United States President Donald Trump has announced, that American B-52 bombers have successfully bombed Iran’s nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, expectedly to end the country’s nuclear programme.
The US bombing has introduced a new dimension to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran which has entered its 10 days amid heightened tension of a greater conflict in the Middle East.
In a national address from the White House, President Trump warned Iran to make peace or risk “far greater” future attacks.
Trump said American strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites marked a significant escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.
One of the targets was Fordo, an uranium enrichment plant hidden in a remote mountainside that is vital to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Israeli officials said they were in “full co-ordination” with the United States in planning these strikes.
Trump said the strikes “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, and urged Tehran to “make peace” or face “far greater” attacks in future.
However, Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi condemned the US strikes as “outrageous” and said Iran was reserving “all options to defend its sovereignty”, stressing that the US will face “everlasting consequences”.
“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior,” he writes in a post on X.
Araghchi added that the US has “committed a grave violation” of the United Nation’s charter as a member of the UN Security Council.
The US reportedly used heavy bunker-busting bombs dropped from B-2 strategic stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles to attack the nuclear sites.
Iran’s state media admitted that part of the Fordo site was “attacked by enemy strikes”, but downplayed the impact of the damage.
Tehran earlier warned it would target American interests in the Middle East in retaliation for any US attack and has so far fired missiles at Israel, with blasts heard over Jerusalem.
Israel has praised the US involvement in the conflict, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the “bold decision” will “change the course of history.”
Meanwhile, US lawmakers were divided along party lines in their reactions to the country’s involvement, with the Republicans commending Trump, while Democrats warned that America was being dragged into another “open-ended” war.
