Breaking News: U.S. Strikes Iran Operational Details, Implications, and What Comes Next

Trump to address the nation at 10PM ET

In the predawn hours of June 22, 2025, the United States launched a sweeping and unprecedented aerial assault against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The strike, ordered by President Trump and coordinated with Israeli forces already engaged in their own offensive, marked the first time in over a decade that America has directly attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. And this time, it acted alone.

According to senior Pentagon officials, the operation began at approximately 2:30 a.m. Iranian time. Multiple U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, flying out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, crossed the Pacific and refueled en route—likely through strategic assets in Guam or Diego Garcia—before penetrating Iranian airspace. Their targets were three of the most fortified and symbolically significant components of Iran’s nuclear program: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

The Fordow site, in particular, was believed to be the primary focus. Buried deep within a mountain and considered one of the most hardened facilities in the world, Fordow had long been a red line for U.S. planners. In total, the U.S. deployed at least six GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators—30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs capable of smashing through hundreds of feet of reinforced concrete. Designed specifically for sites like Fordow, the bombs were dropped with precision, their impact felt as far as Qom and Tehran.

In addition to the aerial assault, U.S. submarines operating in undisclosed locations launched approximately 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles aimed at infrastructure targets around the three sites. By sunrise, Iran’s nuclear program had suffered its most significant physical setback in years.

What makes this operation particularly striking—beyond the scale and firepower—is its solitude. The United States acted without any formal coalition, alliance, or multilateral cover. No NATO members were involved. No Arab Gulf states publicly supported the action. Even longtime allies such as the United Kingdom and France were notified only shortly before the strike began, and have since issued restrained, cautious statements.

The message from Washington, then, is stark: this was an American operation, conceived and executed independently, with Israel as the only closely aligned partner. There was no attempt to build the kind of diplomatic coalition that characterized prior major U.S. military campaigns in the region. The Trump administration has made no apologies for this, presenting the strike as a necessary preemptive move to prevent Iran from crossing what it sees as a final threshold in nuclear weaponization.

But while the operation may be over, its consequences are just beginning to unfold.

Iranian leadership has yet to issue a formal statement, but regional observers and Western intelligence analysts are unanimous in their belief that retaliation is inevitable. What remains unknown is the shape and timing of that response. Iran’s missile arsenal, already deployed in prior attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, could be activated again. Israeli cities, long within range, may be among the first targets. And Iran’s sprawling network of proxy forces—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shi’a militias in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis in Yemen—offer Tehran numerous indirect avenues to strike back without triggering all-out war.

There is also the cyber domain. Iran’s cyber warfare units, especially those under the IRGC’s umbrella, have grown more sophisticated in recent years. Attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, financial institutions, or even election systems could be part of an asymmetric response designed to cause disruption without provoking a kinetic counterstrike.

Meanwhile, the economic reverberations have begun. Oil prices surged by over 10 percent within hours of the strike, and global markets are bracing for further volatility. The Strait of Hormuz—a narrow chokepoint through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes—now sits at the epicenter of potential escalation. Iranian naval forces have historically used the strait as leverage, and any attempt to block or disrupt shipping could bring the global economy into the conflict’s shadow.

In Washington, the political reaction is sharply divided. Congressional Republicans have largely praised the operation as a show of strength and resolve. Democrats have expressed alarm at the absence of congressional authorization and the potential for uncontrollable escalation. Internationally, condemnation has been swift in some quarters and muted in others, but the one common theme is anxiety over what may come next.

What began in the darkness over Iran may not end with the sunrise. The risk of a larger war now hangs in the balance, with Tehran’s response likely to determine whether this was a singular act of deterrence—or the opening salvo in a regional conflagration. The world waits.

President Trump will address the nation at 10pm ET.