Live: Trump says strikes on Iran inflicted 'monumental damage' to Tehran's nuclear program
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said the US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites caused "monumental damage" to Tehran's nuclear development program as the world awaits Iran's response to Trump's risky gambit. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments.
The Pentagon said on Sunday the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities was "not about regime change," but President Donald Trump later said on social media "why wouldn't there be a Regime change???'"
The Iranian president condemned the US 'aggression' in the country's first reaction to strikes.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 's adviser claimed Iran's enriched uranium remains despite US attacks and that all US bases used to strike Iran are now "legitimate" targets.
Israel early Monday said it had carried out new strikes on 'military targets' in Iran.
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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Trump's balancing act: Promising peace while striking Iran
"Midnight Hammer": Even the name of the operation suggests power and surprise under the cover of darkness. Before the effects could even be measured, US authorities offered extensive commentary on the airstrikes carried out on Saturday, June 21, against three Iranian nuclear program sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo. After Donald Trump's solemn address, in which he hailed "a spectacular military success," the Pentagon provided operational details the following day. The American show of force was praised, without consideration for its many gray areas, the uncertainty over Iran's response and the geopolitical significance of this unilateral action. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described a complex operation involving decoys, with "very few people" in Washington aware of the details. While one group of B-2 bombers headed toward the Pacific as a diversion, seven identical aircraft took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, en route to the Middle East. Communications were kept to a minimum, and in-flight refueling was conducted during the 18-hour journey. Shortly before the B-2s entered Iranian airspace, a US submarine fired around 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles at "key infrastructure" to clear the way. One key point: Iranian forces allegedly never managed to fire on the American planes. At about 2 am local time, each of the seven B-2s dropped two GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, with 12 of them targeting the Fordo site exclusively.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Iran vows retaliation for US strikes as Israel keeps up attacks
Aerial assaults meanwhile raged on, with air raid sirens sounding across Israel and AFP journalists reporting several blasts were heard over Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it had struck missile sites in western Iran as well as "six Iranian regime airports" across the country, destroying fighter jets and helicopters. President Donald Trump said US warplanes used "bunker buster" bombs to target sites in Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, boasting the strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities. Other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran's nuclear programme, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat. Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US "hostile act", following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would "pave the way for the extension of war in the region". "The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations," he warned. Global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday. China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout. Oman, a key mediator in the stalled Iran-US nuclear talks, condemned the US strikes and called for calm. "Future generations will not forget that the Iranians were in the middle of a diplomatic process with a country that is now at war with us," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Britain, France and Germany called on Iran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region". As the world awaited Iran's response, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on June 13 "a big mistake". 'Regime change' US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world's oil supply. With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad. In central Tehran on Sunday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against US and Israeli attacks. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh said she was "truly shocked" by the strikes. "Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near," she told AFP. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US strikes revealed Washington was "behind" Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response. After the Pentagon stressed the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes. "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!" Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing. At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's bombardments would "finish" once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. "We are very, very close to completing them," he said. 'Blow up' Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. "Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place," he added. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States of deciding to "blow up" nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war. While Russia condemned the Israeli and US strikes, it has not offered military help and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago. On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an "immediate ceasefire" in Iran. © 2025 AFP
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Europeans largely support hikes in national defence budget, poll finds
Support for increasing national defence spending appears widespread in Europe although most seem to think that becoming independent from the US when it comes to security and defence before the end of the decade is impossible, a major new survey has found. Most of the more than 16,400 respondents polled across 12 European countries by the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR) stated that they are in favour of their countries upping their national defence spending with clear majorities in Poland, Denmark, the UK, Estonia, and Portugal. Pluralities in Romania (50%), Spain (46%), France (45%), Hungary (45%), Germany (47%), and Switzerland (40%) also expressed support for increased defence spending with Italy the only country polled where the majority (57%) was either "somewhat" or "strongly" opposed the idea. Yet the poll also finds that scepticism over the EU's ability to become independent from the US in terms of its defence and security over the coming five years runs high. Only in Denmark and Portugal did a majority of respondents feel optimistic about achieving independence from the US before the turn of the decade. Most respondents in France and Romania also seemed to believe it is possible (44% and 45% respectively). But most people in Poland, Estonia, and Spain thought the reverse. In Italy and Hungary, a majority of respondents (54% and 51% respectively) see EU autonomy on security and defence as "very difficult" or "practically impossible" to achieve in the next five years. Germans were meanwhile more or less evenly split on the question, with 44% thinking it possible to achieve, and 45% seeing it as difficult or rather impossible. However, support to Ukraine is not contingent on continued aid from Washington, the survey finds. Majorities or pluralities in 11 of the 12 countries polled are against the idea of Europe withdrawing its military support for Ukraine, pushing Ukraine to give up on territory occupied by Russia, or lifting economic sanctions on Russia even if the US shifts its policy across these points. The Donald Trump effect The results are driven in part by Donald Trump's return to the White House and the anti-European rhetoric he and some in his administration have used over trade and defence which has given rise to anti-American sentiment in some European countries. Still, although a majority of people in 10 countries thought Trump is damaging the relationship between the EU and the US, most are of the opinion that the relationship will be repaired once he leaves office. The survey comes a day before leaders of the 32 NATO member states gather in The Hague for their annual summit. Trump has demanded that the alliance's defence spending target be raised from its current 2% of GDP level to 5%, and cast doubt on Washington's long-term support for European security. The proposal currently on the table plans for an increase to 3.5% on core military spending, with an additional 1.5% on defence-related investments that would include infrastructure, cybersecurity and money to boost a whole-of-society approach to security. Yet Spain has poured cold water over the new target, which has to be unanimously approved by all allies, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez writing in a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week that Madrid "cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP". "For Spain, committing to a 5% target would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive, as it would move Spain away from optimal spending and it would hinder the EU's ongoing efforts to strengthen its security and defence ecosystem," Sánchez wrote in the letter that was seen by The Associated Press. The ECFR survey however notes that respondents in Spain were slightly more worried about their country not spending enough on defence, at the expense of their security than they were about spending too much on defence at the expense of other areas of public spending. The vast majority though did not pronounce themselves on the issue. In fact on this question, the 12 countries were evenly split, with Denmark, the UK, Poland, Romania, and Germany joining their Spanish counterparts and the other six countries favouring the other stance. The EU has sought to allay some of its fear with its programme to boost defence production and deployment that it hopes will prompt member states to invest €800 billion into the sector over the next four years. The plan's main financial firepower comes from allowing member states to deviate from the bloc's stringent fiscal rules provided the additional spending is poured exclusively into defence. The other pillar, called SAFE, would see the Commission provide loans to member states at preferential rates than most would if they raised the money themselves on the market. The EU executive is also allowing untapped EU funds previously earmarked for other programmes to be repurposed for defence spending. Defence should also be one of the key topics on the agenda of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday.
