United States joins Israel in war against Iran as it launches attack on nuclear sites
LAST UPDATE
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3 hrs ago
US STEALTH BOMBERS and submarine launched tomahawk missiles have attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, US President Donald Trump has announced.
Trump in posts on his Truth Social platform described it as a 'very successful attack' on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow.
'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' he said.
'A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,' he said, adding that the planes were safely out of Iranian airspace and on the way home.
In a phone conversation this morning with Fox News Trump said six bunker buster bombs were used in the underground complex at Fordow and then 30 Tomahawk missiles launched from submarines on the other sites.
In an address at 3am Irish time, Trump, said threatened further strikes against Iran.
He said the US air strikes had 'completely and totally obliterated' the nuclear enrichment facilities.
'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember there are many targets left.
'If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill,' he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation at the White House in Washington DC.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The US is the only Air Force with the capability to launch so-called 'bunker buster' bombing – this enables them to hit targets deep underground.
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In recent days, large numbers of US warplanes were moved across the Atlantic – including tankers, fighters and the B2 bombers were moved to the Pacific island base of Guam.
It is not the first time Donald Trump has struck at the heart of the Iranian regime – in 2020 he ordered the drone strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani.
In response to the attacks Israel has raised its alert level, permitting only essential activities until further notice.
'It was decided to shift all areas of the country from Partial and Limited Activity to Essential Activity,' including 'a prohibition on educational activities, gatherings, and workplaces, except for essential sectors', the Israeli military statement said.
In an address posted to X, Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump's action had 'created a pivot to history' in denying the 'most dangerous regime, the most dangerous weapons'.
Iran's atomic agency said on Sunday that the country will carry on with its nuclear activities despite the US attacks on key facilities.
'The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great nation of Iran that despite the evil plots of its enemies … it will not let the path of development of this national industry (nuclear), which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, be stopped,' the organisation said in a statement published by state media.
Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, called for de-escalation.
'I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.
'There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.
'I call on Member States to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.
'At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace,' he said.
With reporting from AFP and David MacRedmond.
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Explainer: How Iran could hit back at the US and what that could mean
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned Washington of 'irreparable damage' if the US joined Israel 's war on the Islamic republic. On Saturday, Donald Trump did just that. The US president sent American bombers to attack Iran's key nuclear facilities. The sites were 'obliterated', he said. Retired general Joseph Votel, a former commander of US central command — which oversees American troops in the Middle East — said the Pentagon had to assume that Iran would retaliate. READ MORE This could mean direct attacks on US forces or diplomatic missions in the region, cyber attacks, terrorism, or new strikes by Iranian proxies, said analysts. Tehran could also disrupt energy shipments out of the Gulf. With tens of thousands of US troops deployed in the Middle East, and Iran and its proxies being 'very clear' that they would attack, the world would soon learn if Mr Trump was 'prepared for the consequences', said Dana Stroul, former deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East. Large US military hubs in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait were 'very likely' targets for Iran, Mr Votel said, adding that Centcom would have already taken preparations ahead of the attack. In the days before the US's military action on Saturday night, Elliott Abrams, who was the special representative for Iran and Venezuela in the first Trump administration, said the targets could also be US Gulf allies such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Iran could also try to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a third of the world's seaborne crude passes each day, he said. That would '[raise] world oil prices immediately'. While the US has sent more military assets to the region in recent days, Iran was 'prepared now' for a counterstrike, with a 'range of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones', former air force secretary Frank Kendall said ahead of the US bombing raid. Deciding to do so would be 'an escalation question' for the Iranians — 'a calculation of what additional attacks would be remounted if they responded' to the US. Mr Trump warned Iran against that course of action in his late-night address on Saturday, saying Tehran needed to sue for peace now or face more war. 'Future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier,' he said. The US has approximately 40,000 troops and military personnel in the Middle East, according to a US defence official, in bases and military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, as well as Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The bases in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait are equipped with aerial defences, but are within striking distance of Iran's shorter-range missiles, said Mr Kendall. There are also multiple destroyers and an aircraft carrier group in the region, with the USS Nimitz carrier strike group also on the way. 'They're always on a reasonable set of alert because of potential attacks, but I would assume [it] would be higher [now],' he said. The US's 2,500 troops in Iraq and hundreds in Syria could be vulnerable to attacks from Iranian-backed Shia militants — who have in the past fired rockets and drones at US assets and troops — as well as from Iran's missiles. 'Militias in Iraq are not dismantled. They made a political decision to preserve and protect themselves and not attack US forces' up to this point, said Ms Stroul. Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen will also consider the US's strikes a violation of a ceasefire the group had reached with Washington this spring, Ms Stroul said, and could target the American vessels. Alongside Iran's remaining missiles, other forms of weaponry are available, said analysts. 'Iran still has very sophisticated offensive cyber capabilities, their network maintains all sorts of sleeper cells far beyond the Middle East,' Ms Stroul said. Another risk is that Saturday's US bombing raid on Fordow, one of Iran's two main uranium enrichment facilities, has been less successful than intended. While Iran confirmed the attacks, there was no evidence yet of the extent of the damage to the subterranean facility. The attacks could make Iran more determined to develop a nuclear weapons programme. The republic was already enriching uranium to levels close to weapons grade, though it says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes. 'Even though there's no question that the Israelis have inflicted significant damage on Iran's military-industrial complex, its ballistic missile capabilities, its nuclear programme and its leadership . . . you cannot bomb away all knowledge and these programmes can be rebuilt,' said Ms Stroul. 'Any additional damage would set them back perhaps years, but it would not stop them from reconstituting or continuing a programme to acquire nuclear weapons,' said Mr Kendall. Iran could also strike back with punishing economic effect by targeting energy supplies out of the Gulf. In 2019, the vulnerabilities were exposed when a missile and drone attack blamed on Iran temporarily knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's crude oil output. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have in recent years engaged in a détente with Iran, seeking to reduce tensions and ward off more strikes. In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran could use fast-attack boats, submarines and land-based anti-ship weapons to strike sailing ships, said Mr Kendall. Alternatively, it could mine the waterway — though Iran also uses the strait for its own oil exports, its key source of foreign currency. Michael Alfaro, chief investment officer at Gall Partners, an energy-focused hedge fund, said global energy markets would be braced for prolonged turbulence after the US strikes. 'The broader geopolitical consequences will almost certainly keep upward pressure on oil prices,' he said. 'Iran is likely to retain significant influence over the Strait of Hormuz.' Helima Croft, a former CIA analyst and global head of strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said she was worried about the vulnerability of Iraq, which produces 4mn barrels of oil a day. Infrastructure in Basra was threatened by 'Iranian-backed militias that operate very close to those facilities', she told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum on Wednesday. Other experts said they thought Israel's bombardment, which has killed many of Iran's top military commanders and destroyed missile launchers and plants, had sufficiently weakened Iran's ability to retaliate against the US. Israel has destroyed most of Iran's air defences in recent days and has secured near total air dominance over the republic. Iran's main proxy, Lebanese militant movement Hizbullah, has also been severely debilitated after Israel launched a series of devastating assaults on the group last year. There would be 'major drawbacks' to Iran using missiles and drones to retaliate, said Erik Raven, former under-secretary of the US navy. 'Their stockpiles are depleting [and] American missile defence systems are highly capable,' he added. 'There is no chance of these attacks achieving any of their political goals. The calculation is all risk, no reward.' - Financial Times
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
US bombs Iran live updates: Tehran warns of ‘everlasting conequences' over US strikes
Conor Pope - 2 minutes ago In terms of what happened, when, here is a timeline with all times Irish time. 00;50 US President Donald Trump announces that three strokes have been carried out on Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. The US reportedly used heavy bunker-busting bombs dropped from B-2 strategic stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles although that was not confirmed by Mr Trump. 01:56: The attacks are confirmed by Iran. 02:43: 'President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength,' says Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu while a minute later the head of the United Nations describes the bombing as a 'dangerous escalation'. 03:00 : Donald Trump addresses the nation and in a televised address calls on Iran to 'now make peace' or face 'far greater' attacks. 05:31 : A fresh missile strike on Israel is launched by Iran. 06:00 : The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports 'no increase' in radiation levels at the targeted sites struck by the US bombers. Conor Pope - 14 minutes ago Shortly before 1am Irish time, US B-2 bombers carried out an attack on three nuclear facilities in Iran using heavy 'bunker-busting' bombs. The US President Donald Trump - in a televised address - hailed the operation as a 'spectacular military success and he warned Tehran to quickly make peace or face 'far greater' attacks. 'The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,' the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said as he called the US strikes a 'grave violation' of the UN charter, international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He said that 'Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.' In the wake of the US attack, Israeli military warned people to seek cover from a missile barrage from Iran that appeared heavier than what the attacks that have been recorded in recent days. Reaction to the bombing and the dramatic escalation of tension in the mIddle East has been coming in through the night and will continue throughout today.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Tánaiste 'closely monitoring' situation in Iran after US strikes
Tánaiste Simon Harris said he was "closely monitoring" the situation in Iran after the overnight strikes by the US. "The risk of an extremely dangerous spiral of escalation in relation to Iran and Israel is now more real and more likely than ever before," Mr Harris said. "There is an urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy." Mr Harris said: "Europe, including Ireland, is fully united in the clear view that Iran should not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. "The way to address this was always through a negotiated solution. Any alternative to that is simply too dangerous for civilians, for the Middle East region and for global security." He added that discussions would be taking place among EU foreign ministers in the hours ahead to consider "the next steps Europe can usefully play to support de-escalation". Mr Harris added he is aware of the large contingent of Irish peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon, saying he is receiving regular updates from the chief of staff of the Defence Forces. Read More US strikes Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran warns of 'everlasting consequences'
