US stealth bombers head over Pacific as Trump mulls Iran strikes
US stealth bombers were flying on Sunday across the Pacific Ocean, according to tracking data and media reports, fuelling speculation over their intended mission as US President Donald Trump considers joining Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
Multiple B-2 bomber aircraft left a base in the central United States overnight
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Trump says US launched 'very successful' attack on Iran nuclear sites
By Danny Kemp in Washington with Ahmad Parhizi in Tehran and Adam Plowright , AFP Trump said a "full payload of BOMBS" was dropped on Fordow in a surprise announcement that came just two days after he had apparently opened a two-week window for diplomacy. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski President Donald Trump said the US military has carried out a "very successful attack" on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the crucial underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow. Trump said a "full payload of BOMBS" was dropped on Fordow on Saturday (Sunday NZST), in a surprise announcement that came just two days after he had apparently opened a two-week window for diplomacy. He was set to address the nation at 10 pm (2pm NZST) after deciding to join Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear programme. "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. "A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow." Trump added that "all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors." In a second post announcing his address to the nation from the White House, Trump said that "IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR." He also described it as a "historic" moment for the United States, Israel and the world. Trump's shock announcement came just two days after he said he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join key ally Israel in attacking Iran. Earlier on Saturday there were reports that US B-2 bombers - which carry so-called "bunker buster" bombs - were headed out of the United States. Trump did not say what kind of US planes or munitions were involved. Tehran had threatened reprisals on US forces in the Middle East if Trump attacked but the US president said that "NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday (local time) of a "more devastating" retaliation should Israel's nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear programme "under any circumstances." Israel said on Saturday (local time) it had killed three more Iranian commanders in its unprecedented offensive, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Tehran's alleged progress towards a nuclear weapon had been set back by two years. This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in central Iran on 14 June 2025. Photo: AFP Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on 13 June, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. On Saturday (local time), Israel said it had attacked Iran's Isfahan nuclear site for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit. Later Saturday Iran's Mehr news agency said Israel had launched strikes on the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases. And early Sunday (local time), Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that a "vast" wave of "suicide drones" had been launched against "strategic targets" across Israel. 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." In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said "we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances," he added, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. Referring to the Israeli attacks, he said: "Our response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leaves after a meeting on Tehran's nuclear programme at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva on June 20, 2025 Photo: AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany had met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war. Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Friday that, based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people had been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians. Iran's health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed in the Israeli strikes. Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures. - AFP
1News
2 hours ago
- 1News
Trump says US has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites
The United States has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, President Donald Trump says, joining an Israeli air campaign as Tehran promises to retaliate. The move means the US has directly joined Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Follow 1News' live updates for the latest developments In a post on social media, Trump announced the apparent military strike. He wrote: "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. ADVERTISEMENT "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. "Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound. bunker buster bomb, they alone can carry, offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joins the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. More to come ADVERTISEMENT Israel says it's preparing for possibility of lengthy war Earlier, Israel's military said it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war after it announced it had struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks. The prospect of a wider war was threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels and warships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joined Israel's military campaign against Iran. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced the US has begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first such flights from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. Parnia Rahmanian, 13, lies unconscious in a hospital bed following Israeli strike that targeted her neighborhood, in Tehran (Source: Associated Press) Inside Iran, smoke rose from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province's deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed the Israeli strikes damaged the facility but caused no casualties. ADVERTISEMENT The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel's military said. Isfahan was also hit in the first 24 hours of the war as part of Israel's goal to destroy Iran's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the latest attack. Iran again launched drones and missiles at Israel, but there were no immediate reports of significant damage. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines to brief reporters, called it a 'small barrage' that was largely intercepted by Israel's defences. The official estimated that Israel's military has taken out more than 50% of Iran's launchers. 'We're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,' he said. 'Having said all that, I want to say the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities.' ADVERTISEMENT The Israeli military's chief spokesman, Brig Gen Effie Defrin, later said Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir told the army to prepare for a 'prolonged campaign." Iran says US military involvement would be 'dangerous' Trump was previously weighing up active US military involvement in the war. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, 'I think that it would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi listens to speeches as he attends the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting, in Istanbul (Source: Associated Press) He spoke on the sidelines of an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkey. Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. Trump said he would put off his decision on military involvement for up to two weeks. ADVERTISEMENT The war erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran, and more than 2500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. One Tehran resident, Nasrin, writhed in her hospital bed as she described how a blast threw her against a wall in her apartment. 'I've had five surgeries. I think I have nothing right here that is intact,' she said Saturday. Another patient, Shahram Nourmohammadi, said he had been making deliveries when 'something blew up right in front of me' at an intersection. A number of Iranians fled the country. 'Everyone is leaving Tehran right now,' said one who did not give his name after crossing into Armenia. Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. ADVERTISEMENT Israel's multitiered air defences have shot down most of them, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. A person illuminates a light inside a tent while spending the night in a public shelter as a precaution against possible Iranian missile attacks, in Tel Aviv (Source: Associated Press) Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program, but has never acknowledged it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel's military operation will continue 'for as long as it takes' to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal. No date set for new talks While talks in Geneva on Friday failed to produce a breakthrough, Iran's foreign minister said he was open to further dialogue. He emphasised that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continues to attack. ADVERTISEMENT No date was set for a new round of talks. For many Iranians, updates remained difficult. Internet-access advocacy group said Saturday that limited internet access had again 'collapsed.' A nationwide internet shutdown has been in place for several days. More attacks on Iranian military commanders Israel's defence minister said the military killed a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commander who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing 20-month war in Gaza. Iranian officials did not immediately confirm Saeed Izadi's death, but the Qom governor's office said there had been an attack on a four-story apartment building and local media reported two people had been killed. Israel also said it killed the commander of the Quds Force's weapons transfer unit, who it said was responsible for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed while travelling in western Iran, the military said. ADVERTISEMENT Iran threatens head of UN nuclear watchdog Iranian leaders say IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's statements about the status of Iran's nuclear program prompted Israel's attack. On Saturday, a senior adviser for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, said on social media, without elaboration, that Iran would make Grossi 'pay' once the war is over. Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, on Friday warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. 'In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,' Grossi said, adding: 'This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.' Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal in exchange for sanctions relief. ADVERTISEMENT But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium — at lower levels — in recent talks over its nuclear program. But Trump, like Israel, has demanded Iran end its enrichment program altogether.
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Trump claims 'successful' US strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump says a "very successful attack" has been successfully carried out on three nuclear sites in Iran, including at Fordow. In a posting on Truth Social, Trump added, "All planes are safely on their way home" and he congratulated "our great American Warriors." Trump ended his posting saying, "Now is the time for peace." The action 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. Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran has argued that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes. Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities had so far been unsuccessful
