The U.S. Air Force pilots who flew in the bombing mission that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities will attend the White House's July 4 celebration.
The event is expected to feature a flyover by the B-2 Spirit bombers, the same aircraft which were used to strike Fordo and Natanz in the operation ordered by President Donald Trump, and will be attended by additional personnel from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where the bombers are based, according to CBS News.
"President Trump looks forward to celebrating our nation's founding on Friday in the nation's capital," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Monday. "To join in the celebration, the might of America's Air Force will conduct a flyover featuring our state-of-the-art F-22s, B-2s, and F-35s - the same air capabilities used for the decisive and successful strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities."
In the attack, seven B-2 stealth bombers were used, carrying two of the massive 30,000-pound munitions, called the GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, apiece on Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facilities during a mission dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22.
Despite an initial Pentagon assessment indicating that the bombing of the nuclear facilities may only have set the Iranian nuclear porgram back a few months, Trump and members of his administration declared the mission an overwhelming success, claiming to have "completely and fully obliterated" the program.
“This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,” Trump said in the days after the strike.
In an often combative session with reporters, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated — choose your word. This was an historically successful attack."
The initial U.S. intelligence report found that while the strikes at the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites did significant damage, the facilities were not totally destroyed.
After U.S. Senators received a classified briefing, they emerged with sharply diverging assessments of the bombing, with Republicans calling the mission a clear success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), said, “There's no doubt there was damage done to the program,” but added, “allegations that we have obliterated their program just don't seem to stand up to reason.”
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.