US President Donald Trump said US air strikes on Sunday \u201ctotally obliterated\u201d Iran\u2019s main nuclear sites, as Washington joined Israel\u2019s war with Tehran in a flashpoint moment for the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Condemning the US attacks as a violation of international law, Iran said it was \u201cresolved to defend Iran\u2019s territory, sovereignty, security and people by all force\u201d. It also responded with a volley of missiles at Israel that wounded scores of people in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
Key developments:<\/p>\n
US strikes Iran\u2019s Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites
\nPentagon chief says US operation not aimed at regime change
\nTop US general details weapons used in \u201cOperation Midnight Hammer\u201d
\nIran warns of \u2018everlasting consequences\u2019, says US betrayed diplomacy
\nPakistan condemns attacks, voices support for Tehran\u2019s right to defend
\nDemocrats criticise decision \u2018without Congress approval\u2019
\nThe US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck Iran on June 13, repeating his insistence that it could never have a nuclear weapon. Tehran has consistently denied the claim, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n
Israel had launched wide-scale air strikes against Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences, killing top commanders, scientists and hundreds others. Both countries have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since then.<\/p>\n
In a televised address to the nation from the White House earlier today, Trump warned that the United States would go after more targets if Iran did not make peace quickly.<\/p>\n
The intervention by a US president who had vowed to avoid another \u201cforever war\u201d in the region threatens to dramatically widen the conflict, with Iran having said it would retaliate if Washington got involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,\u201d said Trump, adding that they targeted the crucial underground nuclear enrichment plant of Fordow along with facilities at Natanz and Isfahan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIran\u2019s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,\u201d said Trump.<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the strikes, saying that \u201cthe awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump spoke to Netanyahu after the attacks, while the US also gave Israel a \u201cheads up\u201d before the strikes, a senior White House official told AFP.<\/p>\n
Not long after, sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and explosions were heard from Jerusalem as Iranian state TV announced a fresh salvo of missiles launched.<\/p>\n
Tehran said there were \u201cno signs of contamination\u201d after the US attacks and Saudi regulators said \u201cno radioactive effects were detected\u201d in the Gulf region.<\/p>\n
Iranian media confirmed that part of the Fordow plant, as well as the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites, were attacked.<\/p>\n
The US strikes push the Middle East to the brink of a major new conflagration in a region already aflame for more than 20 months with devastating conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as a toppled ruler in Syria.<\/p>\n
Tehran had threatened reprisals on US forces in the Middle East if Trump attacked.<\/p>\n
\u2018US operation not aimed at regime change\u2019
\nUS Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth hailed the strikes an \u201cincredible and overwhelming success\u201d, adding that the operation was intended at a regime change in Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe devastated the Iranian nuclear programme, but it is worth noting that the operation did not target the Iranian troops or people,\u201d Hegseth told a press conference at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
The secretary reiterated Trump\u2019s claims that Iran must never get a nuclear weapon, stating that by employing the president\u2019s policy of \u201cpeace through strength\u201d, Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions were \u201cobliterated\u201d.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Hegseth said the strikes were not a preamble to plans for regime change in Iran, adding that private messages had been sent to Tehran encouraging them to negotiate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis mission was not and has not been about regime change,\u201d Hegseth stated. \u201cThe president authorised a precision operation to neutralise the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear programme.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant, showing the world that American deterrence is back,\u201d Hegseth added. \u201cWhen this president speaks, the world should listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hegseth also read a statement from Trump, warning that any retaliation by Iran \u201cwill be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIran would be smart to heed these words,\u201d the defence secretary warned, adding that US forces were postured to defend themselves, and take action if needed.<\/p>\n
Hegseth said that the operation took months of preparation and required \u201ca great deal of precision [\u2026] misdirection and highest of operational security\u201d.<\/p>\n
Describing the complex operation, dubbed \u201cMidnight Hammer\u201d, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the \u201cmain strike package comprised\u201d of seven B-2 stealth bombers flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuellings.<\/p>\n
The US strikes included 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft, the top general added.<\/p>\n
Trump had earlier told Fox News\u2019 Sean Hannity show that five to six \u201cbunker-buster\u201d bombs were dropped on the deep-underground Fordow facility, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites.<\/p>\n
Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated that all three sites sustained \u201cextremely severe damage and destruction\u201d, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact.<\/p>\n
\u201cIran\u2019s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran\u2019s surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise,\u201d Caine added.<\/p>\n
Iran warns of \u2018everlasting consequences\u2019; Pakistan condemns attacks
\nDenouncing the US attacks as \u201clawless and criminal\u201d, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country has a right to defend its sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cIran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement issued by its foreign ministry, Iran strongly condemned the \u201cUnited States\u2019 brutal military aggression against Iran\u2019s peaceful nuclear facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said the US actions \u2014 \u201ccarried out in collusion with the genocidal Israeli regime\u2014 once again laid bare the depth of depravity that governs American foreign policy and revealed the extent of hostility harboured by the US ruling establishment against the peace-seeking and independence-loving people of Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world must not forget that it was the United States that, in the midst of a diplomatic process, betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal and lawbreaking Israeli regime to impose a war of aggression on the Iranian nation,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n
Iran called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to condemn this \u201ccriminal act of aggression\u201d.<\/p>\n
It also urged the UN\u2019s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which it accused of \u201cevident bias in favour of warmongering parties\u201d, to \u201ccarry out its legal responsibility\u201d as Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities were under the agency\u2019s safeguards and monitoring.<\/p>\n
It highlighted that the US attacks violated the UN Charter and UNSC\u2019s Resolution 2231 from 2015 on Iran\u2019s nuclear issue, also terming it a \u201cdevastating blow\u201d to the global non-proliferation system.<\/p>\n
\u201cSilence in the face of such blatant aggression would plunge the world into an unprecedented level of danger and chaos,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
Pakistan also condemned the US attacks, saying it was \u201cgravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reiterate that these attacks violate all norms of international law and that Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself under the UN Charter,\u201d a statement by the Foreign Office said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran, is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond,\u201d it warned.<\/p>\n
It stressed that \u201crecourse to dialogue, diplomacy, in line with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, remains the only viable pathway to resolve the crises in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe emphasise the imperative need to respect civilian lives and properties and immediately bring the conflict to end. All parties must adhere to international law, particularly International Humanitarian Law,\u201d the statement asserted.<\/p>\n
Trump warns Iran against \u2018any retaliation\u2019
\nTrump had said on Thursday that he would decide \u201cwithin two weeks\u201d whether to join Israel\u2019s campaign, in a move that many saw as a window of diplomatic opportunity.<\/p>\n
But the Republican\u2019s decision to strike Iran came far sooner.<\/p>\n
Flanked by JD Vance, Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump said that future attacks would be \u201cfar greater\u201d unless Iran reached a diplomatic solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember, there are many targets left,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump, however, made no mention of regime change, despite having warned last week that Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an \u201ceasy target\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US contacted Iran diplomatically yesterday to say the strikes are all the US plans and it does not aim for regime change, CBS News reported.<\/p>\n
Trump said earlier on his Truth Social site that a \u201cfull payload of bombs\u201d was dropped on Fordow, adding that \u201call planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is not another military in the world that could have done this. Now is the time for peace!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In another post, the US president called it a \u201chistoric moment for the United States of America, Israel, and the world\u201d. \u201cIran must now agree to end this war,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and says its programme is for civilian purposes only. The IAEA last week Tehran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n
However, a US intelligence assessment found that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon programme and was \u201cyears away from producing one\u201d, a report from CNN released on Tuesday said.<\/p>\n
Israel, which is not a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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