The Kinda-Sorta Daily Digression for 23 June 2025

A History of Violence: The U.S. Bombing of Iran and the Long Arc of Imperial Memory

On June 21, 2025, the United States launched a coordinated bombing campaign against three of Iran’s nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—in what the Pentagon dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer. The strikes, involving over 125 aircraft and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles, marked the most direct U.S. military action against Iran in decades. President Donald Trump, in a televised address, declared the operation a “spectacular success,” claiming it had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and warning that further attacks would follow if Tehran did not “make peace”.