The B-2 bombers used in the U.S. attacks in Iran took off in secrecy from Missouri for a more than 7,000-mile trip that involved multiple refuelings over 18 hours.
Then, once in Iranian airspace, they hit three nuclear sites in less than half an hour.
On Sunday morning, Pentagon officials shared new details about the attack, named Operation Midnight Hammer, and released a timeline of how it unfolded.
Saturday, 12:01 a.m. Eastern time: B-2 stealth bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. One or more of them headed west over the Pacific Ocean as a decoy to distract from the seven bombers headed east toward Iran.
Dozens of tankers provided midair refueling for the bombers at multiple points across the Atlantic Ocean.
5 p.m. Eastern: After 17 hours of flying, B-2s entered airspace controlled by U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations across the Middle East, and linked up with fighter aircraft that escorted the bombers into Iran.
Around the same time, a U.S. Navy submarine in the region launched more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a nuclear site in Isfahan.
The U.S. warplanes entered Iranian airspace about an hour later.
6:40 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. Eastern/2:10 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. Sunday in Iran: The U.S. struck the nuclear sites at Fordo and Natanz.
The submarine-launched cruise missiles then struck Isfahan.
Approximately 75 precision-guided munitions were expended during the attacks. They included 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs, which are designed to hit deeply buried targets.
It was the first time that the bomb had been used in combat.
7:30 p.m. Eastern/3 a.m. Sunday in Iran: The American bombers left Iranian airspace and began their flight back to the United States.
7:50 p.m. Eastern: President Trump announced on social media that U.S. forces had attacked Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan and had left Iranian airspace.
10 p.m. Eastern: In an address from the White House, Mr. Trump said the U.S. military had “totally obliterated” the three nuclear sites.
As his address began, the White House began posting photos of the president, cabinet members and staff members taken in the Situation Room during the attack.
Sunday, 8 a.m. Eastern: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the operation to reporters at the Pentagon. General Caine said the final battle damage assessment was still to come.
John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy.
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