Overview

• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the B-2 pilots who flew Operation Midnight Hammer will be guests at the July 4 festivities and will be joined by additional crews from Whiteman Air Force Base.
• The celebration will include a flyover of B-2 Spirit bombers—the same aircraft used in the Iran strikes—alongside F-22s and F-35s over the National Mall.
• Operation Midnight Hammer featured seven B-2s on a continuous 36-hour round trip from Missouri to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles striking Isfahan.
• Intelligence leaks suggesting the strikes set Iran’s nuclear program back only months have been publicly contested by the White House, with President Trump deeming such reports demeaning to the pilots.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency has sought access to assess the damage while Iran has reserved retaliatory options and paused cooperation with nuclear inspectors.