American planes successfully attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, President Donald Trump said, drawing the US into a conflict that escalated a week ago with Israeli attacks across the country.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan” Trump wrote in a Saturday post on his Truth Social platform. He said all the US planes were outside airspace.
“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,’ ‘Trump wrote. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”
Trump later said he would address the nation at 10 pm eastern time.
The US decided to enter the fray after the fighting derailed a planned sixth round of indirect negotiations aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. Trump had previously indicated there was a possibility of further talks, while still hammering the point that Tehran was at fault for failing to agree to terms that would have prevented the Israeli assault.
Trump had kept the world guessing as to what he would do next, saying he would take a final decision “one second before it’s due,” even as the US military and federal agencies prepared for action.
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Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, saying the imminent threat of its sworn enemy securing nuclear weapons had to be neutralized. Although Iran’s military infrastructure was seriously damaged and a number of its top generals and atomic scientists were killed, Israel lacks the heavy bombs and B-2 stealth jets that may be required to destroy nuclear sites buried deep underground.
Tehran responded by firing waves of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, breaching aerial defenses, striking several cities and causing unprecedented damage. But the number of projectiles launched by Iran dropped markedly after the first few days of the conflict, raising questions about the number of missiles left in its arsenal and its ability to launch them.
