US started with fake-out decoy mission before bombing Iran in 18-hour ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’

Donald Trump's 18-hour attack on Iran involved an elaborate decoy to 'maintain tactical surprise', the US' top military official has revealed.

The States used the art of deception to ensure its military had the advantage of the element of surprise before 'Operation Midnight Hammer' actually began on Saturday night (23 June).

In what President Trump described as a 'successful' bombing attack, a fleet of B-2 stealth bombers rained 'bunker-buster' explosives down on three major nuclear sites.

The US bragged that these key facilities - Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan - were 'obliterated' and sustained 'extremely severe damage' during the surprise strikes.

Iran confirmed that the nuclear sites were hit, but suggested that Trump's assessment of the damage was exaggerated, while warning that it intends to seek vengeance for the bomb attacks.

Senior US military officials have since lifted the lid on each carefully coordinated element of Operation Midnight Hammer, with American Air Force general and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Dan 'Razin' Caine, revealing that it involved 'misdirection and the highest of operational security'.

The US unleashed strikes on three nuclear sites, including Fordo (pictured), and claim to have inflicted 'extremely severe damage' (Maxar Technologies)

He explained that a large 'B-2 strike package of bombers' was deployed from the US, flying east across the Atlantic - but they then created a diversion to ensure the strikes were unexpected.

Another legion of the stealth bombers strayed from the 125-strong pack, instead heading west into the Pacific as a 'decoy', while the rest went on ahead to Iran.

Caine confirmed that several B-2 bombers which had been seen flying overhead by locals in Missouri had departed from Whitman 'at midnight Friday into Saturday morning'.

Discussing the secrecy which shrouded the decoy squadron, the general explained this tactic was a 'deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders'.

Just a handful of people in Washington and the US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, are said to have been aware of this element of Operation Midnight Hammer.

Amid the deliberately confusing aviation activity, the 'main strike package' of B-2 bombers which were each manned by two crew members headed off to complete the mission which spanned 18 hours.

Caine said they spent this period of time advancing 'quietly to the east with minimal communications throughout', refuelling in-flight while making their way to the 'target area'.

General Dan Caine shared the details of the intricate operation (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Upon the arrival of the stealth bombers in Iran, the pilots 'linked up' with host of escort fighters and support planes in what the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff dubbed a 'complex, tightly timed manoeuvre'.

This in-air assembly required 'exact synchronisation across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications', Caine said.

In what the decorated general described as the 'longest B-2 spirit bomber mission since 2001', the bombs were then dropped on the 'key surface infrastructure targets'.

'More than two dozen' Tomahawk land attack missiles were fired at Fordow from a US submarine, while the aircrafts chaperoning the B-2 bombers flew 'at high altitude and high speed' to try and entice any defence attempts from Iran.

"Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface-to-air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission," Caine said. "We retained the element of surprise."

The military bigwig added that about 75 'precision guided weapons' were unleashed on Iran, including 14 bunker busters.

According to Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, the US forces 'went in and out, and back, of Iran's nuclear sites without the world knowing at all', adding that the mission was an 'incredible and overwhelming success'.

Pete Hegseth praised President Trump for the supposed success of Operation Midnight Hammer (CARLOS BARRIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Heaping praise on Trump for pulling the trigger despite initially saying he would stew on striking Iran for at least a fortnight, Hegseth added: "The order we received from our commander in chief was focused.

"It was powerful, and it was clear we devastated the Iranian nuclear program. But it's worth noting the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people for the entirety of his time in office.

"The mission demonstrated to the world the level of joint and allied integration that speak to the strength of our alliance and our joint forces.

"As President Trump has stated, the United States does not seek war, but let me be clear: We will act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners or our interests are threatened.

"Iran should listen to the United States and know that he means it."

Hegseth said it took 'months and weeks of positioning and preparation' to ensure the US were ready to facilitate Trump's orders to strike Iran, while Caine explained that the actual operation 'came together in just a matter of weeks'.