Although the operation achieved an impressive level of tactical success, with a swarm of warplanes penetrating Iran unchallenged following a long, undetected flight from Missouri, it will be far harder than the president has suggested to reliably evaluate the damage inflicted on Iran’s ability to manufacture a nuclear weapon.

Iran launched a missile attack on Al Udeid Air Base — the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, which President Donald Trump visited just last month — after the U.S. carried out a series of bombings against three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.

Vice President JD Vance had a message for Iran after Saturday night’s strikes: The U.S. is only interested in destroying the country’s nuclear program, not the regime. “We’re not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear program,

It was an unprecedented attack years in the making, with some last-minute misdirection meant to give the operation a powerful element of surprise