US B-2 bombers involved in Iran strikes, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - U.S. B-2 bombers were involved in strikes on Iran's nuclear sites announced by President Donald Trump on Saturday, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Reuters had reported earlier on Saturday the movement of B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry massive bombs that experts say would be ideal to strike the sites.
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The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump raises specter of further attacks against Iran after US military operation
Fresh from ordering military strikes on Iran, Donald Trump on Saturday raised the specter of further attacks against Iran if its leadership did not engage in peace talks in a sweeping and at times ominous televised late night address delivered from the White House. The remarks suggested that the president, who has repeatedly said he wanted to bring peace to global conflicts, at least partly viewed the strikes against Iran's enrichment facilities as a tactic to force negotiations – just days after he had suggested he would given Iran two weeks before deciding on an attack. Flanked by his vice-president, JD Vance; the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth; and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Trump said from the Cross Hall of the White House that the strikes were aimed at destroying Iran's ability to enrich uranium to a level where it could be used in nuclear weapons. '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 will be far greater and a lot easier,' Trump said. Trump's address sparked a concerned reaction from some advisers in his orbit who had cautioned against US involvement against Iran because of the potential for the US military to become dragged into a protracted conflict to topple Iran's leadership as Israel has pushed. 'I'm not sure the talk Maga wanted to hear. It sounded open-ended. They either shut down the nuclear power facility, or give up, or surrender. Very open-ended,' Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser who had a three-hour lunch with the president on Thursday, said in a special broadcast of his War Room show. Trump claimed in the speech that the three nuclear facilities in Iran bombed by the US were 'completely and totally obliterated'. But the address was short on detail about the bombing operation against three nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow, the key facility buried deep underground, and at Isfahan, where Iran was believed to have stored supplies of uranium that had been enriched to near-weapons grade. A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the dark-of-night operation involved six B-2 bombers dropping a dozen of the 30,000lb 'bunker buster' bombs, formally known as GBU-57s, to try to reach the bottom of the Fordow facility located deep under a mountain. One B-2 bomber also dropped two GBU-57s on the Natanz facility, in addition to the US navy launching 30 Tomahawk missiles on Natanz and Isfahan, the official said – a strike package far larger than many defense officials had expected. Aside from his claim of military success, Trump's remarks were most notable in warning of more attacks if Iran did not start negotiations to end the conflict with Israel and accede to his demands to stop enriching uranium. They also appeared to double as a warning against any retaliation by Iran. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,' Trump said. 'Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.' Trump also appeared to offer some justification for the bombing run, making the argument that Iran posed a direct threat to not just Israel but also the US. In doing so, after months of hesitancy, he re-embraced the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and said they had worked together as a team. 'For 40 years, Iran has been saying: 'Death to America, Death to Israel.' They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs, with roadside bombs. In particular, so many were killed by their general Qassem Suleimani. I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue,' Trump said.
The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Australia says Iran's nuclear program ‘a threat to international peace' after US launches attacks and threatens more
The federal government has called for 'de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy' after the US bombed Iran, as almost 4,000 Australian citizens attempt to escape the conflict zone. Donald Trump said the US had 'totally obliterated' key Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities after directly intervening to aid Israel's mission to destroy Tehran's nuclear program. Trump said Iran, which he called 'the bully of the Middle East', 'must make peace'. '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.' In a statement issued after Trump's White House address, a federal government spokesperson did not explicitly endorse the strikes, but reiterated Australia's position on the risk posed by Iran's nuclear program. 'We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security,' a government spokesperson said. 'We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace. The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.' Speaking before news of the bombings broke, the defence minister, Richard Marles, refused to be drawn on whether a US attack would be justified. However, while repeating calls for a de-escalation in the conflict, Marles restated the government's position that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program was a threat to the region and 'stability of the world'. The government last week deployed Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel to the Middle East to help evacuate citizens stuck in Israel and Iran amid the latest escalation in the conflict. The number of Australian citizens seeking government help to evacuate the Middle East had reached 3,800 as of Sunday morning, including 2,600 people in Iran and 1,200 in Israel. Marles confirmed chartered civilian aircraft were ready to depart as soon as airspace over Iran and Israel reopened. 'Australians in Israel and Iran and the region should continue to monitor public safety information provided by local authorities, including to shelter in place when required,' the government spokesperson said on Sunday. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be communicating directly with registered Australians about preparations for assisted departures.' Also speaking before Trump's announcement on the US strikes, the acting shadow foreign minister, Andrew Hastie, said he agreed with the government that Iran should not have nuclear weapons; that Israel had a right to defend itself; and that the war should end. A former special forces soldier who served in Afghanistan, Hastie said he would be 'very hesitant' to put Australian troops on the ground in the Middle East. The international law expert Prof Donald Rothwell said it was 'virtually impossible' to mount a case that the US strikes were legal under international law. Under article 51 of the UN charter, states can use force to defend themselves from an armed attack. International law experts say the charter does not provide a broader right to pre-emptive attacks, such as the strikes Israel, and now the US, have launched on Iran. Rothwell, a professor at the Australian National University, said given there had been no direct threat from Iran towards the US then Trump's attack could not be justified. 'It's virtually impossible, I think, for the United States to mount any credible legal argument [for the strikes] on that basis,' he said. Rothwell said the US attacks could set a precedent for how other countries would use self-defence arguments as cover for pre-emptive attacks. 'The really concerning aspect of this is the precedent it sets. If the United States can do this, and this is a precedent that the United States is taking in terms of its interpretation of self-defence, or the way in which you can use force, then other states will take that into account in terms of how they consider their own future conduct.' The Australian Greens leader, Larissa Waters, said the federal government should condemn the US attacks which she described as a 'terrifying and catastrophic escalation'. 'From Iraq to Afghanistan, we have seen Australia follow the US into devastating and brutal wars that have done untold damage to the people of the Middle East,' she said. 'We know that you cannot bomb your way to peace.'
Scottish Sun
12 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
How Donald Trump hammered Iran's nuke bases with bunker buster bombs and missiles fired from submarines
DONALD Trump has blitzed Iran's nuclear bases to stop the Ayatollah's doomsday project in a complex operation from air and sea. The president has declared the strike a "spectacular success" that "obliterated" the mad mullahs' atomic program. 9 Donald Trump in the Situation Room during the strike Credit: Reuters 9 Tomahawk missiles fired from submarines were used to strike two bases (stock image) Credit: AFP 9 The B-2A Spirit was used to carry the bunker busting bombs Credit: Getty 9 To do that, Trump used some of the US military's most advanced weapons. Six 30,000lb bunker busting bombs - officially called the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) - were used to hit the most difficult target, Trump told Fox News. They were dropped from B-2 bombers flying high in the atmosphere for 37 hours all the way from Missouri, the New York Times reported. The lethal bombers even refuelled several times in the air so they didn't have to land. Read more on world news BOMB BLITZ Trump launches strikes on Iran as three nuke bases blitzed in historic attack B-2 bombers were the only weapon which could do the job - because the Ayatollah's prized Fordow nuclear enrichment plant is 300ft deep underground and encased in steel. Israel has been unable to destroy the site by itself - with Trump declaring on Saturday that only America could destroy it from above. Now, Trump claims he has done so - with six bunker busters able to bury deep through the rock and hit the base. The missiles - 20ft long and carrying a 5,000lb warhead - were dropped by the B-2s, hit the earth, and buried themselves deep into the rock before they exploded. Iran claims that it knew the attack was coming and evacuated anything of value from the base. But two other of Iran's nuclear facilities were also hit - Natanz and Isfahan. How Trump COULD destroy Iran's prize nuclear bunker They were blitzed by 30 Tomahawk missiles fired from submarines 400miles away. Tomahawk missiles are a long-range weapon which can be fired from land or sea and can travel at least 1,000miles. The US keeps a naval base across the Persian Gulf from Iran in Bahrain. The complex at Natanz holds Iran's largest uranium enrichment plant - crucial for getting the material to weapons grade. 9 A US submarine - capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk missiles Credit: AP 9 Isfahan nuclear power plant Credit: AFP 9 One B-2 also dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, according to the New York Times. Isfahan is thought to hold a repository of near bomb-grade nuclear material. Both Natanz and Isfahan had previously been hit by Israel. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, previously said Iran's biggest atomic plant at Natanz was knocked out by the first waves of the Israeli offensive. Mr Grossi said: "The above-ground part of the pilot fuel enrichment plant, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235, has been destroyed". Uranium-235 is essential both for nuclear power stations and also for nuclear weapons. 9 Trump addressing the nation revealed America had 'obliterated' Fordow Credit: Alamy 9 Posting on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced that US bombers targeted Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan enrichment sites. The bombings come just two days after Trump said he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join key ally Israel in attacking Iran. In a nationally televised speech at the White House, Trump said: "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 will be far greater and a lot easier. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days."
