Trump says US strikes on Iran were a ‘success': what we know so far
Donald Trump announced on Saturday the , and claimed that key enrichment facilities there had been 'totally and completely obliterated'. The sites struck were Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
Iranian officials said there was no danger to the residents living near the nuclear facilities hit by US strikes, according to Iranian state media. Quoting the Crisis Management Headquarters in the province of Qom, where the Fordow facility is located, the IRNA news service said 'there is no danger to the people of Qom and the surrounding area'. Al Jazeera reported earlier that another official said Fordow has 'long been evacuated and has not suffered any irreversible damage'. Saudi Arabia's Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority has said no radioactive effects have been detected in Gulf states.
Trump said Iran must now make peace, adding: 'If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. For 40 years, Iran has been saying death to America, death to Israel.' He said there were 'many targets left' in the country for the US to hit. He later warned that any retaliation by Tehran against the US would be met with 'force far greater than what was witnessed tonight'.
He praised Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they 'worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before', and gone a long way towards 'erasing this horrible threat to Israel'.
Netanyahu praised the attack, saying that the 'awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history'. The Israeli prime minister said in a video address, the US 'has done what no other country on Earth could do'.
Early on Sunday Iran's state TV announced on new missile launches against Israel. Explosions were heard above Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Iran's foreign minister condemned the US attack as a breach of international law which will have 'everlasting consequences'. In a statement posted to social media, Seyed Abbas Araghchi said: 'The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations.'
A Yemeni Houthi official said on Sunday that the Iran-aligned group's response to the US attack on was 'only a matter of time'.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday branded the US strikes on as a 'dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.' He added: 'There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control - with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.'
The Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation called the US attack 'a barbaric act that violated international law, especially the nuclear non-proliferation treaty'.
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. Iran has retaliated with strikes against Israel.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.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier on Saturday of a 'more devastating' retaliation should Israel's nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear program 'under any circumstances.'
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that US strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them'.
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Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
11 days in June: Trump's path to 'yes' on bombing Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a week, President Donald Trump kept the world wondering whether he would join Israel's attacks on Iran in an attempt to decapitate the country's nuclear program. The guessing ended this weekend, when American stealth bombers, fighter jets and a submarine struck with bombs and missiles. Trump's decision marks one of the riskiest foreign policy decisions by a U.S. president in recent memory, potentially plunging the nation back into armed conflict in the Middle East with no clear endgame. Like most of Trump's presidency, the path to military action was unconventional and played out on social media, as he alternatively pledged diplomacy, demanded the evacuation of Tehran, threatened the ayatollah and ultimately announced the U.S. strike. Here's a look at how the last 11 days unfolded, a cascade of events that could reshape a combustible corner of the globe. All dates below are in Eastern time. Wednesday, June 11The first sign that conflict could be on the horizon came when families of U.S. troops began leaving the Middle East. 'They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens,' Trump said as he arrived at the Kennedy Center for opening night of 'Les Misérables,' one of his favorite musicals. It wasn't clear whether Israel was preparing to strike, fulfilling years of threats to attack Iran's nuclear program, or if the movements were a feint to increase pressure for negotiations. The next round of talks between Washington and Tehran was just days away, and Trump was adamant about reaching a diplomatic solution. Behind the scenes, the Israeli military operation was already taking shape. Thursday, June 12 Trump said an attack by Israel 'could very well happen.' But Iran still seemed to be taken by surprise. Around 8 p.m. in Washington, explosions in Tehran killed top military leaders and scientists. Multiple sites connected to Iran's nuclear program were also hit. Israel said 200 warplanes took part in the first wave of attacks. More damage was done with drones that Israeli spies had smuggled into the country, destroying air defenses and missile launchers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a 'targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival.' Although Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, Israeli leaders claimed it was an imminent threat. Trump posted on social media that 'we remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution,' but his tone would soon change. Friday, June 13 Iran retaliated against Israel with missiles and drones, many of which were shot down by air defenses. As Trump started his day in Washington, he seemed impressed by Israeli military prowess and his tone became more aggressive toward Iran. 'The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it,' he wrote on social media. But Trump suggested that diplomacy was his first choice, and urged Iran to make a deal. 'Now they have, perhaps, a second chance' to get it done, he said. Saturday, June 14 Trump talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the morning, and they discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran. The next round of talks between the U.S. and Iran was canceled. As Israel and Iran continued to trade strikes, Trump attended a military parade in Washington. It was the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, as well as his 79th birthday. The muscular display of American military might — tanks, troops, paratroopers and a 21-gun salute — played out in the nation's capital as the potential for a new conflict loomed. Sunday, June 15 Trump spent the day talking up his reputation as a peacemaker, encouraging Iran and Israel to 'make a deal' similar to how he had brokered an end to fighting between India and Pakistan. 'Many calls and meetings now taking place,' Trump wrote on social media. 'I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!' Iran's health ministry said 224 people had been killed by Israeli strikes at this point in the conflict. Reports also emerged that Trump had rejected an Israeli plan to kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. officials viewed the idea as dangerously destabilizing. Trump flew to Canada for the annual Group of Seven summit, which gathers the world's most powerful democracies. He would not be there long. Monday, June 16 Israel claimed it had achieved 'aerial superiority' over Tehran, allowing its warplanes to operate freely in the skies above Iran's capital. One of the strikes hit Iran's state-run television, abruptly stopping a live broadcast. Netanyahu said Israeli strikes set back Iran's nuclear program a 'very, very long time.' However, the extent of the damage was unclear, and U.S. and Israeli officials believed only American planes with specially designed 'bunker buster' bombs had the capability to destroy nuclear sites buried deep underground. After a single day at the G7 summit, the White House abruptly announced that Trump would leave early on a red-eye flight to Washington to meet with his national security team. Tuesday, June 17 Trump demanded Iran's 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' in a post on social media and he told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted 'a real end' to the conflict, not just a ceasefire. He expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement. 'They should have done the deal. I told them, 'Do the deal,'' he said. 'So I don't know. I'm not too much in the mood to negotiate.' Trump also brushed off assessments from U.S. spy agencies that Iran hadn't decided to build a nuclear weapon. He insisted they were 'very close.' The sun had not yet risen when Trump arrived at the White House. He took part in a meeting in the Situation Room, but did not appear publicly. With little clarity on next steps, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that 'I'm here to take questions, not necessarily answer them.' Wednesday, June 18 By this point, there was no question that Trump was considering joining Israel's attacks on Iran. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' he said that morning. 'Nobody knows what I'm going to do.' The president spoke to reporters while overseeing the installation of a massive new flagpole on the South Lawn of the White House, toggling back and forth between chatting up construction workers in hard hats and sizing up the Iranian nuclear threat. Later, in the Oval Office, Trump again suggested that the U.S. might get directly involved to thwart Iran's atomic ambitions. 'I'm not looking to fight,' he said. 'But if it's a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.' On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the Pentagon was presenting Trump with military options. Thursday, June 19 It was a federal holiday — Juneteenth — and much of Washington took the hot, steamy day off, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt scheduled a briefing nonetheless. She entered the briefing room to deliver a message from the president: He would decide within two weeks whether to become directly involved in Israel's war on Iran. Trump has long been known to toss out 'two week' deadlines for actions that never materialize, so the statement left people guessing on his next move. Friday, June 20 Trump convened another meeting of his national security advisers and then flew to his golf club in New Jersey, where he attended a political fundraiser in the evening. He talked to reporters briefly en route, long enough to say his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was 'wrong' when she previously said that the U.S. believed Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon. Saturday, June 21 Around midnight, the U.S. military operation began in secret: B-2 stealth bombers taking off from a base in Missouri. They headed east, over the Atlantic Ocean, refueling from airborne tankers along the way. It would take them 18 hours to reach Iran. A decoy flight went west, toward the Pacific. Trump returned to the White House from New Jersey around 6 p.m. Less than an hour later, American ordinance began exploding in Tehran. More than two dozen Tomahawk missiles were fired from a U.S. submarine. Fighter jets scanned for Iranian interceptors. The stealth bombers dropped 14 bunker buster bombs, marking the first time that the 30,000-pound weapon had been used in combat. Trump announced the strikes on social media, saying it was a 'very successful attack and 'NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' In a brief national address from the White House, the president threatened to attack Iran again if there was any retaliation. 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,' he said.
The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump says MAGA should drop ‘pathetic loser' Massie after pushback on US strikes
President Trump said on Sunday that the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement should drop Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) after the his pushback Saturday night against the U.S. strikes against Iran. In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Massie 'not MAGA' and 'a simple minded 'grandstander' who thinks it's good politics for Iran to have the highest level Nuclear weapon.' 'Massie is weak, ineffective, and votes 'NO' on virtually everything put before him (Rand Paul, Jr.), no matter how good something may be. He is disrespectful to our great military, and all that they stand for, not even acknowledging their brilliance and bravery in yesterday's attack, which was a total and complete WIN,' Trump said in his post. The president name-checked Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) because both he and Massie have opposed the president's 'big, beautiful bill.' 'Massie should drop his fake act and start putting America First, but he doesn't know how to get there — he doesn't have a clue! He'll undoubtedly vote against the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, even though non-passage means a 68% Tax Increase for everybody, and many things far worse than that. MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!' he added. On Saturday, Trump announced that the U.S. had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Massie quickly posted on the social platform X that Trump's bombing of Iranian nuclear sites was unconstitutional. On Tuesday, Massie introduced a war powers resolution to prohibit U.S. involvement in Iran as its conflict with Israel intensifies, signaling they may force a vote on the matter. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said he would co-sponsor the measure. The Hill has reached out to Massie and Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) office for comment.
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bitcoin plummets below $100,000 after U.S. strikes Iran nuclear sites
The world's largest cryptocurrency on Sunday dipped below $100,000 for the first time in over a month following U.S. airstrikes on Iran. Bitcoin dropped 4% over the past 24 hours to about $99,300, according to data from Binance. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, had an even starker decline, shedding almost 10%. The total crypto market has tanked about 7% over the past day. The selloff happened just hours after the U.S. bombed three key nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday. In mid-June, a United Nations–backed nuclear watchdog said that Iran wasn't complying with prohibitions against developing a military nuclear program. Israel struck Iran shortly after the watchdog publicized its allegations, and the Islamic Republic retaliated. On Saturday, Trump announced that he had authorized the U.S.'s entrance into the conflict. 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' Trump posted Saturday night on social media in all capital letters. Bitcoin's recent plummet below the psychologically important threshold of $100,000 follows a year of gains for the cryptocurrency. After Trump won the 2024 presidential election in November, it soared. Major stock indices like the S&P 500 also jumped, but Bitcoin and the broader crypto market's gains were especially steep. Investors saw a White House under Trump, who's described himself as a 'pro-crypto' president, as a potential boon for the industry. Once Trump assumed office in January, Bitcoin soon notched all-time highs above $100,000 in February as the 47th president unveiled executive orders designed to help the crypto industry. Still, the cryptocurrency soon followed the broader financial markets and declined in price. In April, shortly after Trump unveiled a suite of historically severe tariffs, Bitcoin dipped to almost $75,000, its lowest mark in 2025. Recently, Bitcoin, which usually tracks with tech stocks and the tech-heavy Nasdaq, has rallied. In May, it notched its all-time high as Wall Street investors piled back into the cryptocurrency through U.S. exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. In June, it's trended lower amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East. This story was originally featured on
