INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites, President Donald Trump said late on Saturday, and he warned Tehran it would face more
attacks if it did not agree to peace, Reuters reported.
After days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline,
Trump’s decision to join Israel’s military campaign against its major rival Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict.
“The
strikes were a spectacular military success,” Trump said in a televised Oval Office address
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
In a speech that lasted just over three
minutes, Trump said Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy,” and that there were many other targets that could be hit by the U.S
military.
“If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.”
The U.S
reached out to Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes are all the U.S
plans and it does not aim for regime change, CBS News reported.
Trump said U.S
forces struck Iran’s three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow
He told Fox News six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordow, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites, read the
B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a U.S
official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump
“Fordow is gone.”
“IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR,” he added.
Reuters had reported earlier on Saturday the movement of the B-2
bombers, which can be equipped to carry massive bombs that experts say would be needed to strike Fordow, which is buried under a mountain
Given its fortification, it will likely be days, if not longer, before the impact of the strikes is known.
An Iranian official, cited by
Tasnim news agency, confirmed that part of the Fordow site was attacked by “enemy airstrikes.”
Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of
Iran’s state broadcaster, said Iran had evacuated the three sites some time ago.
“The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred
from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our
compatriots,” he told the channel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his “bold decision”.
“History
will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime, the world’s most dangerous weapons,” Netanyahu
said.
The strikes came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat that has resulted in deaths and injuries
in both countries, Reuters reported.
Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have been
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Saturday’s strikes a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge –
and a direct threat to international peace and security.”
In recent days, Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have argued that Trump
must receive permission from the U.S
Congress before committing the U.S
military to any combat against Iran.
Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi applauded the operation
but cautioned that the U.S
now faced “very serious choices ahead.”
One Republican lawmaker, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, simply said, “This is not
constitutional.” Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it was “absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Many
in Trump’s MAGA movement have opposed U.S
entanglement in foreign military operations
Trump ally Steve Bannon said on his War Room podcast that the president’s address was probably not what a lot of MAGA supporters wanted to
hear, and he called on Trump to offer a “deeper explanation” for why U.S
involvement was necessary.
Trump-aligned commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X: “America stands with President Trump.”
Israel launched
attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons
Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.
At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500
injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.
In Israel, 24 civilians have
been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies
More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office, read the report.
Israeli
officials said 1,272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.
The post Trump says
Iran’s key nuclear sites ‘obliterated’ by US airstrikes first appeared on TINS News | Afghanistan News.
