U.S. Joins Israel in Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites, Risking Wider War
President Donald Trump said in a brief address to the nation Saturday evening that U.S. bombers had 'totally obliterated' three key Iranian nuclear sites and threatened to hit more targets if Iran refused to 'make peace.' The strikes were a rare use of B-2 stealth bombers, a highly secret and central part of U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy, and marked the country unequivocally joining Israel's campaign to cripple Tehran's ability to build a nuclear weapon.
'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,' Trump said, after striding down the White House Cross Hall and stepping up to a microphone flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. '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.'
The operation marks the most direct American military intervention inside Iran in decades and has reignited fears of a rapidly widening conflict that could draw in proxy forces, endanger U.S. troops, and disrupt global energy markets.
'For 40 years, Iran has been saying, Death to America, Death to Israel,' Trump said. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.'
Trump warned of additional airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear program, noting 'There are many targets left.'
'Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal," the President continued. "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.'
Trump took a moment to thank Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying 'we worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before.' Trump finished his remarks by saying, 'God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel, and God bless America.'
Earlier in the evening, Trump announced the strikes had been completed on his Truth Social account, calling the mission 'very successful' and noting that all U.S. aircraft had exited Iranian airspace.
'A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,' Trump wrote on Truth Social at 7:50 pm, referring to the heavily fortified nuclear enrichment site built into a mountain outside the city of Qom. The U.S. also targeted the larger enrichment plant at Natanz and a facility near Isfahan believed to house highly enriched uranium.
'All planes are safely on their way home,' Trump 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 represents a dramatic shift from Trump's earlier resistance to deeper U.S. entanglement in foreign wars. He had campaigned on a pledge to end foreign wars and not start new ones, but his decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities underscores the growing pressure he faced from Israel and Republican allies in Congress who viewed this moment as an opportunity to permanently degrade Iran's nuclear capabilities.
In response to the strikes, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued a statement that did not refute Trump's declarations that the targeted sites had been obliterated. The organization asserted that Iran 'will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped."
Trump's decision to ultimately strike Iran comes just over a week after Israeli forces had already damaged surface-level infrastructure at Natanz and eroded key elements of Iran's air defenses, in a move that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a 'strike at the head of Iran's nuclear weaponization program.' But intelligence officials have long said that only American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb could successfully destroy Iran's deeply buried nuclear infrastructure, particularly at Fordow, a heavily fortified nuclear enrichment site built into a mountain outside the city of Qom.
In a February meeting, TIME recently reported based on accounts from Israeli officials, Netanyahu warned Trump that Iran was inching closer to crossing the nuclear threshold: increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and advancing its centrifuge technology. 'Look, Donald,' Netanyahu said, 'this has to be tackled, because they're racing forward.' He then paused for dramatic effect and looked at Trump directly in the eye. 'You can't have a nuclear Iran on your watch.'
The conversation appeared to make an impression. Trump repeatedly vowed that Iran 'must never obtain a nuclear weapon' and attempted to make a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear capabilities, but the talks stalled in recent weeks.
Iran has insisted that it is not developing a bomb and that its nuclear program remains non-weaponized for peaceful energy purposes. However, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog recently reported that Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium—just below weapons-grade—had grown large enough to produce multiple bombs if further enriched. Analysts said Iran could theoretically produce a bomb's worth of material in as little as a week, and that no other country has that level of uranium without a nuclear weapons program.
The strikes have raised many questions about what comes next, including how Iran will retaliate and whether the conflict will spread across the region. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Trump on Wednesday that strikes against Iran will 'result in irreparable damage for them.' Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.'
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have previously threatened to resume attacks on U.S. forces in the Red Sea if the U.S. joined Israel's military operation.
Trump told reporters on Friday that he does not want to send ground forces into Iran, saying it's 'the last thing you want to do.' He had previously said that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks.
'I may do it. I may not do it,' he said Wednesday. 'Nobody knows what I'm going to do.'
It was not independently verified how much damage was inflicted or whether significant nuclear material and contamination had been released. Israel's initial strikes were particularly effective and had crippled Iran's air defenses.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has previously warned that bombing active enrichment sites, particularly Fordow, could pose environmental and health risks.
While many have praised Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, it has also sparked backlash on Capitol Hill, including from some members of his own party. 'This is not Constitutional,' Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, wrote on X, suggesting that Congress had not authorized the use of force. Other lawmakers warned that the operation risked triggering a prolonged conflict. 'We now have very serious choices ahead to provide security for our citizens and our allies and stability for the middle-east,' Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote on X.
Multiple Democrats described the strike as "unconstitutional" and "unauthorized." In a post on X, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called the bombings "a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers" and "clearly grounds for impeachment."
Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.
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