U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he would decide within the “next two weeks” on whether the U.S. will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, on June 22, Iran’s nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan were bombed by the U.S.
The President in his address from the White House called the strike on Iran “a spectacular military success”, adding that the nuclear sites have been “obliterated.” Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, earlier had said, “The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily.”
Here’s The Top Points Of All That Has Happened Today
Trump declared that the U.S. attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran, first on Truth Social, and later through a televised Presidential address from the White House. “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home,” he posted on social media.
Calling Iran the bully of the Middle East, Trump said that Iran must make peace. "If they do not, future attacks will be far greater, and a lot easier,” adding that the objective of the attack was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity.
Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, warned the U.S. that its attack on Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz will have "everlasting consequences", adding that Tehran has the right to defend itself against US' “grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT.”
Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the country had been waiting for an attack on Fordow for several nights. “The site has long been evacuated and has not suffered any irreversible damage in the attack,” he posted on X, adding that knowledge cannot be bombed.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the attack was “in full coordination between me and President Trump,” adding that the promise he made to Israel’s citizens of destroying Iran’s nuclear facility has been fulfilled.
Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, on June 22, called for an emergency Security Council meeting for what he described as America's “heinous attacks and illegal use of force” against Iran. The letter further mentions that Iran “condemns and denounces in the strongest possible terms these unprovoked and premeditated acts of aggression, which have followed the large-scale military attack conducted by the Israeli regime on 13 June against Iran's peaceful nuclear sites and facilities."
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN said on X, that there is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world, adding that he was gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran, calling it a “dangerous escalation.” He called for peace and diplomacy.
As per reports, the United States used the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, known as a “bunker buster,” in its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. It remains unknown how many MOPs were dropped. Furthermore, the June 22 attack is the first known instance of the bomb being used operationally.
Latin American countries, New Zealand, Australia called for peace and diplomacy, and the European Union urged “all sides to step back.” Pakistan condemned the strikes, stating it can lead to possible further escalation of tensions in the region. Saudi Arabia asks to “exercise restraint.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog body, said on Sunday that no increase in off-site radiation levels at the three Iranian nuclear sites targeted in U.S. strikes has been reported. The deputy director of the Atomic Energy Organization and the head of the National Nuclear Safety System Center in Iran, Reza Kardan, also said “no radiation contamination or nuclear radiation has been observed outside” the sites.
The IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, wrote on social media, “In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting” of the IAEA Board of Governors for Monday.
Today, Iran launched over 30 ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the missile attack, which hit several areas across central Israel, including Haifa. CNN reported that 86 people were admitted to hospital with injuries.
After Iran’s attack, the IDF released a statement saying that the Israeli Air Force began a series of strikes toward military targets in western Iran. “Additionally, this morning, the IAF struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory a short while ago.”
The attack falls in a legal grey area, both according to the U.S.' constitution and international laws. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said “No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy.”
No official statement has been released by Iran’s Supreme Leader yet. The country’s foreign minister Araghchi wrote on X that "Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."
