Trump Says Iran’s Nuclear Sites Were Also “Drug Factories” During Midnight Hammer Strikes

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has introduced a new description of the 2025 U.S. strikes on Iran, saying facilities officially identified as nuclear sites were also being used as “drug factories.”

 

 

Trump made the remarks Thursday night at a campaign rally in Durant, Oklahoma, while recounting Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. military mission conducted against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in June 2025.

The president described the targeted locations as facilities involved in both nuclear activities and drugs, saying the American strikes had hit the sites extremely hard during the overnight operation.

Trump did not identify what type of drugs he was referring to, specify which facility allegedly produced them, or provide evidence supporting the characterization during his rally remarks.

The comments represent a departure from the public explanation given when Midnight Hammer was conducted, when the administration described its objective as destroying Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities.

The June 2025 operation targeted three major Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, according to U.S. military accounts and contemporaneous reporting about the mission.

Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers participated in the operation, while U.S. forces also launched more than 30 Tomahawk missiles from a submarine against Iranian targets.

The bombers flew from Missouri on a mission lasting more than 30 hours, with the aircraft eventually striking facilities located deep inside Iran during nighttime operations.

The Fordow facility, built beneath a mountain, presented a particularly difficult target because of its underground construction and the depth protecting its uranium-enrichment infrastructure.

American forces used GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, specialized bunker-busting weapons carried by B-2 bombers, with the Pentagon saying the weapons were designed to penetrate hardened underground facilities.

At the time, Trump said the operation had completely destroyed Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities, describing the mission as a major military success.

The White House later continued defending that assessment, saying the strikes had caused extensive damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and significantly disrupted its enrichment program.

However, subsequent assessments produced differing conclusions about the extent of the destruction, with U.S. officials and outside analysts disputing whether all three sites were completely eliminated.

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment reported after the strikes concluded that damage had seriously affected the facilities but questioned claims that Iran’s entire nuclear program had been permanently destroyed.

FactCheck.org later reported that experts considered the strikes highly damaging while noting that evidence for complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities was more complicated than the administration’s strongest public claims.

Trump’s latest comments also come as the United States remains deeply involved in a broader conflict with Iran that escalated significantly during 2026.

The current conflict began with U.S. and Israeli strikes in February 2026, while subsequent military operations expanded beyond the nuclear issue to include Iranian missile, drone and military infrastructure.

 

 

The administration has continued to frame its military policy around preventing Iran from developing or obtaining nuclear weapons, while Tehran has disputed American descriptions of its nuclear intentions.

Trump’s new reference to alleged drug production adds another element to his explanation, but no supporting intelligence or independent evidence identifying the nuclear facilities as drug-production centers has been publicly presented.

The distinction is significant because Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan have long been publicly documented as components of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including uranium enrichment and related nuclear activities.

For now, Trump’s “drug factories” description remains a claim made by the president during a political rally, rather than a publicly documented finding contained in the Pentagon’s original account of Operation Midnight Hammer.