U.S. B-2 Bombers Strike Iran as Israel Claims Air Superiority Over Tehran Skies

Latest Developments

B-2 Strikes and Iranian Navy Struck: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on March 1 that the U.S. Air Force launched strikes against Iran utilizing B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. According to the statement, the aircraft were equipped with 2,000-pound munitions, which were used to strike “Iran’s hardened ballistic missile facilities.” Later in the day, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had “destroyed and sunk” nine Iranian naval vessels as part of Operation Epic Fury, while adding that U.S. forces also “largely destroyed” Iran’s Navy headquarters.
IDF Announces Air Superiority: The IDF claimed that it had established air superiority over Tehran on March 1, with the Israeli Air Force striking Iranian ballistic missile launchers, command-and-control sites, and air defense systems throughout the day. The IDF also reported that Israeli Air Force fighter jets and attack helicopters had successfully intercepted more than 50 Iranian drones since the start of the operations.
Trump Says Thousands of Iranian Military Officials Wish To Receive Immunity: In a statement on March 1, U.S. President Donald Trump said that members of Iran’s military were offering “by the thousands” to surrender to the United States and receive immunity. He urged members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian conventional armed forces, and the Iranian police force to “lay down [their] arms and receive full immunity or face certain death.” Trump also reiterated his call to anti-regime Iranian protesters to “seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country,” adding, “America is with you.”

FDD Expert Response

“In just over 24 hours, American and Israeli forces demonstrated a level of operational integration that few alliances in history have achieved. This wasn’t improvised — it was built on decades of joint planning, training, intelligence sharing, and trust. The result is not only battlefield effectiveness but also a stronger, more credible deterrent. It’s a model of allied integration that should be studied and, where possible, replicated as the United States works with trusted partners to confront coordinated threats from Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO

“Benefitting from years of training, planning, intelligence sharing, and security cooperation, the United States and Israel are conducting extraordinarily difficult and impressive combined military operations against a radical regime in Iran that is an enemy of Americans, Israelis, Arabs, and especially Iranians. The regime is now lashing out in desperation and in the process building the unity and determination of the American-Israeli-Arab coalition. Now is the time to destroy as much as possible of the regime’s tools of aggression and oppression — while taking every possible measure to avoid strikes that hurt Iranian civilians.” — Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power