U.S. Strikes Iran
Saturday night the U.S. carried out targeted strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
“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,” Trump said in his first public remarks since the strikes were carried out, in an address to the nation from the White House Cross Hall.
The U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities using B-2 bombers armed with 30,000-pound GBU-57 “bunker buster" bombs specifically designed to penetrate and destroy heavily protected weapons facilities, according to sources and President Trump's confirmation of the operation. One U.S. official said that a dozen of these “bunker busters” were used on Fordow.
President Trump warned Iran that the U.S. could go after additional targets if Iran does not make peace, and he pressed for a diplomatic resolution following his decision to strike the trio of Iranian nuclear sites. “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 in a Saturday night address to the nation.
Leading up to this: Israel and Iran had continued to carry out waves of deadly attacks against each other last week. Strikes on critical infrastructure have included Iran's Revolutionary Guard command centers in Tehran, the command center of Iran’s Quds force, and Israel’s largest oil refinery, in Haifa Bay. Iran has targeted civilian areas in Israel, including a direct hit on a hospital in southern Israel, which injured 71 people. Patients at the hospital had miraculously been recently moved to an underground shelter. Israel’s missile defense system has kept Israeli casualty numbers low.
Israel's strikes against Iran last week damaged the nuclear program and greatly suppressed Iran’s retaliatory capabilities, paving the way for the strikes from the U.S. on Saturday night. President Trump returned early this week from the G7 Summit in Canada to make a decision whether to join Israel in the war against Iran or to pursue peace through diplomatic means. Even though the Iranians had already used up two months of negotiations with little results, the President left the door open for further negotiations, saying he would decide “within two weeks” whether to carry out direct military action against Iran. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has maintained direct communication with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The President’s statement was carefully worded. “Within two weeks” is not what some pundits concluded: “in two weeks.”
What's next? Simply put, no one knows. But the Iranians or the Iranian-backed Houthis will likely retaliate against the U.S. or Israel in some fashion.
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