Israel-Iran live: US strikes three nuclear sites in Iran; Netanyahu says Trump's 'bold decision will change history'
Trump about to give address to nation
Donald Trump is just about to address the US, after America conducted strikes on three of Iran's nuclear sites.
You can watch what he says from the White House at the top of this page.
We'll also be providing text updates here in the blog.
Netanyahu: Trump's bold decision will change history
Benjamin Netanyahu says Donald Trump and the US have acted with strength following strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Posting on X, the Israeli leader says Trump's "bold decision" to target the three nuclear sites "will change history".
"America has done what no other country on earth could do," he says.
"History will record that president Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime, the world's most dangerous weapons.
"His leadership today has created a pivot in history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond into a period of prosperity and peace."
US used bunker buster bombs on Fordow, Trump tells Fox News host
We're starting to get more information about the US attack on Iran's nuclear sites.
The US used six 30,000lb bunker buster bombs dropped from B-2 stealth bombers in its strikes on Fordow, Donald Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity.
Additionally, 30 tomahawk missiles launched from US submarines were used in the attacks on the Nanatz and Isfahan facilities.
Trump expected to say that the US is not currently planning additional strikes inside Iran
Donald Trump is expected to say that the US is not currently planning additional strikes inside Iran when he speaks from the White House at 8pm (3am UK time), senior White House officials have told our US partner network NBC News.
These officials say Trump hopes the strikes propel Iran back to negotiations as he presses its leaders to an agreement that will end this war.
In a brief call with NBC, the US president called the strikes a "complete and total success".
Analysis: Iranian response could target US military bases or global shipping
Iran will "have to respond" to the US attacks, but just how it will do this is uncertain, our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall says.
He says Iran may target the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and global shipping, or US military bases.
"If they [Iran] kill US service personnel, then this could get very messy very quickly. If they do something limited, then I think they will have had their riposte," Bunkall says.
"I think Trump doesn't want to continue it and I can imagine Trump will say to the Israelis: 'Enough now, you've had just over a week striking hundreds of targets. I've now done this. It's time to bring it to an end'."
Iranian state TV downplays damage caused
Addressing claims on Iranian state television that there has only been damage to the entrance and exit tunnels of the Fordow nuclear site, Bunkall says it is a "little too early" to read into such statements.
"Six massive ordnance penetrators would have done considerably more than just simply blowing the doors off," he says.
"Iranian state TV will be an interesting place to watch over the coming hours and see their messaging, if their messaging does remain similar to that, it is an indicator of the message internally to the people within Iran.
"If you downplay the damage that the Americans have done, then potentially you bring down the scale of what kind of retaliatory action you need to take as well."
Israel steps up alert level
The Israeli military has stepped up the state of alert across the country following US strikes on Iran.
All areas of the country are now limited to only essential movement. Schools and workplaces will all be closed, with the only exceptions being for "essential sectors".
Trump says Iran will 'get hit again' if it doesn't make peace immediately
Donald Trump has threatened further strikes on Iran unless it doesn't agree to an immediate peace with Israel.
Speaking to Reuters news agency in a brief phone interview, Trump said US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites were an "amazing success".
"They should make peace immediately. They should stop immediately. Otherwise they'll get hit again."
Trump spoke with Netanyahu after strikes
Donald Trump spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu this evening after the US attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, a senior White House official has told our US partner network NBC news.
The two have spoken almost every day in the last week concerning the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Iran confirms nuclear sites attacked by 'enemy airstrikes'
We have just had confirmation from Iran that US strikes have damaged three of the country's nuclear sites.
Morteza Haydari, the spokesperson of crisis management in Iran's Qom province, said part of the Fordow nuclear plant was attacked by "enemy airstrikes," the Tasnim news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Akbar Salehi, the deputy security officer of the governor of Isfahan, said: "An hour ago, air defences in Isfahan and Kashan began operating to confront hostile targets."
Israel in 'full coordination' with US over strikes
Israel was in "full coordination" with the US for its strike, an Israeli official told Israeli public broadcaster Kan, according to the Reuters news agency.
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The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hegseth claims US ‘obliterated' Iranian nuclear sites despite lack of assessment
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, on Sunday repeated claims by Donald Trump that US strikes had completely destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities and its ability to acquire nuclear weapons even as the Pentagon acknowledged it was too early to provide a full damage assessment. At a news conference, Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, said the strikes, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, devastated the Iranian nuclear program. The remarks from Hegseth in particular amounted to repeated praise for Trump and the operation that targeted the nuclear enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow, the key facility buried deep underground, and a third site at Esfahan where Iran was seen to store enriched uranium. 'It was an incredible and overwhelming success. The order we received from our commander in chief was focused,' Hegseth said wearing a blue suit and US flag motif pocket square in the Pentagon briefing room, the first time he has appeared there since becoming the secretary. 'Thanks to President Trump's bold and visionary leadership and his commitment to peace through strength, Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated,' Hegseth said. 'The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant.' According to Caine, who was seen in pictures released by the White House to have been in the Situation Room as the operation unfolded, the bombing raid involved a two-part strike package of B-2 bombers and fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets launching from the US. The operation started around midnight on Friday, when the main contingent of bombers departed from the Whiteman air force base in Missouri and flew towards Iran, while another contingent flew in the opposite direction over the Pacific Ocean as a decoy effort. The main contingent involved seven B-2 bombers flying for 18 nonstop hours into Iranian airspace, refueling multiple times in the air, while unidentified fighter jets swept ahead of the group for possible Iranian fighter jets and surface-to-air missile threats over the nuclear sites. Caine said the Pentagon was not aware of any shots fired at the bombers as they flew into Iran and dropped the first of 14 so-called 'bunker buster' bombs, technically known as GBU-57s on the Fordow enrichment facility under the cover of darkness around 2.10am local time. After the bombers dropped the GBU-57s on Fordow and Natanz, Caine said, a navy submarine fired a series of Tomahawk missiles at the Esfahan site, as the aircraft turned around to fly back to the US. 'We are unaware of any shots fired at the Package on the way out. Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise,' Caine added. The actual extent of the damage in particular to Fordow, the site Trump has been most focused on destroying because of its hard-to-reach nature, was not immediately clear. Neither Hegseth nor Caine provided details beyond their initial assessment that it had been 'obliterated'. Following Trump's remarks in a televised address from the White House on Saturday night that the US could launch more attacks on Iran unless they started peace talks, Hegseth said the administration was in contact with the country's leadership through public and private channels. 'They understand precisely what the American position is, precisely what steps they can take to allow for peace – and we hope they do so,' Hegseth told reporters. 'I think Tehran is certainly calculating the reality that planes flew from the middle of America and Missouri overnight, completely undetected over three of their most highly sensitive sites,' Hegseth added. 'We believe that will have a clear psychological impact on how they view the future.' Hegseth also said at the news conference that congressional leaders were notified about the strikes after the bombers left Iranian airspace – a decision that is sure to draw criticism from Democrats that Trump engaged in a conflict without the authorization of Congress.
The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Keir Starmer backs US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has backed the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and called on Tehran to return to negotiations. Donald Trump, the US president, announced overnight that the US had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, joining Israel's attacks. There was no UK involvement in the action. Starmer said on Sunday there was a 'risk of escalation' after the US strikes, including 'beyond the region'. He added: 'It is important that we now de-escalate the situation, stabilise the region and get the parties back around the table to negotiate.'
The Independent
38 minutes ago
- The Independent
US strikes on Iran an ‘extraordinarily dangerous escalation'
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