'There are many targets left': How Trump announced to the world that the US had bombed Iran
JUST BEFORE 1AM Irish-time, President Donald Trump took to his TruthSocial platform and made a stunning announcement.
'We have completed our very successful attack on three nuclear sites in Iran,' his post said.
'Congratulations to our great American warriors. There is not another military in the world that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!'.
The move was widely unexpected. On Thursday, he had given Iran a two-week deadline – which, as a number of US newspapers noted, is his favourite unit of time
which can mean 'something or nothing at all'.
In this case, it meant two days.
Just over an hour after that first post, Trump made a televised address from the White House, flanked by vice president JD Vance, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
The address was brief by Trump standards, at just under 4 minutes, and he stuck almost entirely to the script.
After describing how the US had 'totally obliterated' Iran's main nuclear sites, Trump warned that the United States would go after more targets if Iran did not make peace quickly.
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The reaction was immediate: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the strikes, saying that 'the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history'. Iran's foreign minister condemned the US attacks as 'lawless and criminal', saying his country has a right to defend its sovereignty.
'The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,' Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.
The intervention by the US president, who had vowed to avoid another 'forever war' in the region and who had faced pushback from one wing of the Republican party which had asked him to avoid getting involved in the Middle East, is significant. It threatens to dramatically worsen the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Trump's full televised address on the bombing
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
'Thank you very, very much. A short time ago, the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
'Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise.
'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 will be far greater and a lot easier.
'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. That was their specialty.
'We lost over a thousand people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died have a direct result of their hate. In particular, so many were killed by their general Qasem Soleimani.
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'I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen, it will not continue.
I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel.
'I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done, and most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.
'Hopefully we will no longer need their services at this capacity. I hope that so.
'I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan 'Razin' Caine, spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.
'With all of that being said, this cannot continue, there will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.
'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.
'There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.
'Tomorrow, General Cain [and] Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, will have a press conference at 8am [1pm Irish-time] at the Pentagon.
'And I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God. I want to just say we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel and God bless America. Thank you very much.'
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The Irish Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Operation Midnight Hammer: How Trump carried out unprecedented Iran attack using decoys in 37-hour covert mission
AMERICA'S colossal bomb raid on Iran's key nuclear sites was a masterclass in military might and strategy "months in the making", officials said. Covert tactics and the world's biggest conventional bombs came together in a "spectacular success", according to Trump, which caught the Iranians completely off-guard. 8 14 B-2 bombers were joined by more than 100 escort and support aircradr Credit: Reuters 8 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation had been months in the planning Credit: AP 8 Satellite pictures show Iran's Fordow nuclear facility after it was blitzed Credit: AFP 8 Iran has sworn " While the world now waits to see how Iran and its General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said: 'This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our Joint Force." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: "Our B-2s went in and out and back without the world knowing at all." read more on israel-iran The mission was simple: to inflict serious damage on Plans were worked for months, and the key groundwork was laid by Trump on Thursday when he announced a two-week delay to his decision about striking Iran . It's now clear that was a ploy to lull the regime into a false sense of security. The full mobilisation began on Friday night when a unit of B-2 bombers took off from the US at midnight. Most read in The US Sun Some of the planes flew west towards the Pacific, leading analysts to suggest they might be heading to the UK's Diego Garcia base - but that was a decoy. Only "an extremely small number of planners and key leaders" knew the truth about the ruse, General Caine said. Trump's shock Iran strikes take us to bring of global conflict and will strengthen Axis of Evil alliance, experts warn The actual fleet comprised of seven B-2 spirit bombers, which quietly set off east over the Atlantic. Each was manned by a crew of two, but the pilots were instructed to stick to minimal communication to avoid detection. It was an 18-hour non-stop journey to reach the target area, so the bombers had to refuel multiple times in the air by linking up with escort and support aircraft. Mid-air synchronisation is difficult enough, but crews had to maintain minimal comms whilst lining up. At half past midnight Iranian time, a US submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles at the Isfahan nuclear site in east Iran. This coincided with the bomber squad entering Iranian airspace - undetected. 8 Trump played a feint by suggesting he would mull the strikes for two weeks Credit: Splash 8 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has refused to surrender and now says diplomacy is off the cards Credit: AP Decoy and scout planes swooped out ahead of the main unit to scan for and distract any awaiting Iranian defence jets - but there were none. The protection group stood ready to launch preemptive fire on any surface-to-air threats, such as air defence systems, but not a single shot was fired at the operatives. Go-time was 2:10am - the midst of the Iranian night. Over a period of just 25 minutes, the bombers released their powerful payload. Officials revealed that about 75 precision-guided weapons were unleashed in total. Amongst these were 14 of the famed "bunker-buster" bombs dropped on the mountain-fortress Fordow plant. Israel had not even attempted to destroy this facility, buried beneath 300ft of rock and steel, because it knew only US's superbombs could do the job. The B-2s were programmed to drop one bomb, followed by another shortly afterwards onto the exact same point of impact. 8 Residential buildings in Tel Avid were damaged by Iranian missiles the morning after the US strikes Credit: Getty 8 A graphic displayed by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demonstrating the operation Credit: Getty It was the first time that the 30,000-pound GBU, 57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) had been deployed in a live combat situation. Caine said: 'Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice. 'We will defend ourselves. The safety of our service members and civilians remains our highest priority. 'This mission demonstrates the unmatched reach, coordination and capability of the United States military. 'In just a matter of weeks, this went from strategic planning to global execution. 'This operation underscores the unmatched capabilities and global reach of the United States military."
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
US does not seek war, says Pentagon after bombing Iran's nuclear sites
America 'does not seek war' with Iran, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has said in the aftermath of a surprise US attack on three of Tehran's key nuclear sites. The mission, called Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Mr Hegseth and US Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference on Sunday. Mr Hegseth said it is important to note the US strikes did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, a veiled effort to indicate to Tehran they do not want retaliation on American targets in the region. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Mr Hegseth added. Mr Caine said the goal of the operation – destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan – had been achieved. US President Donald Trump earlier claimed the facilities had been 'completely and fully obliterated'. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Mr Caine said. The operation inserted the United States into Israel's war aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear programme, though the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran insisted the programme will not be stopped. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned the US attacks, while foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned diplomacy is no longer an option. 'This aggression showed that the United States is the primary instigator of the Zionist regime's hostile actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran,' Mr Pezeshkian said on Sunday. 'Although they initially tried to deny their role, after our armed forces' decisive and deterrent response and the Zionist regime's clear incapacity, they were inevitably forced to enter the field themselves.' Mr Araghchi meanwhile declared that while the 'door to diplomacy' should always be open, 'this is not the case right now'. Joint Chiefs chairman Dan Caine addressed the media at the Pentagon (Alex Brandon/AP) He added: 'The warmongering, lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far reaching implications of its act of aggression.' Satellite images taken on Sunday show damage to the mountainside at the underground site at Fordo. The images, by Planet Labs PBC, show the once-brown mountain now has parts turned grey and its contours appear slightly different than in previous images, suggesting a blast threw up debris around the site. That suggests the use of specialised American bunker-buster bombs on the facility. Light grey smoke also hung in the air. Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination at the three locations following the strikes. It is not clear whether the US will continue attacking Iran alongside its ally Israel, which has been engaged in a nine-day war with Iran. Iran targeted Tel Aviv with missiles in the hours after the US attack (Oded Balilty/AP) Mr Trump acted without congressional authorisation, and he warned there will be additional strikes if Tehran retaliates against US forces. 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,' he said. Iran's foreign ministry said Washington had 'betrayed diplomacy' with the military strikes, and that 'the US has itself launched a dangerous war against Iran'. Its statement added: 'The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its right to resist with full force against US military aggression and the crimes committed by this rogue regime, and to defend Iran's security and national interests.' Hours after the American attacks, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it launched a barrage of 40 missiles at Israel, including its Khorramshahr-4, which can carry multiple warheads. Israeli authorities reported that more than 80 people suffered mostly minor injuries, though one multi-storey building in Tel Aviv was significantly damaged, with its entire facade torn away to expose the apartments inside. Houses across the street were almost completely destroyed. Following the Iranian barrage, Israel's military said it had 'swiftly neutralised' the Iranian missile launchers that had fired, and that it had begun a series of strikes towards military targets in western Iran. President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the White House following the air strikes (Carlos Barria/pool/AP) Iran has maintained its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only, and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb. However, Mr Trump and Israeli leaders have argued Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon, making it an imminent threat. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel that significantly degraded Iran's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, and damaged its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said American B-2 stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb that only they have been configured to carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. Mr Trump appears to have made the calculation – at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republicans – that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear programme, perhaps permanently. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Mr Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordo. All planes are safely on their way home.' Mr Trump later added: 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' Israel announced on Sunday that it had closed its airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the US attacks. US officials said the attack used bunker-buster bombs on Iran's Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, while submarines launched about 30 Tomahawk missiles. The decision to attack was a risky one for Mr Trump, who won the White House partially on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. But he has vowed he will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear programme peacefully.
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How apocalyptic Iran could terrorise West after US blitz from horror bombings to kidnappings and crippling cyber attacks
THE world is waiting with baited breath for Tehran's response to Donald Trump's strikes on three key nuclear facilities. Iran and Israel's conflict expanded to a global scale when the 11 Firefighters, rescue workers and military tasked with civil defense and recovery operations gather at the site of a direct missile strike launched from Iran in Tel Aviv Credit: AP 11 Missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps towards Israel Credit: Reuters 11 Houthi supporters at a ceremony marking the Shiite religious Day of Eid al-Ghadir, in Sana'a, Yemen Credit: EPA 11 US President Donald Trump holds a meeting in the Situation Room at the White House in Washington Credit: Reuters 11 After declaring the But Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that Fears loom of US sites decimated A simple response from Iran would be the decimation of US sites in the Middle East using its arsenal of ballistic missiles. read more news At least 50 Iranian missiles are thought to have struck down in Israel during the ten days of conflict. But more than 450 have been intercepted by Israel's sophisticated air defences, along with around 1,000 drones, according to the latest figures from the Israeli military. Iranian preparations for missile strikes on US military bases in the Middle East have been exposed by American intelligence officers, anonymous officials told the New York Times. There are over 20 bases across the region - the majority of which are within 2,000km range of Iran's Sejil-2 ballistic missile. Most read in The US Sun US bases in Iraq and Syria would potentially be targeted first, according to American officials said that F-22, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets had been positioned in the Middle East - prime targets for Tehran missiles. Major general Chip Chapman told The Sun how the bases represent key targets for Iran. He said: "It could be that they do some sort of minimal strike on one or two bases, not a theatre-wide strike, which would involve Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, all the American bases throughout the region. "And we know from the UK perspective that the 20 plots, Iranian inspired plots against, Iranian dissidents. "So you could see that against Israeli targets, a wide geographic region that's that prolonged, sporadic, conflict. "It is if you had that, that people would more overtly, I think, talk about regime change in general." Fears loom that Iran could even strike US embassies and consulates. Several sources revealed to Sky News that the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, is likely to be attacked. Sponsored terror attacks Iran has not hid the fact it uses its network of regional proxies as defence. 11 Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran Credit: Reuters 11 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks are seen in the sky over the Hebron, West Bank Credit: Getty 11 Houthi supporters attend a ceremony marking the Shiite religious Day Credit: EPA Infamous Hezbollah and Hamas have been effectively keeping the Israeli military occupied - steering attention away from Iran. And Yemen's Houthis have also provided distraction to the West by relentlessly targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The group already vowed to target US ships if Washington launched an attack on Iran just hours before Trump's nuke blitz - with the threat now potentially becoming a reality. The Houthis had halted its attacks on US shipping containers after Trump boosted strikes on the group. Crippling cyber attack Iran and its regional proxies have claimed responsibility for various crippling cyber attacks on Israel. Data has been destroyed and phishing campaigns launched in the past - meaning another cyber attack in response to the nuclear sites blitz could be on the cards. The US government has desperately worked to gather information on Iranian hackers responsible for previous attacks due to the grave threats to defence. An eye-watering $10 million reward was uploaded for details on a group known as CyberAv3ngers who US officials have tracked down to having links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But experts have warned that Iran could struggle to actually launched large-scale cyber attacks when its regime is under extreme threat - like now. Choking shipping lanes Arguably Tehran's most powerful weapon against the West is the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow path of water between Oman and Iran is vital in the global supply of oil. Major general Chapman told The Sun that the Islamic Republic could just shut down access to the Strait and cripple shipping through the area. He said: "The worst case from the allies perspective, America and everyone else, is that the Iranians go towards a posture of closing the Strait of Hormuz. "20 per cent of the world's oil runs through that. And as of today, the price of a barrel of oil, Brant crude was $77. "Now that is where the Brits may get involved, because one of the things about the British posture in the region and the opposition, it's been a longstanding British, operation in the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East is that we have mine countermeasure vessels, co-located with the American Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. "If the Iranians were to try and close the Strait of Hormuz, that those would be a definite ask by the Americans to the Brits. "The Iranian oil goes to China, it goes to India, places like that. They're the ones who would suffer." Oil field blitzed Iran has the potential to pull what's been dubbed the "last big card" and launch an attack on vital energy infrastructure in the Gulf that powers the globe. In 2019, two major Saudi Arabian oil plants, one in Abqaiq, Bugayg, and its second largest oilfield in Khurais, where engulfed in flames after a drone attack. The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack - but the US and Saudi governments accused Iran of orchestrating it behind closed doors. 11 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson, Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: Reuters 11 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks are seen in the sky over the Hebron Credit: Getty 11 Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran Credit: AP The Khurais oilfield was producing around one per cent of the world's oil and Abqaiq is the largest facility and could produce seven per cent of the global supply. This caused global energy prices to spike, and temporarily binned half of Saudi Arabia's oil production. Chaos unfolding After declaring the He said in a nationally televised speech at the White House: " "There will be 'Remember there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. 'But if 'Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight." And shortly after speaking on-camera, he posted to Truth Social: "This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Staggering vid shows US carpet bombing Houthis in 'Operation Rough Rider' as Trump blitzed 800 targets in 44 days "Remember, "But if peace does not come quickly we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill." Meanwhile Iran's foreign minister Abbas Arghchi dubbed the strikes "outrageous and will have everlasting consequences". He also called the military action "a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations". Arghchi added: "Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior. "In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people." A response from Iran, or from the Ayatollah in hiding, has not yet come. Ali Khamenei is believed to be Two informed sources inside the country told Iran International the country's ageing dictator is Posting on Truth Social, President Analysis of the global implications PHILIP Ingram, expert on international security 'Iranian ballistic missiles will not reach the United States and therefore to try and respond to the United States attack Iran's going to have to do something different. "It'll bring its coalition of the willing that it has together or as we call them the axis of evil. So we've got Iran, Russia, North Korea and China. 'China will likely sit back and wait to see what's happening, to begin with. But North Korea may provide Iran with some missile technology. 'Russia is sitting there laughing all the way to the bank effectively. 'The escalating conflict helps Russia by moving Russia-Ukraine further down the agenda so that people aren't focusing on it. 'Iran and Russia will join forces to try and cause as much disruption in different countries as possible through protest and through disinformation. 'There will be two reactions directly out of Iran. One, the stimulation of their proxy organisations that they have operating across the world. Hamas and Hezbollah have been largely destroyed by Israel. 'But they've still got the Houthis in Yemen. I think we will see a massive uptake in Houthi activity in disrupting international shipping in the Red Sea. 'The other reaction could be trying to close the Straits of Hormuz. 30 percent of the world's oil and gas goes through there. "Even a threat to close it will put energy prices spiking to a level that will make the spike we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine seem like small change."
