General: Trump’s ultimatum set stage for Iran strike
Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost says bomber crews began preparing the moment Trump issued a 60-day warning over Tehran’s nuclear program.
When President Donald Trump drew a red line on Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. bombers immediately began preparing to enforce it, according to the general who commanded June’s strike mission.
And, Gen. Jason Armagost told Fox News Digital, the operation proved decisive: "We reestablished deterrence, and all of our adversaries watched that."
In the spring, Trump wrote a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanding "progress" in nuclear talks and offering a 60-day deadline.
When he learned Trump gave the two-month ultimatum, Armagost, commander of the 8th Air Force and all bomber forces, immediately began setting a plan in motion to present the president with strike options.
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"When I heard that [60-day warning], immediately in my head I said, okay, we’ve got 60 days… we knew we would be a military option at the expiration of that," Gen. Jason Armagost, commander of 8th Air Force, said. (Air Force)
Then, 14 B-2 pilots flying seven stealth bombers prepared for the 30-hour journey from Whiteman, Mo., to Iran and back. They dropped 14 massive ordnance penetrators (MOPs) on Iran’s nuclear sites deep underground.
"Global operations are hard," said Armagost. "You go through different weather, you go through daylight cycles that are abnormal because you're flying eastbound and then westbound … intellectually, it’s demanding."
Aerial refueling tankers made the marathon mission possible. Clouds, weather shifts and even the failure of a single refueling jet could have jeopardized the strike, Armagost said. But meticulous planning and backup tracks kept the B-2s airborne.
"That’s really what makes us arguably a superpower," he said. "Russia’s and China’s bomber forces are regional, not global."
The general said the public should not measure success simply by the precision of the strike, but by the deterrent effect it produced.
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"About 30 hours after the attack, there was a ceasefire," Armagost said. "Clearly the Iranians saw that, and saw the path forward had changed dramatically. All of our adversaries watch that, and they will make different choices as a result."
Trump said that the United States completed a "very successful" strike against Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, saying that Iran’s nuclear enrichment installations have been "obliterated." (Fox News)
"It’s a national-level discussion," said Armagost. "We have to decide as a country or with our partners and allies, what kind of ability we need to have to project force around the world facing multiple or multiple adversaries, who in some cases will, will, coordinate and act together to disrupt us."
Armagost compared Operation Midnight Hammer to another historic mission of the 509th bomber wing, which dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago, killing 200,000 and ending a world war.
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"There’s about six weeks’ difference," Armagost said. "Both were strategic attacks that changed history."
"Nobody wants to see Iran with nuclear weapons. This was about reestablishing deterrence against a regime that everyone knows would be destabilizing with that capability."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-iran-ultimatum-started-60-day-clock-ticking-decisive-june-strikes-bomber-commander-reveals