U.S. Military Engages in Strikes Against Three Iranian Nuclear Sites, According to President Trump, Joining Israeli Air Campaign: Live Update
WASHINGTON — On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States military carried out strikes on three sites in Iran, thereby directly joining Israel’s initiative to dismantle the nation’s nuclear program. This decision represents a considerable escalation amid Tehran’s threats of retaliation, which risk instigating a broader regional conflict.
The United States’ involvement follows over a week of Israeli airstrikes that have systematically targeted Iran’s air defense systems and offensive missile capabilities while degrading its nuclear enrichment infrastructure. U.S. and Israeli officials have asserted that American stealth bombers, equipped with a 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb unique to the U.S. military, are essential to effectively targeting and destroying Iran’s heavily fortified nuclear facilities, which are located deep underground.
“We have completed our successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” President Trump stated in a social media post. “All aircraft are presently outside of Iranian airspace. A comprehensive payload of munitions was deployed against the primary site, Fordow, and all aircraft are safely returning to base.”
This decision to engage in military action poses significant risks for the United States, particularly as Iran has pledged to respond aggressively should American forces join the Israeli offensive. For President Trump, this action raises implications given his campaign’s emphasis on avoiding costly foreign entanglements and skepticism regarding the merits of U.S. interventionism.
Israel’s military leadership indicated on Saturday that they are preparing for the possibility of an extended conflict, while Iran’s foreign minister cautioned that U.S. military involvement “would be very, very dangerous for all parties involved.”
Moreover, the potential for a wider conflict remains concerning. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have expressed intentions to resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration participates in Israel’s military operations. The Houthis previously suspended such attacks in May under a diplomatic arrangement with the United States.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced that the State Department has initiated “assisted departure flights,” these being the first since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which marked the onset of hostilities in Gaza.
Additionally, Israel’s military confirmed that it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and eliminated three senior Iranian military leaders as part of its strategic objective to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Smoke was reported rising near a mountain in Isfahan, where Akbar Salehi, the province’s deputy governor for security affairs, validated that Israeli airstrikes caused significant damage to the facility.
The target of this operation was identified as a centrifuge production site. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed the attack and reported that the facility—a previous target on the first day of the conflict—sustained “extensive damage,” although it noted that there is no risk of off-site contamination.
