The United States struck three nuclear sites in Iran on Sunday, joining Israel’s bombing campaign after days of speculation over US involvement in the conflict.
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” President Donald Trump said in an address after the strikes, warning future attacks would be “far greater” unless a diplomatic solution was reached..
The US president said Washington would hit more targets if Tehran did not capitulate. “Remember, there are many targets left,” he added.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Iran’s leaders to find an off-ramp to the conflict, saying the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”.
Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth continued. “This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,” he added.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of sabotaging diplomacy after talks with European powers.
“This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy,” he wrote on X.
Araghchi later told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line”, asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary”.
The United States targeted Iran’s three main nuclear sites, including Fordo, a uranium enrichment facility buried 90 metres (about 300 feet) underground.
The extent of the damage has not been confirmed, but there is speculation that nuclear material had already been moved away.
The Israeli military said it was checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too soon” to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the key site or if it had been buried in the attack.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the “main strike package comprised of 7 B-2 Spirit bombers” flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuellings.
The head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said there were no fatalities in the US strikes on the nuclear facilities, according to Iranian state television.
Heloise Fayet, a nuclear expert at the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales, said satellite images showing activity around Fordo “suggest enriched uranium stock may therefore have been transferred to sites not monitored by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)”.
“We previously had knowledge, albeit imperfect, of the programme thanks to the agency’s inspections; now no inspections are possible,” she told AFP.
“As for Iran’s technical expertise, it cannot be destroyed, knowing that thousands of people have participated in Iran’s nuclear programme.”
Israel, Iran exchange more fire
In response to the US attack, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway near Tel Aviv.
Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded. Police said at least three impacts were reported.
One of them was the Ramat Aviv area of Tel Aviv, tearing holes in the facades of apartment blocks.
In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war. “Israel by itself would not stop… and it would take longer,” he said.
David, a 43-year-old Jerusalem resident, told AFP: “We’re all happy that the US is lending a hand.”
Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported four Revolutionary Guard members were killed in strikes on a military base in the city’s north.
The Israeli military said it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralised the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory a short while ago”.
Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported that a “massive explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.
World leaders react
Arab countries on Sunday strongly condemned the US air strikes, warning of serious repercussions and calling for a return to diplomacy.
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticised the US move and urged de-escalation.
The European Union called on all sides “to step back” while stressing Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to “return to the negotiating table” over its nuclear ambitions.
Russia “strongly condemned” the bombings, calling them “irresponsible” and a “gross violation of international law”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strikes a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge”.
“There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace,” Guterres said in a statement.
France is urging “all parties to exercise restraint to avoid any escalation that could lead to an extension of the conflict”, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X.
China’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns” the US strikes, warning that they “escalate tensions in the Middle East”.
“China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible,” the ministry said.
Pope Leo XIV said after the strikes that “humanity is crying out for peace” and called for an end to all wars.
‘How Iran will respond’
Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were “ready to target US ships and warships”.
Ali Vaez, Iran project director for the International Crisis Group, said destroying Fordo “won’t necessarily end Iran’s nuclear programme.
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“Tehran has produced hundreds of advanced centrifuges in the past few years that are stored in unknown locations,” he said.
According to Krieg, Iran will seek a “calibrated response – loud enough to resonate, but measured enough to contain”.
Michael A. Horowitz, a geopolitics and security analyst, said Iran’s options included attacking US assets, closing the Strait of Hormuz – a vital conduit for the world oil trade – or even attacking energy facilities in the Gulf, which hosts several US military bases.
“None of those are good options that achieve anything – this is mostly about saving face,” he posted on X.
“The risks, on the other hand, are great.”
However, Horowitz said there were other ways to respond, including a limited retaliation against the US before returning to strikes against Israel and finally negotiating a settlement.
Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said Iran might allow Trump a “symbolic win” and retaliate against Israeli targets instead.
“This keeps Washington out of the war while intensifying pressure on Tel Aviv. The risk of drawing the US further in would now rest on Trump’s next move,” he posted on X.
“If Trump continues to strike Iran without new provocation, it looks more like going to war on Israel’s behalf. That’s politically costly, given domestic opposition to war with Iran.”
The Iranian foreign minister said he would travel to Moscow for “serious consultations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (today).