
World is braced for Iran terror backlash
But there are fears that the US's allies could face a terror backlash from the regime's supporters.
Seven B-2 stealth bombers swept into Iranian airspace undetected, dropping 14 'bunker-buster' bombs on nuclear facilities as the US joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. US vice president JD Vance and US president Donald Trump. Pic: Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images
Experts warned of a 'new era of terrorism' and US vice president JD Vance said the FBI and law enforcement were on alert for threats on American soil.
In an address to the nation as the B-2s were flying home, Mr Trump said: 'Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number-one state sponsor of terror.
'Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.' Ayatollah Khamenei. Pic: Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mr Trump boasted that America had 'taken the bomb right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)', while his secretary of state Marco Rubio claimed the US had offered Iran a civil nuclear programme but 'they rejected it'.
Mr Rubio added: 'They played us. They wouldn't respond to our offers. They disappeared for ten days.
'The president had to take action as a response. We are not declaring war on Iran. We're not looking for war in Iran. But if they attack us, I think we have the capabilities they haven't even seen yet.'
On Sunday night, despite widespread calls to de-escalate, Iran president Masoud Pezeshkian said the US 'must receive a response for their aggression'.
And a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, warned that 'there will no longer be any place for the presence of the United States and its bases' in the region. US president Donald Trump, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and US secretary of state Marco Rubio. Pic: Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images
Abbas Araghaci, Iran's foreign minister, who described the US government as 'lawless and warmongering', is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to discuss how to respond.
On Sunday night, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran's Natanz enrichment site was 'completely destroyed'. The extent of the damage at the Fordow site, built into a mountainside and reinforced with layers of concrete, is unclear.
Discussing Fordow, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said: 'There are clear indications of impacts. But, as for the assessment for the degree of damage underground… no one could tell you how much it has been damaged. One cannot exclude that there is significant damage there.'
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris both called for an 'urgent' de-escalation and a negotiated solution on Iran's nuclear facilities.
They said they are in close contact with their European counterparts before a meeting of EU foreign leaders today and of EU leaders later in the week.
'Diplomacy and dialogue is ultimately the only way to resolve these issues,' Mr Martin said. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie
UK prime minister Keir Starmer and President Trump discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table in a phone call last night, Downing Street said. A spokesman said: 'The leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and reiterated the grave risk posed by Iran's nuclear programme to international security.
They discussed the actions taken by the United States to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. 'They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. They agreed to stay in close contact in the coming days.'
Speaking after the US strikes, UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News that the risk from Iran in the UK was 'not hypothetical'.
He said: 'There is not a week goes by without some sort of Iranian cyber attack on a key part of the UK's critical national infrastructure. There is Iranian activity on the streets of the UK, which is wholly unacceptable.
'It's already at a significant level. I think it would be naive to say that that wouldn't potentially increase.'
The UK was informed of the mission, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, but played no part. Mr Reynolds last night warned that Iranian activity in the UK was already substantial, and that it was 'naive' to think it won't escalate.
A statement of the E3 group, with the UK alongside France and Germany, said: 'We call upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to an agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear programme.
We stand ready to contribute to that goal in coordination with all parties. 'We urge Iran not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.'
However, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for world trade and oil transit.
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