In a predawn operation cloaked in secrecy, US Bā2 Spirit stealth bombers have struck deep into Iran, dropping bunkerābuster bombs on underground ballisticāmissile complexes that Washington says are at the core of Tehranās longārange strike arsenal.
Defence officials report that multiple Bā2s slipped in from high alŃιŃude, releasing GPSāguided 2,000ā and 5,000āpound penetrators against āmissile citiesā buried beneath mountain ridges and desert plateaus. Early satellite imagery shows collapsed tunnel mouths, scorched access roads and secondary explosions rippling through fuel and warhead storage galleries hundreds of metres underground.

The Pentagon is hailing the raid as a āstrategic body blow,ā claiming command bunkers, launch rails and underground rail systems that shuttle mobile launchers between caverns were all hit. US planners argue Iranās ability to fire coordinated salvos at Israel, Gulf states and American bases has been āset back years.ā
Tehran tells a different story. State media insists key missiles were dispersed before the strikes and vows that ānew wavesā will prove Iranās deterrent is alive. Antiāair defences have been placed on high alert, while Revolutionary Guard units talk of targeting US carriers, bases and energy infrastructure across the region.

What happens next may decide the shape of the war: either Iran absorbs the Bā2 blow and edges toward negotiationsāor it gambles that surviving missiles, proxies and drones can still hit back hard enough to make Washington regret taking the fight beneath the mountain rock.