US bombers hit a fortified bunker of the Revolutionary Guards during rescue missions for US servicemen
B-2 Spirit stealth bombers of the US Air Force hit an underground installation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) near Tehran, as part of a complex military operation that took place during the rescue intervention of the American servicemen whose plane was shot down, the US media reports, citing sources.
Bombardier B-2 photo shutterstock
According to The Wall Street Journal, the attack was part of the ongoing Operation Epic Fury campaign and was authorized by US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper after intelligence indicated the presence of a large number of high-ranking IRGC officials in a fortified underground site. The publication reports that the B-2 bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and flew a round-trip mission of about 36 hours, during which they dropped several GBU-57 (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) bombs – munitions of about 13,600 kg, designed to destroy deeply buried and heavily fortified targets.
Fox News, citing high-level sources and US military officials, also reported that Admiral Cooper personally ordered the strike while US forces were actively conducting a rescue mission on Iranian soil following the downing of an F-15E fighter jet. The sources told Fox News that the targeted IRGC underground headquarters had been “annihilated,” though that assessment has not been independently confirmed by the Pentagon.
The bombing took place in a very short interval, between two phases of the rescue operation. Fox News sources say the decision to send the B-2 bombers directly from the United States was motivated by the tlaimp sensitive nature of information regarding the presence of several IRGC commanders in the bunker.
The Wall Street Journal notes that US forces dropped about 100 90 kg bombs to secure the area and prevent Iranian forces from approaching. Fox News, citing a senior defense official, says the strikes were carried out by B-1 bombers to “keep the Iranians away from the rescue zone.” Another military official described the action as: “we opened fire” on the IRGC.
CENTCOM announced in a statement that two US servicemen were rescued after their F-15E jet was shot down. Other details were provided by political leaders, not through official military briefings.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump described the mission as an “amazing display of courage and professionalism,” revealing that the second soldier rescued, a weapons officer, was a “highly respected colonel” recovered “from the mountains of Iran.” The US military conducted two separate rescue operations, the first in broad daylight, to rescue the first ejected pilot.
The Pentagon and CENTCOM have not made official statements regarding the bombing of the IRGC facility. The Wall Street Journal cites reports that the location may be in the mountainous Jamaran district of northern Tehran, but this has not been officially confirmed.
The weapon used, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, is the most powerful conventional bunker buster munition in the US arsenal and can only be carried by the B-2 bomber. The same weapon was previously used in Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 against Iranian nuclear facilities.
