reports that his team intercepted and interpreted radio calls by bin Laden in the afternoon of December 13, 2001. He said to his fighters, "the time is now, arm your women and children against the infidel." Then, after a few hours of bombing, bin Laden broke radio silence again, saying: "Our prayers were not answered. Times are dire and bad. We did not get support from the apostate nations who call themselves our Muslim brothers. Things might have been different." Fury said that bin Laden's final words to his fighters that night were "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this battle if you can no longer resist, you may surrender with my blessing."[47]

During his interview on 60 Minutes to discuss his book, Fury said that his team saw a group whom they believed to be bin Laden and his bodyguards entering a cave. The team called down several bombing attacks on the site, and believed that they had killed bin Laden. Six months later, US and Canadian forces returned and checked several caves in the area, finding remains of al-Qaeda fighters, but not of bin Laden. Fury thought that bin Laden was injured during the bombing of the cave, but was hidden, given medical care, and assisted out of the area into Pakistan by allied local Afghans.[46]

Guantanamo captives' accounts of the battle
U.S. authorities have justified the continued detention of several dozen Afghan Guantanamo captives by the suspicion they had participated in the battle of Tora Bora, had been present during the battle, or had passed through the area of the battle before or after it concluded, or helped Osama bin Laden to escape.[48]

In September 2007, Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi, a Yemeni medical doctor held as an enemy combatant by the United States, was reported to have described the conditions during the battle:[49]

"Most of all the total guns in the Tora Bora area was 16 Kalashnikovs and there are 200 people."[49] He also said, "He [Osama bin Laden] came for a day to visit the area and we talked to him and we wanted to leave this area. He said he didn't know where to go himself and the second day he escaped and was gone."[49]

Aftermath

British and American special forces soldiers and officers wore native Shalwar kameez dress to find Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora, 2001.
Following Tora Bora, UK and U.S. forces and their Afghan allies consolidated their position in the country. The Taliban and al-Qaeda forces did not give up and went into hiding. A Loya jirga or grand council of major Afghan factions, tribal leaders, and former exiles, an interim Afghan government, was established in Kabul under Hamid Karzai. Mullah Saifur Rehman, a Taliban fugitive in Paktia province, began rebuilding some of his militia forces in support of the anti-US fighters. They totaled over 1,000 by the beginning of Operation Anaconda in March 2002. The insurgents planned to use the region as a base for launching guerrilla attacks and possibly a major offensive in the style of the mujahedin during the 1980s.[50]

U.S. forces established their main base at Bagram Air Base just north of Kabul. They used Kandahar International Airport as an important base for accepting and distributing supplies and personnel. Several outposts were established in eastern provinces to hunt for Taliban and Al-Qaeda fugitives. The number of U.S. troops operating in the country would eventually grow to more than 10,000 as efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda were increased.

In 2009, a U.S. Senate report concluded that the failure to capture bin Laden "[laid] the foundation for today's protracted Afghan insurgency and inflaming the internal strife now endangering Pakistan."[51] Al-Qaeda forces began regrouping in the Shahi-Kot mountains of Paktia Province throughout January and February 2002.


CIA team deputy chief (right) meeting with Afghan mercenaries in Tora Bora, 2001
In December 2009, New Republic published Peter Bergen's "The Battle for Tora Bora"[52] In his critique of the battle, Bergen reconstructed the U.S. allies engagement at Tora Bora. He said that General Tommy Franks, then U.S. Army chief, refused to deploy 800 Army Rangers from nearby bases to assault the complex of caves where bin Laden was supposedly hiding. Bergen characterized this as "one of the greatest military blunders in recent US history".[52] Bergen says that the US failure to capture bin Laden at the time provided energy to the Taliban. It regrouped and became stronger after U.S. officials diverted forces for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and war there.

U.S. intelligence agencies continued to track bin Laden. On May 2, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, who was living in a compound in the city of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. He was killed by a US Navy SEAL raid on the urban compound.

Tora Bora "fortress"
Tora Bora refers to a fortress-like section of Spin Ghar, which is also known as the White Mountains.[4] In the 1980s, this area was a key battleground for the Mujahideen fighters in their resistance against the Soviet-backed communist regime. Osama bin Laden, being the son of a wealthy Saudi construction tycoon, used his resources to fund and build tunnel complexes in the mountains during the Soviet–Afghan War. He also attracted scores of foreign Islamist fighters to Afghanistan, transforming the local resistance into a global Jihad.[53]

During an interview with the New York Times, Masood Farivar, a former Mujahideen fighter who had fought in Tora Bora during the war with the Soviets, explained the significance of the caves:

"They're rugged, formidable and isolated, If you know them, you can come and go with ease. But if you don't, they're a labyrinth that you can't penetrate. They rise in some places to 14,000 feet, and for 10 years the Soviets pummeled them with everything they had, but to absolutely no avail. Another reason they're so important is their proximity to the border and to Pakistan"[8]

After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, Osama bin Laden left Afghanistan. However, he returned in 1996 with his wives and children after being expelled from Sudan. Once back in Afghanistan, he began expanding his fortress and building base camps at higher elevations. Bin Laden took the time to intimately familiarize himself with the area, hiking for long periods with his sons and committing the geography to memory.[4]

Tora Bora has been variously described by the Western media as an impregnable cave fortress housing 2000 men complete with a hospital, a hydroelectric power plant, offices, a hotel, arms and ammunition stores, roads large enough to drive a tank into, and elaborate tunnel and ventilation systems.[54] Both the British and American press has published elaborate plans of the base. When presented with such plans in an NBC interview on Meet the Press, Donald Rumsfeld, the US Secretary of Defense, said, "This is serious business, there's not one of those, there are many of those".[55][56][57]

When Tora Bora was eventually captured by the U.S., British and Afghan troops, no traces of the supposed 'fortress' were found despite painstaking searches in the surrounding areas. Tora Bora turned out to be a system of small natural caves housing, at most, 200 fighters. While arms and ammunition stores were found, and while Soviet tanks had been driven into some of the caves,[58] there were no traces of the advanced facilities claimed to exist.[57][59]

In an interview published by the Public Broadcasting Service, a Staff Sergeant from the U.S. Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 572, who had been in the Battle of Tora Bora described the caves:

"Again, with the caves, they weren't these crazy mazes or labyrinths of caves that they described. Most of them were natural caves. Some were supported with some pieces of wood maybe about the size of a 10-foot by 24-foot room, at the largest. They weren't real big. I know they made a spectacle out of that, and how are we going to be able to get into them? We worried about that too, because we see all these reports. Then it turns out, when you actually go up there, there's really just small bunkers, and a lot of different ammo storage is up there."[60]

Journalist Matthew Forney, covering the battle, described being allowed access to see "rough bunkers" deep in the mountains, which he considered "remarkable."

"After my eyes adjusted I saw a chamber of about eight square feet and high enough for a tall man to stand in. The floor was dirt and rubble, but there were signs of habitation. It contained two empty white boxes decorated with palm trees and the words, "Sherjah Dates." Scattered on the floor were a few green metal boxes of ammunition with Russian writing on them, and a canister about the size of an unexploded cluster bomb but the wrong color — red instead of yellow. Another cave next to it was about the same size and filled with ammunition, mostly bullets for Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades. Another nearby was much bigger and also filled with ammunition. Its cavern sloped up and back and seemed to lead to a passage, but nobody ventured in."[61]

See also
War in Afghanistan (1978–present)
British Special Forces
CIA's Special Activities Division
Operation Anaconda
Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
U.S. Army's Delta Force
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Battle of Baghuz Fawqani — The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's last stand in Syria
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 Bergen, Peter (December 30, 2009). "The Account of How We Nearly Caught Osama bin Laden in 2001". The New Republic.
 Krause, Peter John Paul. The Last Good Chance: A Reassessment of U.S. Operations at Tora Bora. Security Studies, Volume 17, p. 644-684, 2008.
 Wright, Donald P.; Dempsey, Martin E. (July 2010). "A Different Kind of War: The United States Army in Operation Enduring Freedom, October 2001 - September 2005" (PDF). Combat Studies Institute Press, US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016.
 Malkasian 2021, pp. 77–78.
 Bergen 2021, pp. 175–176.
 Naylor, Sean (October 11, 2016). Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command (Reprint ed.). St. Martin's Griffin. p. 185. ISBN 978-1-250-10547-9.
 Cordesman, Anthony H. The Lessons of Afghanistan: War Fighting, Intelligence, and Force Transformation. Washington, D.C.: CSIS Press, 2002.
 Wright, Donald P.; Dempsey, Martin E. (July 2010). "A Different Kind of War: The United States Army in Operation Enduring Freedom, October 2001 - September 2005" (PDF). Combat Studies Institute Press, US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016.
 Bergen, Peter L. (June 28, 2011). The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda (Reprint ed.). Free Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7432-7894-2.
 Gary Berntsen, Jawbreaker (2005), p. 99
 Berntsen, Gary; Pezzullo, Ralph (December 27, 2005). Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander. Crown. pp. 314–315.
 Michael Hirsh (April 30, 2019). "'Let's Kill This Baby in the Crib'". Foreign Policy. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
 Gary Schroen; James Carville; Mary Matalin (May 8, 2005). "Transcript for May 8, 2005". Meet the Press. MSNBC. Archived from the original on May 10, 2005.
 Bergen 2021, p. 178.
 Bergen, Peter L. (June 28, 2011). The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda (Reprint ed.). Free Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7432-7894-2.
 Mike Mount, "U.S. document suggests bin Laden escaped at Tora Bora", CNN, 24 March 2005
 Shinkman, Paul. "Thomas Greer, aka 'Dalton Fury,' Elite Commando-Turned Author Dies". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
 Lynch, Stephen, "The Most Dangerous Game: What went wrong in the hunt for bin Laden Archived December 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine", New York Post, October 5, 2008, p. 34
 Efran, Shawn (producer), "Army Officer Recalls Hunt For Bin Laden", 60 Minutes, CBS News, October 5, 2008
 Fury, Dalton. Kill bin Laden, p. 233, 2008.
 Burke, Jason. Guant;namo Bay files rewrite the story of Osama bin Laden's Tora Bora escape. The Guardian, 25 April 2011.
 "Yemeni describes bloody siege on Al Qaida". Gulf News. September 8, 2007. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
 Laura King. Fighting erupts in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains between NATO, insurgent forces Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2010.
 "Senate Report Explores 2001 Escape by bin Laden From Afghan Mountains", The New York Times, November 28, 2009
 Bergen, Peter (December 22, 2009). "The Battle for Tora Bora: The Definitive Account of How Osama Bin Laden Slipped From Our Grasp | New Republic". The New Republic. Tnr.com. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
 Feifer, Gregory (January 6, 2009). The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan (Reprint ed.). HarperCollins e-books. p. 132.
 Steve Rose. "The hunt for bin Laden – Tora Bora". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
 Adam Curtis (Director) (October 20 – November 3, 2004). The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (TV documentary). BBC Two. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
 Steve Rose (May 4, 2011). "Why did Osama bin Laden build such a drab HQ?". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
 Edward Jay Epstein (December 11, 2001). "The Lair of bin Laden". Retrieved September 8, 2011.
 Barzilai, Yaniv; Riedel, Bruce (January 31, 2014). 102 Days of War: How Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda & the Taliban Survived 2001 (Illustrated ed.). Potomac Books Inc. p. 92.
 Matthew Forney (December 11, 2001). "Inside the Tora Bora Caves". Time. Archived from the original on December 14, 2001. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
 "Campaign Against Terror: Interview: U.S. Special Forces ODA 572". PBS. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
 Forney, Matthew (December 11, 2001). "Inside the Tora Bora Caves". Time magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
Bibliography
Bergen, Peter L. (August 3, 2021). The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden: The Biography. Simon & Schuster.
Malkasian, Carter (June 15, 2021). The American War in Afghanistan: A History (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.
Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tora Bora in the War in Afghanistan (2001-2014).
Jawbreaker: The attack on bin Laden and al-Qaeda, Gary Berntsen, Three Rivers Press ISBN 0-307-35106-8, Published December 24, 2006 (paperback).
Online map and picture The Washington Post. December 10, 2008.
The Long Hunt for Osama Peter Bergen, The Atlantic Monthly. Oct. 2004
Tora Bora John Bowman, CBC News Online. Dec. 2001
The Tora Bora Fortress Myth? Edward Epstein, The Times. November 29, 2001
Lost at Tora Bora Mary Anne Weaver, The New York Times. September 11, 2005
How bin Laden got away Phillip Smucker, The Christian Science Monitor. March 4, 2002
Michael R. Gordon (December 23, 2001). "A NATION CHALLENGED: SURVIVORS; On Tora Bora, Horror Rained On Al Qaeda". New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
Bergen, Peter (December 30, 2009). "The Battle for Tora Bora". The New Republic. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
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***
United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Midnight Hammer
Part of the Iran–Israel war
United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites is located in IranFordowFordowNatanzNatanzIsfahanIsfahan
United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites (Iran)
Location Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, Iran
Planned by United States
Commanded by Donald Trump
Anthony J. Cotton
Michael Kurilla
Objective Destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities
Date June 22, 2025
02:10–02:35 (IRST)[1]
Executed by
 United States Air Force
 United States Navy
Outcome 2025 Iranian strikes on Al Udeid Air Base
Per US:

All three sites sustained "extremely severe damage and destruction"[2]
Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed while Fordow and Isfahan suffered "major damage"[3]
Per US intel assessment:

The US military strikes did not destroy some of the core components of Iran’s nuclear program, including the centrifuges and the stockpile of enriched uranium.[4][5][6][7]
Per Iran:

Sites sustained "quite superficial" damage with no irreversible harm[8][9]
Casualties 0, per Iran[10]
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On June 22, 2025,[a] the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran as part of the Iran–Israel war. The Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, the Natanz Nuclear Facility, and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center were targeted with fourteen GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) "bunker buster" bombs carried by Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and with Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarine.[1][12] The attack, which was given the codename Operation Midnight Hammer, was the United States's first offensive action in the Iran–Israel war, which began on June 13 with surprise Israeli strikes.[13][14]

U.S. president Donald Trump said the strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities; however, bomb damage assessment of the strikes is still ongoing, and a preliminary U.S. intelligence report suggested damage was more limited. 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.[1] World reaction was mixed, as some world leaders welcomed the move to incapacitate Iran's nuclear program while others expressed concern over escalation or condemned the strikes. Iran responded by attacking a U.S. base in Qatar. The next day Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the U.S., ending the conflict.[6]

Background
Main articles: Nuclear program of Iran, Iran–Israel war, Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present), and Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
Iran nuclear program and American relations
Four years after the U.S. and other Western nations helped engineer the 1953 Iranian coup d';tat against Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi[15] and the Eisenhower administration agreed to help develop the Iranian nuclear program, part of the U.S. effort to promote the peaceful pursuit of nuclear science through the "Atoms for Peace" program. In 1968, Iran signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. With profits made from the 1973 oil crisis, Pahlavi decided to increase Iran's civil nuclear program and dispatched Iranian students to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to learn nuclear engineering.[15][16] With U.S. endorsement, Pahlavi began a plan to build 23 nuclear power plants, which would enable Iran to supply electricity to neighboring countries, become a leader in the region, and become a modern state.[17] When then-secretary of state Henry Kissinger attempted to limit Iran's ability to weaponize the nuclear reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel into fissile material through safeguards, Pahlavi handed nuclear-construction contracts to Germany and France.[16]

In 1979, the Iranian Revolution overthrew Pahlavi.[15] After the Iran-Iraq war concluded in 1988, Iran's Islamic leaders launched a nuclear program to produce electricity for its burgeoning population, and to serve as a deterrent.[16][17]

In 2015, Iran, the United States (under Barack Obama), and other countries negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to manage Iran's nuclear program to function at a limited level for 15 years, in return for removal of economic international sanctions against Iran.[17][18]

In 2018, Trump—who has maintained since at least 2011 that Iran should not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons[19]—unilaterally broke the agreement by withdrawing the United States from the JCPOA, costing Iran the negotiated sanction relief, while implementing even more sanctions that effectively cut off (JCPOA-facilitated) European trade with Iran.[17] Trump's government said that the JCPOA was not preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. At the time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran was still in compliance with the agreement.[18]

On February 4, 2025, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington, D.C. and reportedly reminded Trump that Iran had planned to assassinate him. Netanyahu gave a detailed slide deck presentation showing how Iran was increasing its uranium stockpile and advancing its centrifuge technology, which Netanyahu said showed Iran was approaching beyond nuclear latency. Trump wanted to attempt diplomacy and his team decided on a 60-day outline to settle on an agreement.[20] On May 31, 2025, the IAEA reported that Iran had sharply increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, just below weapons-grade, reaching over 408 kilograms (899 lb), a nearly 50% rise since February. The agency warned that this amount is enough for multiple nuclear weapons if further enriched.[21] Iran said that it increased its uranium enrichment to levels beyond what is required for civilian use as a response to the 2018 American withdrawal from JCPOA.[17] The IAEA reported that Iran was not meeting its obligations per its 2019 agreement by hiding its development of nuclear material, and the IAEA voted to censure Iran on June 12.[18][20] Iran responded to the IAEA censure by declaring it would create a new uranium-enrichment facility at an unknown location. It has consistently claimed that it is developing nuclear energy and not nuclear weapons.[18] Before Israel attacked Iran in June, the Israelis had given the US information that it thought concerning. The U.S. intelligence agencies were not convinced the information actually showed Iran was getting closer to crossing the nuclear threshold.[22]

One of the major Iranian nuclear sites is Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, estimated to be 80 to 90 meters underground. Because of its deep location, the United States military officials had proposed the use of GBU-57A/B MOP "bunker buster" bombs, which can only be carried by a B-2 bomber, to destroy Fordow (the United States is the only nation to possess either of these capabilities). There was extended debate about whether the bunker buster bombs would actually be able to destroy Fordow.[23][24]

Multiple advisors to Trump, including Steve Bannon and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, warned against war with Iran and have claimed the intelligence community does not consider Iran to be building a nuclear weapon.[25] After Trump called Gabbard "wrong" and said he "did not care what she said," Gabbard changed her position and said Iran could have a nuclear weapon "within months".[26] Trump also said in response to these comments that, "my intelligence community is wrong."[27]

Israeli involvement
Israel has never signed the NPT.[28] It is the only non-NPT government to have signed the CTBT.[29] Israel, widely believed to possess nuclear weapons,[30] has consistently viewed the potential for regional powers to acquire nuclear weapons as an existential threat. It has repeatedly undertaken both covert and overt actions to prevent such developments, and has likely been involved in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.[31][32] The conflict between Iran and Israel has been intensifying since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, as Hamas is partially funded by Iran.[33] Historically, the U.S. has supported Israel in the Middle East, and particularly has financed Israel's military through United States Foreign Military Financing as well as supporting Israel's military actions.[34] Vox said that Israel's goal seems to be a regime change in Iran, rather than a simple targeting of their nuclear program, and that Trump has placed military support behind these goals.[35]

Congressional resolutions
In the week before the bombings, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced a resolution in the Senate stating that Trump could not use the U.S. military against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress, through either a declaration of war or an authorization for use of military force. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced a parallel resolution, the War Powers Resolution, in the House of Representatives. The House resolution had several dozen Democratic co-sponsors.[36]

Opinion polling
Many right-wing politicians and commentators in the United States, including Rand Paul and Tucker Carlson, have criticized Trump's support for Israeli strikes against Iran,[37] and the possible involvement of the United States in the war.[38] A June 2025 poll of Trump voters found 53% said the U.S. should not get involved in the Iran–Israel conflict.[39] A separate June 2025 poll by The Washington Post found 45% of respondents opposed the U.S. military launching airstrikes against Iran, and a further 30% were unsure; 25% supported a military response.[40]

Preparation

GBU-57 MOP of the type used in the operation
ABC News reported that the American and Israeli militaries had conducted a practice run of this attack during a training exercise in mid-2024 during the Biden administration.[41] In March 2025, the Israeli and US Air Forces ran a joint exercise which The Times of Israel reported was "seen as a warning message to Tehran" amidst speculation of a possible strike.[42] In the weeks leading up to June 22, the U.S. evacuated its citizens, issued travel warnings, and withdrew non-essential personnel from its embassies.[43] On June 16 it was reported that the US was moving forces east over the Atlantic Ocean, including at least 31 air tankers to Europe, an unusually large number.[44] Also on June 16, Iranian facilities interfered with the ship position reporting, causing a nuisance to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.[45]

On June 16 and 17, Trump made several posts hinting at something "much bigger" than a peace deal coming.[46] On June 17, Trump called on Iran to unconditionally surrender. U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio told U.S. allies over recent days that Washington would prefer to see a diplomatic solution,[47] and Trump had sent U.S. officials to Tehran in support of a nuclear deal.[48] On June 19, Trump issued a statement via White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, saying, "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks."[25] According to sources, on the same day, Israeli officials including Netanyahu, Israel Katz and Eyal Zamir called the Trump administration, saying that they could not wait two weeks; they thought they only had a small opportunity window. The phone call also included JD Vance, who pushed back against the Israelis citing concerns about direct US involvement and being pulled into war; Pete Hegseth was also on the call.[49] According to The Jerusalem Post, it took Netanyahu and Ron Dermer a week to convince Trump to bomb Iran with Trump and Netanyahu speaking almost daily. According to the sources, Trump and senior US officials had been impressed by Israel's achievements. Trump had only planned to bomb Fordow, but Netanyahu and Dermer convinced him to attack the other sites as well.[50]

In the days before the attack, Iran increased its oil exports, fearing a US attack on its oil facilities.[51] Iran claimed that nuclear material had already been evacuated from Fordow and Natanz, and moved elsewhere.[52]

On June 21, the United States deployed B-2 stealth bombers to Guam.[53] U.S. bases in the Middle East entered a state of highest alert and improved air defense, as Iran threatened to strike any country assisting Israel. Most of the U.S. military aircraft parked on the tarmac at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar were no longer visible by June 19, suggesting they might have been evacuated in case of Iranian retaliation.[54] The Houthis also declared their readiness to fight.[55] In response, the United States warned of a devastating retaliation should American interests be threatened.[56]

Axios reported that the top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence panels were not given advance notice of the attack while the top Republicans were, though that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was given a "perfunctory notice shortly before".[57]

Strikes
See also: List of attacks during the Iran–Israel war

Timeline of Operation Midnight Hammer
B-2 Spirit bombers departing and returning to Whiteman Air Force Base during Operation Midnight Hammer
On June 22, the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,[58] in an operation called "Midnight Hammer". Seven B-2 bombers of the 509th Bomb Wing flew non-stop from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Six B-2s dropped twelve GBU-57A/B MOP bombs on the Fordow facility, and the seventh B-2 dropped two MOPs on Natanz.[59][1][60][41][61][excessive citations] A submarine also fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan sites.[62] U.S. officials did not name the submarine, but the USS Georgia (SSGN-729) had been in the region since September 2024.[59] Natanz and Fordow were hit about 2:30 a.m. local time (23:00 the previous day UTC).[1][11]

Conventional bombs cannot damage the Fordow site, which is fortified and about 260 feet (79 m) deep inside a mountain. The 12 bombs were dropped sequentially on two ventilation shafts at Fordow to penetrate deeply into the mountain.[63]

The "bunker buster" MOP bombs had never been used in combat before.[1][64] They are so heavy that they can only be delivered by B-2 bombers, which only the United States possesses.[65] The B-2s flew continuously for roughly 37 hours during the mission—takeoff, strikes, and return trip—being refueled several times mid-air.[13] The B-2s were preceded by fourth- and fifth-generation American fighter aircraft to draw any surface-to-air defensive fire. No such defensive fire was detected; this was attributed to its destruction by previous Israeli attacks.[66] Because U.S. planners feared that Trump's social media posts from June 16 and 17 might have tipped off Iranian defenders, some B-2 planes flew a decoy mission westward from the United States over the Pacific Ocean.[66][46] In total, 125 aircraft were involved, including refueling and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft.[66]

Satellite images of the Fordow site taken after the strikes showed two clusters of apparent bomb entry points, as well as grey-blue ash covering the area.[67][68] Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine stated that the Iranian nuclear sites had sustained "severe damage" from the strikes,[13] but said that damage assessment would take time.[69] The early conclusion of US and Israeli officials was that the Fordow plant had been severely damaged, but not destroyed.[70] An early analysis suggests that the strikes did not achieve their stated goal.[71]

On June 25, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier acknowledged that the U.S. strikes had caused significant damage to the country's nuclear facilities.[72][73] US Intelligence proposed reports that Iran nuclear program has been set back only in few months later after the US strikes, which Donald Trump says that it did not "completely and fully obliterated", according to two people familiar with the early assessment. Reports issued by Defense Intelligence Agency at Monday, contradicts statements from Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran nuclear facilities. According to the people, reports found as of Sunday strikes on Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites, which "did significant damage", although facilities weren't totally destroyed.[74][better source needed] The White House had rejected DIA assessments, calling it as "flat-out wrong". The White House was even pushing against US media reports back. The US media reports suggests that Iran nuclear facilities that was struck by the US-led bombings does only causing damages, delaying Tehran nuclear capabilities by a matter of months.[75][74] Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in her X post "New intelligence confirms". President Trump has stated forward:[74]

"Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do."

Aftermath
Trump administration statements
Trump addresses the nation
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine conduct a press briefing at the Pentagon, June 22, 2025
Following the strikes, Trump wrote on Truth Social:[76]

We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.[77]

Trump gave a short televised address at 10 p.m. EDT on June 21, in which he claimed that Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated".[78][12] During his statement, which was about four minutes long,[1][79] he further called the strikes a "spectacular military success", confirmed the earlier reporting, and warned of more attacks if Iran did not seek peace.[80] He concluded by saying "God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel, and God bless America."[79]

Immediately after the statement, Trump posted on Truth Social in all caps saying that "Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight."[81]

The next morning, the Department of Defense gave a longer briefing where Hegseth and Caine outlined further details of the operation.[82]

In interviews the next day, Vance and Rubio both stated that regime change was not a goal of the operation,[83] as did Hegseth in a news briefing.[84] A few hours later, Trump suggested that regime change might be good for Iran.[83] Later, U.S. officials including Vance conceded that they did not know where Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium was and that it had likely been moved away from Fordow before the strikes.[85]

On June 24, 2025, CNN and The New York Times reported results from a classified initial bomb damage assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency. It indicated that the strikes did significant damage to above-ground structures and sealed the entrances to two targets, but did not destroy the associated underground facilities and the centrifuges required to produce enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. The report concluded that the United States had not destroyed Iran's nuclear program, but delayed it a few months.[71][86] The quality of the DIA report itself was assessed as being of "low confidence."[87]David Albright, of the Institute for Science and International Studies, noted that the leaked report was already outdated. It underestimated the amount of uranium that was buried in the strikes and based its conclusions on Iran having access to more uranium to work with than it actually did.[87] CNN also quoted Jeffrey Lewis, an expert in nuclear nonproliferation, who similarly assessed that, based on publicly available information, the strikes had not led to complete destruction of the facilities.[71] As of June 24, work on a final damage assessment was underway.[88] On June 25, Hegseth, the US defense secretary, reiterated the Trump's administration's position that the Iranian nuclear program had been "obliterated".[89] He also said the government was investigating the leak of the classified assessment.[90]

Iranian response
Main article: 2025 Iranian strikes on Al Udeid Air Base
Iran's state media agency, IRNA, quoting an Iranian official, reported that there was no radioactive material at the three sites which were targeted.[91] Morteza Heidari, spokesperson for the Emergency Committee of the City of Qom, said that enemy forces had bombed "parts of the Fordo nuclear facility".[1] Iranian officials have said that there is no danger to the residents living near the nuclear facilities that were hit by the U.S. strikes, according to Iranian state media. Quoting the Crisis Management Headquarters in the province of Qom, where the Fordow facility is located, IRNA stated, "there is no danger to the people of Qom and the surrounding area".[92] According to Iranian officials, nuclear material had already been evacuated and moved elsewhere before the strikes.[93]

Magen David Adom said that at least 16 people in Israel were wounded by Iranian missiles launched in retaliation for the overnight strikes.[1] On June 22, Iranian media also reported that Majid Masibi, who the Islamic Republic accused of "spying for Israel", had been executed.[94]

On June 22, 2025, the Iranian parliament approved a motion calling for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime corridor through which nearly 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas is transported.[95][96] The vote, described by Iranian media as politically significant, does not constitute an immediate closure; the measure must still be ratified by the Supreme National Security Council, which holds final authority over national security decisions.[96] As of June 23, international shipping continued through the strait under heightened alert, with some commercial operators pausing transits and others reporting increased caution due to the deteriorating security situation. The presence of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vessels in the area was also observed, contributing to concerns over maritime safety.[97]

On June 23, Iran attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation to the US strikes.[98][99] Qatar had closed its airspace before the missiles arrived, and claimed to have intercepted all of them.[100] After the attack, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq also closed their airspaces.[101][102] The attack was met with condemnation throughout the Arab world. The next day Trump announced a ceasefire which Iran and then Israel confirmed, ending the conflict.[6]

Oil prices
On June 23, 2025, global oil prices rose sharply in the morning amid fears of potential disruption to energy supplies.[103][better source needed] On 23 June 2025, oil prices were below $70 again (7% lower than on June 20), indicating that the oil market viewed the attack, and Iran's response (missile attack on US bases in Qatar, and the Strait of Hormuz remaining open), as inconsequential.[104][105] Similarly, the EU price of natural gas dropped 14 percent on 24 June, as some of its LNG also comes through the Strait of Hormuz.[106]

Reactions
United States
The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the New York Police Department increased security around religious institutions following the strikes.[1] Later, on June 22, the US State Department ordered the departure of family members and non-emergency US government personnel from Lebanon.[107]

Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, praised the strikes, stating that it was "the right call" and "the regime deserves it".[108] House speaker Mike Johnson released a statement, saying: "President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated [...] That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision and clarity."[109] Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Tom Cotton of Arkansas tweeted, "President Trump made the right call and the ayatollahs should recall his warning not to target Americans."[110] Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the strikes were a "prudent response to the warmongers in Tehran".[111] Senate Majority Leader John Thune argued that the action was needed after previous failed diplomatic efforts: "The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing 'death to America' and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace."[109] Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana called the strikes the "right decision."[112] Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said in a statement: "Tonight's actions have gone far in foreclosing that possibility, and countering the apocalyptic threat posed by an Iranian nuclear arsenal."[113] Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Rick Crawford praised President Trump and stated: "I have been in touch with the White House before this action and will continue to track developments closely with them in the coming days."[113]

Former Florida governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush, Ambassador Mark Wallace, Frances Townsend, and Tom Tugendhat released a joint statement, saying: "We applaud President Trump and the United States for this decision–one of the most important of the 21st century."[114]

Democratic senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman was the first Democratic senator to praise the strikes, saying: "As I've long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS. Iran is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I'm grateful for and salute the finest military in the world."[115] Fetterman previously stated that he hopes "the president finally does bomb and destroy the Iranians."[116]

Democratic Representative Jim Himes replied to Trump's post, writing: "According to the Constitution we are both sworn to defend, my attention to this matter comes BEFORE bombs fall. Full stop."[1] He later said in a statement, "Donald Trump's decision to launch direct military action against Iran without Congressional approval is a clear violation of the Constitution, which grants the power to declare war explicitly to Congress" and "It is impossible to know at this stage whether this operation accomplished its objectives."[117] Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said, "President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East".[1]

Republican Representative Thomas Massie condemned the strikes as "not constitutional"[58] and said there was no "imminent threat to the United States" from Iran.[118] Democratic Representative Diana DeGette said Trump's "reckless actions are going to put the lives of American service members and American citizens at risk".[1] Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) said that Trump's actions were "clearly grounds for impeachment".[41] Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont received news of the strikes while at a "Fighting Oligarchy" rally in Tulsa, and called them "alarming" and "grossly unconstitutional". Republican Representative Warren Davidson tweeted, "it's hard to conceive a rationale that's Constitutional".[112] Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene stated, "this is not our fight", and criticized the rationale for the strikes, noting, "There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first."[119] Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, on the House Armed Services Committee, said, "The reality is, people want regime change in Iran, and they are egging this president on to bomb."[118]

The Council on American-Islamic Relations National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, "We condemn President Trump's illegal and unjustified act of war against Iran. This attack, carried out under pressure from the out-of-control Israeli government, took place despite the longstanding conclusion by our nation's intelligence community that Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons." He drew comparison with President George W. Bush's "disastrous" 2003 war in Iraq.[120]

The strikes were criticized by several commentators who are usually supportive of Trump, including Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson and Theo Von, who saw them as a reversal of his prior anti-interventionist rhetoric.[121] Former US ambassador to the UN and National Security Advisor under the Trump's first term John Bolton praised the strikes.[122]

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist, opined on X that the Fordow nuclear site "was never about peaceful energy. It was built under a mountain to hide a nuclear program from the world, while the regime told its own people they couldn't even afford clean water or shelter."[94]

Iran
As of June 21, 2025, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had not issued an official response, as he was in an underground bunker at the time of the strikes with no means of electronic communication, leaving Iran's definitive response unclear.[1] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the strikes as a "reckless violation of the UN Charter and international law" and stated "Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."[123][124] Iranian advisor Mehdi Mohammadi claimed that Iran was not surprised by the attack and had been expecting it for some time, and that Fordow was evacuated and no irreversible damage was sustained.[125]

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has called the US attacks "a barbaric act that violated international law, especially the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty", and that it planned to both seek justice in international court and continue its nuclear program.[1] The AEOI stated in a social media post that the radiation system data and field surveys do not show any signs of contamination or dangers to the residents near the sites of Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.[92][91]

The Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces announced that the flight paths of the planes participating in the attack had been identified and were being monitored. They said that the attacks on Israel and the destruction of its infrastructure would continue with vigor.[126]

Israel
Israel closed its airspace in response to the strikes.[41]

Netanyahu congratulated Trump, stating that his "bold decision" to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the "righteous and awesome might of the United States" would be a "historic turning point", and said that Trump "has done what no other country on earth could do. History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons."[58][1] Former defense minister Yoav Gallant said Trump had made a "bold decision for the United States, for Israel, for all of humanity".[1] President Isaac Herzog tweeted, "In the pages of human history, this is a moment when the principles of liberty, responsibility, and security have triumphed." and "Thank you, United States of America."[127]

International
List of reactions from governments around the world
Supranational
United Nations Secretary-General Ant;nio Guterres described the strikes as "dangerous escalation" and called for diplomacy.[182] The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the airstrikes at the request of Iran.[183][184] In a private Signal message to Trump, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte praised and thanked Trump for his "decisive action" in Iran, calling it "truly extraordinary and something no one else dared to do."[185]

On June 23, 2025, Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, convened an emergency meeting and warned that the attack "risks collapsing the global nuclear nonproliferation regime" and of unimaginable destruction if the countries do not negotiate a peace. He asked Iran to allow IAEA inspectors to assess the damage, radiation levels, and release of toxins.[186]

Non-state actors
The strikes were condemned by Iran's Axis of Resistance allies in the region. Hamas condemned the strikes as a "blatant aggression".[187] Hezbollah condemned the strikes as a "barbaric and treacherous American aggression against peaceful nuclear facilities" and affirmed its "complete solidarity" with Iran and "its leadership".[138] However, Hezbollah said it would not retaliate, stating Iran is a "strong country capable of defending itself", and adding that the group remained committed to its previous ceasefire agreement with Israel.[188] The Houthis condemned the strikes as "a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to regional and international security and peace" and said, "Trump must bear the consequences."[58][189] It further announced that it was ending the ceasefire and vowed to resume attacking American ships in the Red Sea.[190][191][192]

Analysis
Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, called the strikes "a new phase, and a potentially problematic one," and said that Iran "would have to essentially restore pride in some way," potentially by launching attacks on American military sites or proxies.[1] Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted, "This is more likely to open a new chapter of the 46-year-old US–Iran war than conclude it", that most of the retaliatory options available to Iran are the "equivalent of a suicide bombing", and "this is a traumatic, humiliating event" for the Iranian population, leaving it unclear exactly how Iran will respond.[193]

Jonathan Panikoff, the director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, warned that Iran might respond disproportionally to restore deterrence, stating, "you're looking at a significant escalatory spiral that could get out of hand quickly."[1]

Defense Priorities's Middle East program director, Rosemary Kelanic, also felt the strikes made it "much more likely that Iran will want to obtain nuclear weapons".[194] Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow with the Royal United Services Institute, said the attack was "yet another demonstration, from the hard-line Iranian point of view, that America can't be trusted".[195]

A CNN analyst noted that the United States may still attack further targets given that there "is a real concern that now the Iranians will retaliate", and suggested that Iran could attack U.S. bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, and potentially close the Strait of Hormuz.[58]

According to Michael Tomasky, the strikes contradict the promise by Trump's campaign that he would be an anti-war president.[196] According to James Risen, Trump is now more willing to listen to Israel than his predecessors and is also highly suspicious of the intelligence community, which “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.”[197]

The Economist reported, "even if America did not reach all parts of the Fordow complex, the powerful blasts might have done enough to damage or destroy the machinery inside", and cited nuclear weapons expert Richard Nephew who said, "Uncontrolled vibration ... is a centrifuge killer". Former IAEA inspector and Institute for Science and International Security founder David Albright told The Economist that destroying Fordow's ventilation shaft could disable the site for "a few years rather than a few months", and a weapons expert told The Economist that images after the strikes suggested the US may have targeted Fordow's ventilation.[69]

Notes
 The attacks are reported to have occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Iran Standard Time (i.e. UTC+03:30) on June 22,[11] which corresponds to 23:00 UTC on June 21
See also
Iran strike intel leak
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 ";;; ;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;; ;;;;;; ;;;;;;; ;;; ;;;/ ;;;;;;;; ;;;;; ;;;; ;;;;;; ;;;;; ;;;;;" [The location of the American planes flying in the aggressors has been identified/the aggressors should wait for a regretful response]. mashreghnews (in Persian). June 22, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
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