Good evening. I'm John Yang. Tonight, the Middle East stands at a pivot point. The administration

says Operation Midnight Hammer severely damaged or destroyed Iran's largest nuclear sites. In response,

Iran says the time for diplomacy is over and hints at military retaliation against the United States,

even as more missiles from Iran strike Tel Aviv.

Our coverage tonight begins with foreign affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin.

The U.S.'s unprecedented direct attack on Iran began under the cover of darkness.

A dozen B2 bombers flew 30 hours with multiple mid-air refueling, all under strict operational security, including a decoy.

The bombers launched from Whiteman Air Force Base Friday night at midnight flying east.

At the same time, B-2s also launched West, tracked

on social media. But that was deliberate deception to allow the main bombers to fly to Iran

undetected, and alongside dozens of fighter jets target Iran's key nuclear enrichment sites at

Natanz and Fordo, where thousands of advanced centrifuges spin hundreds of feet

underground.

For the first time in combat, the U.S. dropped 14-30,000-pound massive ordinance penetrators

designed to dig deep before exploding.

This satellite image shows at least half a dozen precise impact sites at Fordo, where bombs

landed before exploding deep underground.

A third target, Esfahan, believed to hold Iran's enriched uranium stockpile targeted by

submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles.

This operation was designed to severely degrade Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure.

Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage

and destruction.

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