U.S. strike catches Iran off guard

[Anchor]

The U.S. airstrike, known as Operation 'Midnight Hammer', was prepared in secrecy for several months.

Disruption operations were also employed to deceive Iran.

U.S. authorities assessed the attack as successful, stating that there was no significant retaliation from Iran.

This is Park Il-jung reporting from New York.

[Report]

A U.S. B-2 bomber returns after bombing Iran.

The seven bombers departed from the U.S. mainland at midnight Saturday, Eastern Time.

They crossed the Atlantic heading towards Iran.

The bombing began at 2:10 AM local time in Iran, about 18 hours later, when two bunker busters were dropped on the nuclear facility at Fordow.

The attack lasted only 25 minutes until cruise missiles launched from submarines in the southern waters of Iran struck another nuclear facility in Isfahan.

No retaliation from Iran has been confirmed.

[Dan Kane/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "It appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us. Throughout the mission, we retained the element of surprise."]

The operation, named 'Midnight Hammer,' was conducted in secrecy for several months.

On the day of the bombing, bombers heading towards the Pacific, in the opposite direction of Iran, were part of the disruption operation.

U.S. authorities claimed that the targets were severely destroyed, deeming the attack successful.

The New York Times speculated that precision bombing was likely carried out through vulnerable ventilation shafts at the Fordow facility.

However, Iran claims that only ground facilities were damaged.

[Rafael Grossi/IAEA Director General: "At this time, no one, including the IAEA is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordow."]

The whereabouts of the highly enriched uranium that Iran has stockpiled remain unknown.

This has led to assessments that a game of whack-a-mole has begun between Israel, the U.S., and Iran.

This is Park Il-jung reporting for KBS News from New York.