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The commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, ordered an attack on Monday using B-2 Spirit bombers against the headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) located in an underground facility near Tehran, according to high-level sources cited by Fox News.
The operation was carried out while the rescue missions for the two crew members of the F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by Iran last Thursday were simultaneously underway.
According to sources, CENTCOM received sensitive and time-sensitive intelligence regarding the presence of a large number of IRGC commanders inside the underground bunker, which prompted the immediate decision to attack.
The B-2s flew a round trip mission from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, employing GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker buster bombs, the same ones used in last year's Operation Midnight Hammer against Iranian nuclear facilities.
A senior military source told Fox News, "We struck them where it hurts the most" regarding the IRGC. Sources indicated that the headquarters was "obliterated".
In parallel to the B-2 attack, B-1 bombers dropped approximately 100 bombs of 2,000 pounds to keep Iranian forces away from the rescue area during the recovery operations of the crew members, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The attack on the bunker occurred between the two rescues: after the first and before the second. The first crew member was rescued last Thursday in a daytime operation that lasted seven hours over Iranian territory. The second, a colonel acting as a weapons systems officer, remained hidden in mountainous terrain for over 36 hours before being rescued on Saturday.
After the rescues, President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social: "We have rescued the seriously injured and truly brave F-15 crew member from deep within the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Army was searching intensely, in large numbers, and was closing in. He is a well-respected colonel. This type of incursion is rarely attempted due to the danger to personnel and equipment. It just doesn't happen!"
The CENTCOM confirmed in a press release the rescue of both crew members of the F-15E.
The GBU-57 MOP bombs weigh 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) and can penetrate at least 60 meters of earth or 18 meters of reinforced concrete before detonating. Only the B-2 Spirit can carry them in combat.
The attack on the IRGC garrison is part of the Epic Fury Operation, the joint military offensive by the United States and Israel against Iran that began on February 28, 2026, which has destroyed over 5,000 Iranian targets and degraded 90% of the country's missile capabilities.
This Monday, Trump issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Iran to negotiate or face devastating attacks, warning that all of Iran could be wiped out in a single night.
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