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Details are emerging about the US strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The US military has provided details about which sites have been hit and what military elements have been used, as President Donald Trump hailed the attack on social media.

From the number of bunker buster bombs dropped to where they hit, here’s what we know so far.

Follow latest: US bombers strike three Iranian nuclear sites

How did ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ unfold?

The US’s most senior military official gave details of how the attack, named Operation Midnight Hammer, unfolded.

A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam January 11, 2018. Picture taken January 11, 2018. U.S. Air F
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A US Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber. File pic: Reuters

General Dan Caine, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said that at midnight on Friday, a large “B-2 strike package of bombers” launched from the US, flying east across the Atlantic.

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To maintain the element of surprise, some other bombers flew west into the Pacific.

During the 18-hour flight, the planes underwent multiple rounds of refuelling.

As the seven B-2 bombers entered Iran, the US deployed “several decoys”, according to Gen Caine, and a US submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Isfahan nuclear site.

At around 6.40pm EST on Saturday, the first B-2 bomber dropped two GBU 57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator weapons, known as bunker buster bombs, on Fordow.

“The remaining bombers then hit their targets,” said Gen Caine, with 14 GBU-57s dropped in total.

Bunker buster bombs are designed to explode twice. Once to breach the ground surface, and again, once the bomb has burrowed down to a certain depth.

A satellite image showing two clusters of holes at the Fordow nuclear site in Iran following US strikes on the facility. Pic: Maxar
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A satellite image showing two clusters of holes at the Fordow nuclear site in Iran following US strikes on the facility. Pic: Maxar

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Iran’s nuclear ambitions ‘obliterated’

Israel has bunker busters in its arsenal but does not have the much more powerful GBU-57, which can only be launched from the B-2 bomber and was believed to be the only bomb capable of breaching Fordow.

This attack was the GBU-57s’ first operational use.

A GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri. in 2023. File pic: US Air Force via AP
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A file picture of a GBU-57 bunker buster bomb, which was possibly used in the attack on Fordow. Pic: AP

More than 75 weapons were used in total, including 14 30,000lb GBU-57 bunker buster bombs, and 125 aircraft took part.

The New York Times reported a US official as saying a B-2 also dropped two of the GBU-57s on the Natanz nuclear site.

The B-2s were all heading back towards the US by 7.05pm (EST), Gen Caine added, and he said the US military were not aware of any shots fired at the American jets by Iranian aircraft or air defences on the ground.

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‘US strikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear programme’

Which sites were hit?

America says it has hit the three key locations in Iran’s nuclear programme.

The US attacked the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran
Image:
The US attacked the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran

They include Isfahan, the location of a significant research base, as well as uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow.

Read more: Fordow: What we know about Iran’s secretive ‘nuclear mountain’

Natanz was believed to have been previously damaged in Israeli strikes after bombs disrupted power to the centrifuge hall, possibly destroying the machines indirectly.

Details about the damage in the US strikes are not yet known, although Mr Trump said the three sites had been “obliterated”.

The US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth said the US had “devastated the Iranian nuclear programme”.

However, most of the highly enriched uranium at the Fordow nuclear facility was moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the attack, a senior Iranian source told the Reuters news agency.

Personnel numbers were also reduced at the site, according to the report.

16 cargo trucks line up at the entrance of the Fordow nuclear site on 19 June. Pic: Maxar Technologies
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16 cargo trucks line up at the entrance of the Fordow nuclear site on 19 June. Pic: Maxar Technologies

Satellite images from Fordow show cargo trucks lining up at the entrance of the nuclear site in recent days.

How has Iran responded so far?

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the US strikes “will have everlasting consequences”, adding that his country “reserves all options” to retaliate.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,” Mr Araghchi wrote on X. “Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour.”

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Sirens in Israel as Iran retaliates

Iran has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “maintain international peace and condemn the US strikes”, according to state media.

Read more:
What happens next is largely in Iran’s control

Multiple places in Israel have been hit by Iranian missiles in response.

Several explosions have been heard over Tel Aviv with Israeli media saying missiles have hit northern and central Israel, including in Haifa, Ness Ziona, Rishon LeZion and Tel Aviv.

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Destruction in Israel after Iranian strikes

Sixteen casualties were reported by the country’s emergency services.

Abbas Golroo, head of the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy committee, also said in a statement on social media Iran could pull out of efforts to limit the spread of nuclear technology and weapons, called the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

He cited Article 10 of the treaty, which states that an NPT member has “the right to withdraw from the treaty if it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardised the supreme interests of its country”.

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Iran says its carried out ‘mighty and successful’ attack on US bases in Qatar and Iraq

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Iran says its carried out 'mighty and successful' attack on US bases in Qatar and Iraq

Iran claims it has carried out a “mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” after launching missile attacks on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq.

The attacks come after the US dropped “bunker buster bombs” on three key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.

Iran’s response this evening is the latest escalation in tensions in the volatile region.

Qatar has said there are no casualties at the al Udeid base following the strikes and that its “air defences thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles”.

People in Qatar’s capital, Doha, had stopped and gazed up at the sky as missiles flew and interceptors fired.

Follow latest: Iran attacks US bases

Iran had announced on state television that it had attacked American forces stationed at the al Udeid airbase.

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A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” as martial music played.

Iran also targeted the Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq, an Iraqi security official told the Associated Press.

Traces are seen in the sky over Qatar after Iran's armed forces targeted the al Udeid base. Pic: Reuters
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Traces are seen in the sky over Qatar after Iran’s armed forces targeted the al Udeid base. Pic: Reuters

A US government official has said the White House and US defence department is “closely monitoring” the potential threats to its base.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is in the Situation Room in the White House with his team following the Iranian strikes.

The attacks came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.

Just before the explosions, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”

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Major wildfire on Greek island of Chios leads to evacuations – as officials warn ‘situation remains critical’

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Major wildfire on Greek island of Chios leads to evacuations - as officials warn 'situation remains critical'

Nearly 200 firefighters are battling a major wildfire on the Greek island of Chios.

The fire started on Sunday in three separate locations near the main town, which is also called Chios. The flames were fanned by strong winds and turned into one large blaze.

Local media footage and photos showed firefighters battling towering flames burning through woodland and farmland as night fell. Power cuts have also been reported.

Greek authorities sent fresh evacuation notifications for two areas near Chios town on Monday morning.

Local residents watch a wildfire approaching in Kofinas, on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, Greece.
Pic: Politischios.gr /AP
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People watch a wildfire approaching. Pic: Politischios.gr /AP

Push alerts have been sent to mobile phones in the area urging people to evacuate a total of 16 villages, settlements and neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the town.

“The situation remains critical as firefighting forces are still dealing with many active fronts, several of which being near hamlets,” a Greek government spokesman said.

The fire department said 190 firefighters were trying to control the fire on Monday, with strong winds hampering their efforts.

A man uses a branch to battle against a large wildfire burning in Kofinas, on the island of Chios, Greece.
Pic: Politischios/AP
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Pic: Politischios/AP

Some 35 vehicles, five helicopters and two water-dropping planes were also involved in the effort.

A specialist fire department arson investigation team has been sent to the eastern Aegean island to look into the causes.

Read more from Sky News:
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Wildfires are common during Greece’s hot, dry summers but authorities have said climate change is fuelling bigger and more frequent blazes.

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Last year, hundreds of tourists and residents were forced to flee wildfires on the holiday island of Kos.

In 2023, forest fires killed at least 20 people in the north of the country and forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes.

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22 killed after suicide bomber opens fire at church in Syria – and then detonates explosive vest

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22 killed after suicide bomber opens fire at church in Syria - and then detonates explosive vest

At least 22 people have been killed after a suicide bomber opened fire at a church in Syria – and then detonated an explosive vest.

This is the first such incident since Bashar al Assad was toppled in December, and officials claim the attacker was a member of Islamic State.

It happened at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, with estimates suggesting that 350 worshippers were praying there at the time.

Pic: White Helmets via Reuters
Image:
Pic: White Helmets via Reuters

Witnesses said the perpetrator had his face covered when he began shooting – and blew himself up as crowds attempted to remove him from the building.

A security source told Reuters that two men were involved in the attack, with a priest saying he saw a second gunman at the entrance.

Officials say 63 people were injured, and children were among the casualties.

Syria’s information minister, Hamza Mostafa, condemned the terrorist attack – writing on X: “This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together.

More on Islamic State

“We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship… and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organisations.”

Read more world news:
Live updates after US strikes Iran
Putin threatens nuclear strike on Ukraine

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Reports suggest that IS has attempted to attack several churches in Syria since Assad fell, but this is the first time they have succeeded.

Footage filmed by Syria’s civil defence, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction inside the church – including bloodied floors and shattered pews.

The Greek foreign ministry says it “unequivocally condemns the abhorrent terrorist suicide bombing”, and called on Syria “to guarantee the safety” of Christians with new measures.

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