US warplanes bombed Iran's most protected nuclear site. Trump says it was 'totally obliterated.'

Business Insider

4 hours ago

President Donald Trump said US military aircraft bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
His reveal early Sunday local time comes amid Israeli efforts to degrade Iran's nuclear program.
Israeli forces have carried out widespread airstrikes across Iran over the past week.
The direct attack on Iran marks a major escalation and takes US involvement in the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel to a new level. Trump had been weighing whether to strike Iran for days prior to this attack.
"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,"Trump said in a Truth Social post earlier Saturday announcing the strikes. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space," he said.
The strikes notably risk Iranian retaliatory attacks that could harm US forces in the region. Tehran has already threatened such a response.
The president said a "full payload" of bombs was dropped on Fordow, one of Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities. Trump described it as "the primary site." Fordow is heavily fortified, with its key facilities deep underground in a mountain.
In his address to the nation, Trump called the strikes a "spectacular military success."
Though the president didn't go into specifics, Fox News' Sean Hannity said in a live Saturday night broadcast that Trump told him US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped six "huge" bunker-buster bombs on the Fordow site.
Bunker-buster bombs are designed to penetrate and destroy hardened facilities and underground bunkers. The 30,000 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, is a bunker-buster that's carried by the B-2 bomber. The weapon, the US military's largest non-nuclear bomb, is believed to be the only weapon suited for striking Iran's deepest nuclear sites.
In addition to bunker-busters, Hannity said that Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from US submarines were also used against Iranian sites.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement posted on X, thanked Trump for the "bold decision" to strike Iran, saying " the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history."
"His leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace," Netanyahu said.
Earlier on Saturday, multiple online open-source intelligence accounts were tracking the movement of several B-2s from their base in the US across the Pacific, with speculation that the bombers were fully loaded and potentially heading for Iran. It's unclear if these aircraft were involved.
"All planes are safely on their way home," Trump said in his social media post on the strikes. "Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this."
He added that "NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter." Trump signaled in his address that additional attacks against Iran could follow if "peace does not come quickly."
The bombing runs come after several days of speculation about whether the US would join Israel in striking Iran.
Earlier this month, Israeli officials announced the start of a new operation aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear program, which has long been a goal of Netanyahu's. The Trump administration had favorited a diplomatic approach, trying to reach a new nuclear deal with Tehran.