“For the entirety of his time in office, President Trump has consistently stated, for over 10 years, that Iran must not get a nuclear weapon, full stop.””

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

COLORADO - Operation Midnight Hammer began at midnight Eastern time on Friday. As the early hours of Saturday, June 21, 2025, began, over 125 aircraft, including seven B2 stealth bombers carrying the operation’s main strike package, launched from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

A small force was deployed over the Pacific, described as a “decoy” by General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and at 5 p.m. a U.S. submarine launched Tomahawk missiles at key infrastructure targets at the first nuclear facility in Isfahan, Iran.

At 6:40 p.m., fighter jets provided suppressing fire to allow safe passage for the B2s to hit the second and third nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz. The stealth bombers dropped up to 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOPs) bombs on their targets, each bomb delivering 30,000-pounds worth of explosives.     

After President Donald J. Trump announced the success of the attack on social media, the operation was continually promoted as a means toward preventing Iran from developing nuclear armament. 

“For the entirety of his time in office, President Trump has consistently stated, for over 10 years, that Iran must not get a nuclear weapon, full stop,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a press conference the Sunday following the attack.

“Thanks to President Trump’s bold and visionary leadership and his commitment to peace through strength, Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated. 

“When this President speaks, the world should listen and the U.S. Military, we can back it up. The most powerful military the world has ever known. No other country on planet Earth could have conducted the operation that the chairman is going to outline this morning. Not even close,” Hegseth continued. 

“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.”

Operation Midnight Hammer comes off of the heels of Israel’s initial attack on Iran, Operation Rising Lion, which targeted the Natanz nuclear facility on June 12. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the facility “the heart” of Iran’s nuclear program.

Retaliatory strikes would continue over the next several days, with Iran launching on Israel’s military bases and civilian targets, causing the injury and death of innocent residents as reported by Israel. 

Israeli forces have struck at a nuclear reactor in Arak, have reportedly killed several of Iran’s top military leaders and nuclear scientists, and have declared “full air superiority” over Tehran.

This recent tension between Israel and Iran, which Netanyahu has said is about “Israel’s very survival,” comes after U.S. talks with Iran about their nuclear program disintegrated back in April.

A report from the global nuclear watchdog group International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found Iran in breach of their nonproliferation obligations. 

The IAEA claimed Iran was guilty of “many failures” in providing accurate information regarding their undeclared nuclear material and a stockpile of enriched uranium, which IAEA has reported is 60% enriched, close to weapons grade, and is enough to produce nine nuclear bombs.

Following Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran fired back at U.S. forces, launching 14 missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, though not before warning the U.S. about the attack. 13 of the 14 missiles were shot down or deflected, damage was reported as minimal, and there were no injuries.  

Though Israel continued to strike Tehran and access routes to the Fordow nuclear enrichment site, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump announced on Monday, June 23, that a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Iran had been reached; neither Israel or Iran had confirmed that announcement, and which has already been broken.

Since the Israel-U.S. military strike against Iran, Colorado officials have spoken out and, perhaps unsurprisingly, are split along party lines on the foreign escalation. 

Republicans Jeff Crank of Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, and Jeff Hurd of the 3rd Congressional District, stood behind the president. Senator Michael Bennet, while not commenting directly on America’s involvement, did say of the initial conflict with Israel that it was his belief that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. 

Representative Jason Crow of Colorado’s 6th Congressional District stated his belief, shared by the Colorado Democratic Party, that the president’s actions in executing Operation Midnight Hammer were unconstitutional.

“Based on what I know, and have been briefed, there is no imminent threat [to the US] posed by Iran, which means that under the Constitution and the War Powers Act, he was required to come to Congress to get approval, which he did not do,” Rep. Crow said about Trump in an interview with Rocky Mountain PBS.

“The decision to send American troops to war and to engage in war should be made by those closest to the American people, and those most accountable to the American people. Those are members of Congress that every week have to fly home and be accountable, answer tough questions, stand before their constituents in high school gymnasiums around the country and say why we're doing this and why it's important to do.”

Colorado’s Republican Party issued an official statement after Operation Midnight Hammer was announced as a success.

“These strikes not only demonstrated advanced American military capability, but they also reinforced our unwavering commitment to Israel and the broader stability of the Middle East,” the party said. “This action was not a war of choice, it was a defense of peace through strength, and the world is safer today because of it.”

Governor Jared Polis’s statement on social media read: “I met with my public safety team this evening and directed that they coordinate with state, local, and federal partners and remain vigilant against all threats to Coloradans and the state’s infrastructure and military assets.”

Polis added that the state’s law enforcement agencies are “actively monitoring” for any heightened threats, echoing warnings issued on Sunday from the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security regarding possible heightened terrorist activity around the country. 

Such shades of domestic terrorism have already affected Boulder recently, including a string of antisemitic graffiti found across the CU Boulder’s campus last year, threats levied against the City Council, and continued meeting eruptions from pro-Palestinian protestors. The most violent  action was the firebombing attack against marchers outside the courthouse who were remembering the Israeli hostages.