US military strikes on Iran: Trump declares success in obliterating nuclear sites
US President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House in Washington, DC on June 21, 2025, following the announcement that the US bombed nuclear sites in Iran. President Donald Trump said June 21, 2025 the US military has carried out a "very successful attack" on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
President Donald Trump said US air strikes on Sunday "totally obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites, as Washington joined Israel's war with Tehran in a flashpoint moment for the Middle East.
In a televised address to the nation from the White House, Trump warned that the United States would go after more targets if Iran did not make peace quickly.
The intervention by a US president who had vowed to avoid another "forever war" in the region threatens to dramatically widen the conflict, with Iran having said it would retaliate if Washington got involved.
"Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," said Trump, adding that they targeted the crucial underground nuclear enrichment plant of Fordo along with facilities at Natanz and Isfahan.
"Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran the bully of the Middle East must now make peace," said Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the strikes, saying that "with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history."
Condemning the US attacks as "lawless and criminal," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country has a right to defend its sovereignty.
"The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," he posted on X.
"Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."
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.
Tehran said Sunday there were "no signs of contamination" after the US attacks and Saudi regulators said "no radioactive effects were detected" in the Gulf region.
Iranian media confirmed that part of the Fordo plant as well as the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were attacked.
Surprise attack
Trump had said Thursday that he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join Israel's campaign, in a move that many saw as a window of diplomatic opportunity.
But the Republican's decision to strike Iran came far sooner.
Flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump said that future attacks would be "far greater" unless Iran reached a diplomatic solution.
"Remember, there are many targets left," he said.
Trump however made no mention of regime change, despite having warned last week that Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an "easy target."
The raid on the Iran nuclear sites was carried out by B-2 stealth bombers that dropped so-called "bunker buster bombs," along with submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, US media reported.
Trump said earlier on his Truth Social site that a "full payload of BOMBS" was dropped on Fordo and said that "all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors."
Pictures posted by the White House showed Trump in a red "Make America Great Again" cap meeting with top national security officials in the Situation Room, shortly before the strikes were announced.
After the address, Trump warned Iran against "any retaliation." Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in the region, including in Iraq.
Iran's Huthi allies in Yemen had on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war.
The 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.
Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since then.
MAGA split
Trump spoke to Netanyahu after the attacks, while the United States also gave key ally Israel a "heads up" before the strikes, a senior White House official told AFP.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday of a "more devastating" retaliation should Israel's nine-day bombing campaign continue.
Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and on Saturday Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program "cannot be taken away... by threats or war."
Iran's Revolutionary Guard meanwhile announced early Sunday that "suicide drones" had been launched against "strategic targets" across Israel.
The US military strikes on Iran also threaten to cause political tensions at home for Trump.
The issue has opened a split in Trump's "MAGA" movement, with many key Republican supporters calling on Trump to avoid embroiling the United States in another foreign war.
Trump's first 2016 election victory in particular came on the back of his promises to get America out of its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Democrats have also assailed him.
Leading US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said Trump risked US "entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East," while others have accused him of bypassing Congress to launch a new war.
AFP
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The Citizen
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IOL News
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TimesLIVE
2 hours ago
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Investors react to US attack on Iran nuclear sites
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a 'very successful attack' on three nuclear sites in Iran had been carried out. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,' Trump said in a televised Oval Office address. 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. MARKET REACTION: With most markets closed, the only reaction was in cryptocurrencies. Ether fell more than 5%, bitcoin dipped 1%. Following are comments from some financial analysts: MARK SPINDEL, CIO, POTOMAC RIVER CAPITAL, WASHINGTON DC: 'I think the markets are going to be initially alarmed and I think oil will open higher. We don't have any damage assessment and that will take some time. Even though he has described this as 'done', we're engaged. What comes next? I think the uncertainty is going to blanket the markets, as now Americans everywhere are going to be exposed. It's going to raise uncertainty and volatility, particularly in oil. 'There's plenty of time to deliberate before markets open on Sunday. I'm making arrangements to talk to a few people tomorrow. We'll get an early indication when the dollar opens for trading in New Zealand. This was such a bold action, though, and it's such a big contrast to the comments about negotiating for the next two weeks.' JAMIE COX, MANAGING PARTNER, HARRIS FINANCIAL GROUP, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA: 'Oil is sure to spike on this initial news, but will likely level in a few days. With this demonstration of force and total annihilation of its nuclear capabilities, they've lost all of their leverage and will likely hit the escape button to a peace deal.' MARK MALEK, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, SIEBERT FINANCIAL, NYC: 'I think it's going to be very positive for the stock market. I believe that on Friday if you'd asked me, I would have expected two weeks of volatility with markets trying to analyse every drib and drab of information coming out of the White House and I would have said that it would have been better to make a decision last week. 'So this will be reassuring, especially since it seems like a one and done situation and not as if (the US) is seeking a long, drawn out conflict. The biggest risk still out there is the Strait of Hormuz. It could certainly change everything if Iran has the capability to close it.' JACK ABLIN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF CRESSET CAPITAL, CHICAGO: 'This adds a complicated new layer of risk that we'll have to consider and pay attention to ... This is definitely going to have an impact on energy prices and potentially on inflation as well.' SAUL KAVONIC, SENIOR ENERGY ANALYST, MST MARQUEE, SYDNEY: 'This escalation could add enough pressure on Iran to see Iran back down and accept a deal that de-escalates the conflict and brings down oil prices with it. 'The more likely scenario: This US attack could see a conflagration of the conflict to include Iran responding by targeting regional American interests that could include gulf oil infrastructure in places such as Iraq or harassing passage through the Strait of Hormuz. 'Much depends on how Iran responds in the coming hours and days, but this could set us on a path towards $100 oil if Iran respond as they have previously threatened to. The information warfare that appears designed to have caught Iran off guard has also caught oil markets off guard to a degree.' RONG REN GOH, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS, SINGAPORE: 'The US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities marks a significant escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict and introduces a new phase of geopolitical risk, with direct US involvement likely to prolong tensions in the region. 'For Asian markets, the key vulnerability lies in their sensitivity to higher energy prices. A protracted conflict raises the risk of supply disruptions, which could feed into inflationary pressures and weigh on growth expectations across the region. 'With the prospects of a swift resolution now diminished, investors are likely to reprice risk across markets. I expect to see a flight to safety, with the USD bid and broad-based weakness across Asian risk assets as markets assess the potential fallout from sustained geopolitical instability and elevated oil prices.' ALEX MORRIS, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, F/M INVESTMENTS, WASHINGTON DC: Morris expects crude oil will spike to $80 or more when it resumes trading. 'That's the next stop as a knee-jerk reaction. I think that's the reason this happened on a Saturday and not a Sunday. There's a lot more that is going to happen over the next 24 hours' ERIC BEYRICH, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, SOUND INCOME STRATEGIES, LARCHMONT, NEW YORK: 'If there is nuclear fallout — all bets are off. The regime is going to conclude that it has lost everything and will do all kinds of crazy things, like commissioning terrorist attacks on embassies.' CHRISTOPHER HODGE, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, NATIXIS, NEW YORK: 'There is a plethora of potential ramifications but it appears as if the strikes were targeted, discreet, and discriminating. If so, and if the oil exporting capacity of Iran has not been compromised, then the economic fallout should be contained. 'A short-term pop in oil prices will be viewed by the Fed less as a factor that increases input costs and feeds through to inflation than it will be as a tax on consumers that suppresses demand. I wouldn't expect this to factor into the Fed's decision calculus unless the spike in oil prices is sustained.'
