Operation Midnight Hammer: U.S. Strikes Against Iran’s Nuclear Sites
On June 21, the U.S. military conducted strikes against Iran’s three primary nuclear sites, dropping GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs–the munition’s first ever use in combat–on Iran’s deeply-buried Fordow facility and reportedly Iran’s Natanz facility, and launching dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iran’s Esfahan and Natanz facilities.
That night, President Donald Trump told the American people he ordered the strikes to end the “nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism.” Trump announced the nuclear sites were “completely and totally obliterated” and threatened future attacks on a “far greater scale” against the Iranian regime if it does not capitulate and make peace.
JINSA hosted an emergency webinar analyzing the monumental American decision to strike Iran and what comes next. The webinar featured JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, Julian & Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish, JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin, JINSA Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow John Hannah, and JINSA Distinguished Fellow and former Deputy Commander of U.S. European Command Gen Charles “Chuck” Wald, USAF (ret.).
The webinar was moderated by JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky, PhD.
IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy Distinguished Fellow. MG Amidror was formerly the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of the National Security Council, from 2011-2013. During his 36-year career in the IDF, MG Amidror served as Commander of IDF Military Colleges, Military Secretary for the Minister of Defense, Director of the Intelligence Analysis Division, and as Intelligence Officer for the Northern Command. |
IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish is the Julian and Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). MG Ayish served in the IDF for 36 years and retired in 2016, concluding an accomplished career during which he attained the rank of Major General. Throughout his distinguished service, he served in core and operational command positions in the IDF ground forces and in senior command and managerial positions in the IDF General Staff. In his last position, MG Ayish served for four years as Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States in Washington, D.C. |
IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin joined JINSA as a Distinguished Fellow in February 2023. MG Norkin is the Former Commander of the Israeli Air Force and a former member of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff. As the IAF’s Commander, he was responsible for all of the IDF’s aviation operations, including all air and space defense and offense activities, turning the IAF to the IDF’s leading strategic arm and leading this critical organization in a rapidly changing environment with various multiple challenges. |
Gen Charles “Chuck” Wald, USAF (ret.) Gen Chuck Wald is a JINSA Distinguished Fellow and former Deputy Commander of U.S. European Command. Gen Wald has also served as the Director of Strategic Planning and Policy at USAF Headquarters, Chief of USAF Combat Terrorism Center, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations at the Pentagon. |
Michael Makovsky, PhD Michael Makovsky, PhD is President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), which he joined in 2013. A U.S. national security expert, he has worked extensively on U.S. policy toward Iran’s nuclear program, Israel, and the broader Middle East, as well as the intersection of international energy markets and politics with U.S. national security. Makovsky has written articles, op-eds and editorials for various publications on U.S. national security issues primarily involving the Middle East as well as energy markets. He is also author of Churchill’s Promised Land (Yale University Press), a diplomatic-intellectual history of Winston Churchill’s complex relationship with Zionism. |