US has struck 3 Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign
By Associated Press AAMER MADHANI
Washington (AP) According to President Donald Trump, the U.S. military attacked three locations in Iran, directly supporting Israel’s attempt to destroy the nation’s nuclear program in a bold move to degrade a longstanding adversary in the face of Tehran’s threat of retaliation that would lead to a larger regional battle. “We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote on social media on Saturday. All aircraft are currently outside of Iran’s airspace, he continued. The main location, Fordow, received a full payload of BOMBS. Every jet is safely returning home. Iran did not immediately acknowledge that any strikes were being carried out.
Washington (AP) As Tehran threatens retaliation that might lead to a wider regional battle, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. military has hit three locations in Iran, directly supporting Israel’s attempt to destroy the nation’s nuclear program in a bold move to debilitate a longstanding adversary.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge that any strikes were being carried out.
Following more than a week of Israeli strikes on Iran that have aimed to progressively destroy the nation’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities while also causing damage to its nuclear enrichment facilities, the United States decided to directly enter the conflict. However, according to U.S. and Israeli sources, the best chance of destroying heavily fortified locations linked to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground was provided by American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry.
Trump said on social media, “We have finished our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.” All aircraft are currently outside of Iran’s airspace. The main location, Fordow, received a full payload of BOMBS. Every jet is safely returning home.
In a subsequent post, Trump stated that he would speak at the national at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. For Israel, the United States of America, and the entire world, this is a historic moment. Now, Iran needs to agree to stop this war. I’m grateful.
Trump claimed the use of B-2 stealth aircraft, although he did not say what kinds of bombs were dropped. The Pentagon and White House did not immediately provide more details about the operation.
Given that Iran has threatened to react if it joins the Israeli attack, the strikes are a risky move for both the United States and Trump, who ran for president on a platform of avoiding expensive foreign wars and mocking the necessity of American interventionism.
As the last thing you want to do, Trump assured reporters on Friday that he had no interest in deploying foot soldiers into Iran. He had previously stated that he would make a final decision within two weeks, which seemed excessive given how rapidly the issue was developing.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, issued a warning to the United States on Wednesday that any strikes against the Islamic Republic will cause them irreversible harm. Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also stated that any American intervention would be a surefire way to start a full-scale conflict in the area.
Trump had originally hoped that the prospect of action would persuade Iran’s authorities to abandon its nuclear program quietly, but he has since promised that he would not permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
While Iran’s foreign minister warned prior to the U.S. attack that American military engagement would be extremely perilous for everyone, Israel’s military announced on Saturday that it was preparing for the possibility of a protracted battle.
There was also the threat of a larger conflict. Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, threatened to relaunch attacks on American ships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joined Israel’s military war. In May, the Houthis halted these attacks as part of an agreement with the United States.
The first assisted departure flights from Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led strike that ignited the conflict in Gaza have been launched, according to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
During Thursday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump had stated: I will decide whether or not to go in the next two weeks. Rather, two days later, the president of the United States struck.
At the urging of Israeli officials and numerous Republican congressmen, Trump seems to have calculated that Israel’s operation had loosened the situation and offered a potentially unmatched chance to permanently halt Iran’s nuclear program.
According to the Israelis, their operation has already seriously damaged several Iranian nuclear sites by impairing Iran’s air defenses.
But Israel pleaded with Trump for the U.S. bunker-busting bomb, which utilizes its weight and sheer kinetic power to penetrate deeply buried targets and then explode, in order to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment site. Currently, only the B-2 stealth bomber, which is exclusive to the American arsenal, can deliver the penetrator.
It is thought that the bomb, which has a conventional warhead, can go roughly 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before detonating. The bombs can be dropped one after the other, essentially drilling deeper and deeper with each blast.
Iran is manufacturing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which increases the risk that radioactive material could leak into the surrounding area if the site were struck by a GBU-57 A/B.
According to the IAEA, prior Israeli strikes on a centrifuge plant in Natanz, another Iranian nuclear site, have only contaminated the site and not the surrounding environment.
Following a fruitless two-month campaign by his administration, which included high-level, direct conversations with the Iranians, to convince Tehran to curtail its nuclear program, Trump has decided to launch a direct U.S. military action.
Trump claimed for months that he was committed to a diplomatic campaign to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear aspirations. Additionally, he convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time on two occasions in April and late May.
In order to defend Israel and American sites from Iranian strikes, the United States has begun moving military planes and warships into and around the Middle East in recent days.
In the meantime, Trump has changed his rhetoric from openly expressing optimism that Iran would have another opportunity to reach an agreement to explicitly threatening Khamenei and demanding Tehran’s full capitulation.
Trump stated in a social media post, “We know exactly where the so-called Supreme Leader is hiding.” Although he is protected there, he is an easy target. For the time being, at least, we will not kill him.
Trump referred to the 2018 accord mediated by the Obama administration as the worst deal ever, and he withdrew the United States from it seven years prior to the armed confrontation with Iran.
Iran, the United States, and other international powers reached a comprehensive, long-term nuclear agreement in 2015 that lifted economic sanctions in exchange for limiting Tehran’s uranium enrichment.
Because the Obama-era agreement did not address Iran’s non-nuclear malign activity, Trump criticized it for giving Iran too much in exchange for too little.
Some MAGA backers, such as conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, have criticized Trump, claiming that additional US participation would be a betrayal to supporters who were attracted to his pledge to withdraw the US from costly and protracted wars.
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recorded an increase. This report was written by Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell in Dubai; Matthew Lee and Josh Boak in Washington, D.C.; Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; and Samy Magdy in Cairo.
