Ex-Pentagon adviser: US warned Iran two hours before strikes on nuclear sites

The United States gave Iran a two-hour warning before carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a former senior Pentagon adviser has claimed.

Retired Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who served as an adviser to the US Secretary of Defence Trump administration’s first term, said on X that the US informed Tehran shortly before the operation began, Caliber.Az reports.

“Just to be clear, the United States warned the Iranians 2 hours prior to the bombing of their nuclear facilities that an attack was coming,” Macgregor wrote.

The United States launched Operation Midnight Hammer on 22 June 2025, targeting Iran’s key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

The coordinated assault involved massive bunker-buster bombs (GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators) and submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. According to U.S. officials, the strikes inflicted severe damage, collapsing tunnels, ventilation shafts, and vital infrastructure.

Despite the scale of the attack, early Pentagon assessments suggest Iran’s nuclear programme has only been delayed by several months rather than permanently dismantled.

Intercepted communications indicate that Iranian authorities had pre-emptively relocated around 400 kilograms of enriched uranium and some centrifuges to undisclosed locations.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has echoed the uncertainty surrounding the true extent of the damage and the current location of Iran’s nuclear material.

Director-General Rafael Grossi warned that, given Iran’s retained expertise and remaining infrastructure, the country could resume uranium enrichment within months.

He called for an immediate return to IAEA inspections to ensure transparency and avoid further escalation.

By Aghakazim Guliyev