Portraits of Iranian army generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel’s June 13 assault are displayed above a street, as a plume of heavy smoke and fireplace rise over an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an in a single day Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025.
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Pictures
President Donald Trump on Saturday mentioned america attacked Iran, hitting three nuclear websites in Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan.
“We’ve accomplished our very profitable assault on the three Nuclear websites in Iran, together with Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote on social media Saturday.
“All planes at the moment are outdoors of Iran air house. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the first website, Fordow,” wrote Trump.
“All planes are safely on their means house. Congratulations to our nice American Warriors. There’s not one other army within the World that would have achieved this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” the president wrote.
Trump mentioned he’ll tackle the nation at 10 p.m. ET Saturday.
Earlier within the day Saturday, a number of U.S. Air Drive B-2 stealth bombers left Missouri, heading west over the Pacific Ocean. The huge planes are a number of the solely U.S. plane able to carrying the GBU-57 Large Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound bomb referred to as the “bunker buster.”
Saturday’s motion places america in direct armed battle with Iran, a large escalation in its involvement with Israel’s effort to cripple Tehran’s nuclear program and topple its regime.
The choice additionally as soon as once more engages the American army in energetic warfare within the Center East — one thing Trump had vowed to keep away from throughout his second time period in workplace.
It additionally marks a serious shift from lower than 48 hours in the past, when Trump mentioned america would take “two weeks” to see if the battle between Israel and Iran could possibly be resolved diplomatically.
“Primarily based on the truth that there is a substantial probability of negotiations which will or could not happen with Iran within the close to future, I’ll make my resolution whether or not or to not go throughout the subsequent two weeks,” Trump mentioned Thursday in a press release issued by the White Home.
Behind the scenes, the Trump administration has been making an attempt to achieve a cope with Iran over its nuclear program, and Trump in current months had reportedly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to carry off on a strike.
Infographic with a map of Iran displaying nuclear websites, reactors and uranium mines.
Graphic by Sylvie Husson, Nalini Lepetit-Chella, Sabrina Blanchard | AFP | By way of Getty Pictures
That diplomatic path could now be closed. Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mentioned lately that “any American army entry will undoubtedly be met with irreparable injury.”
“In the event that they enter militarily, they’ll face hurt that they can not get well from,” he added in a press release learn on Iranian state tv.
After the U.S. strikes, it was unclear what choices remained for an Iranian retaliation towards america.
One risk with direct impacts on the worldwide economic system and provide chain can be if Tehran have been to set landmines down within the Strait of Hormuz, mentioned Helima Croft, head of worldwide commodity technique at RBC Capital Markets.
The slim physique of water between Iran and Oman is the transit level for about 20% of the world’s oil, by way of tanker ships.
Landmines would successfully shut the strait, as a result of ships wouldn’t know the place the mines have been positioned.
“We’re already getting reviews that Iran is jamming ship transponders very, very aggressively,” Croft advised CNBC’s “Quick Cash” on Wednesday.
QatarEnergy and the Greek Transport Ministry have already warned their vessels to keep away from the strait as a lot as attainable, Croft mentioned.
Extra such alerts have been anticipated following Saturday’s U.S. assault on Iranian websites.
Infographic with map of the Gulf displaying maritime tanker site visitors in September 2024 via the Strait of Hormuz
Getty Pictures
Trump and former American presidents have lengthy insisted that Iran can not have nuclear weapons.
Trump in his first time period pulled the U.S. out of a nuclear settlement that the Obama administration and different nations had brokered with Iran in 2015, arguing it failed to guard America or deter Tehran’s enrichment goals.
Israel has lengthy claimed that Iran is growing nuclear weapons, and has threatened to strike its nuclear program earlier than. However till now, Tel Aviv has restricted its army engagement to focused assassinations and cyber assaults.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of nationwide intelligence, testified earlier than Congress in March that the U.S. intelligence neighborhood “continues to evaluate that Iran just isn’t constructing a nuclear weapon and Supreme Chief Khamenei has not licensed the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.”
However Trump has repeatedly dismissed his personal Cupboard official’s evaluation.
“I do not care what she mentioned. I believe they have been very near having one,” Trump mentioned on Air Drive One final week.
It is a growing story and will probably be up to date.
