Netanyahu thanks Trump for ‘historic' US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites
Netanyahu thanks Trump for 'historic' US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites NewsFeed
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised US President Donald Trump's decision to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran as 'bold, righteous and historic.' The UN Secretary General has condemned the US strikes as a 'dangerous escalation'.
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Israel recovers bodies of three Gaza captives as it kills 33 Palestinians
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Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Senior Trump officials say US attacks on Iran ‘not about regime change'
United States Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have said that the US is not seeking to topple the government in Iran via 'regime change' and is not at war with the country in the wake of its unprecedented surprise attack overnight on three of Iran's nuclear sites. The comments on Sunday followed Washington, DC joining Israel's strikes on its arch-foe, which have been met by daily retaliatory strikes from Iran and are now in their 10th day. Vance said on Sunday that the US had successfully set back Iran's nuclear programme, adding that US President Donald Trump now hopes to pursue a diplomatic solution. Speaking on the NBC News show Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, he maintained his country was 'not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear programme'. 'We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it's already been built out. We want to end their nuclear programme,' Vance said, adding: 'We want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here.' Meanwhile, Hegseth claimed the series of US strikes against Iran 'devastated' its nuclear programme, as he asserted Washington was not seeking 'regime change' in Tehran. There has been no independent confirmation of how heavily the US strikes impacted the sites, or Tehran's nuclear efforts, which it has repeatedly said are for civilian purposes only. The Pentagon chief urged Iran's leaders to find an off-ramp to the conflict after Trump announced the strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordow, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing that the operation 'did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people'. 'I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,' Hegseth added in the news conference with General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. 'This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,' he said. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier that the US strikes on his country have blown up any possibility of diplomacy and strongly intimated a response was in gestation. During an address to a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Sunday, Araghchi said the US crossed 'a very big red line' by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Trump's intervention – despite his past pledges to avoid another 'forever war' – threatens to dramatically widen the conflict after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last week, with Tehran vowing to retaliate if Washington joined in. The US and Iran had been engaged in multiple rounds of nuclear talks brokered by Oman before Israel launched a strike on Iran, unconditionally supported by the US, earlier this month. 'Bombers took off from US' Standing alongside Hegseth, Caine said that an assessment of the destruction sustained at Iran's nuclear facilities will take time to confirm. 'I think PDA [preliminary damage assessment] is still pending and it would be way too early for me to comment on what or what may not still be there,' he said. He confirmed B-2 bombers were launched from the US on Friday for an 18-hour flight to their targets for the 'strike package'. 'Operation Midnight Hammer' included several 'deception and decoy' manoeuvres. High-speed suppression fire was used to protect the B-2s, and Caine said there's no indication 'any shots were fired' by Iranian defences. 'Iran's fighters did not fly and it appears Iran's missile systems did not see us,' Caine said. He declined to comment on specific moves taken to protect US troops based in the Middle East from potential Iranian retaliation. 'Our joint force remains ready to defend the United States – our troops and our interests in the region,' said Caine. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said Hegseth gave a very clear message on behalf of the US that this is not an open-ended operation, although there was a warning that while it is intentionally limited, the capabilities of the US military are not. 'What is clear is this was a well-coordinated operation,' Fisher said. 'But as we heard from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they obviously still have to get full intelligence from the site, and this will take some time,' Fisher said. 'So they don't know whether it has been a huge success. But what it does do is send a real message.' Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS there were no planned military operations against Iran at the moment. 'No fatalities' in Iranian sites Trump announced that the US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a 'very successful attack' overnight into Sunday. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,' Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against Iran has escalated an already intensive conflict and threatens a potential all-out regional war. The head of Iran's Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said there were no fatalities in the US strikes on the nuclear facilities, according to Iranian state television. On Saturday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country's right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme 'cannot be taken away… by threats or war'. Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb. Trump has stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck Iran on June 13, repeating his insistence that it could never have nuclear weapons. He seemed to be uncertain of whether to move militarily, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have been one of the key voices he was attuned to. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Scott Lucas, a professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin, said the reason Trump decided to strike Iran after appearing to opt for diplomacy until recently was 'Because Donald Trump got played by the Israelis; some might say manipulated.'
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Satellite images show damage from US strikes on Iran's Fordow nuclear site
US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States has 'totally obliterated' three Iranian nuclear sites in what he called 'spectacularly successful' strikes. The military used so-called 'bunker buster' bombs and missiles to target the heavily fortified Fordow facility as well as Natanz and Isfahan sites. Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign marks a sharp escalation in the region, which has seen more than 21 months of Israeli genocide in Gaza. The US intervention comes more than a week after Israel launched an unprovoked strike on Iranian nuclear and military sites after accusing Tehran of making an atomic bomb. Iran, as well as the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has rejected the claims that Tehran was on the cusp of developing nuclear weapons. How did the attack happen, and which sites were targeted? Trump announced the bombing of three of Iran's main nuclear sites: Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant – A heavily fortified, deeply buried uranium enrichment site near the northern city of Qom. Natanz Nuclear Facility – Iran's main uranium-enrichment complex, located near Isfahan in central Iran. Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center – A key conversion and research facility south of Isfahan city. According to US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a large formation of seven B-2 stealth bombers, each with two crew members, was launched from the US on Friday at midnight as part of Operation Midnight Hammer. To maintain tactical surprise, a decoy group flew west over the Pacific, while the main strike group headed east with minimal communications during an 18-hour flight. At 5pm EST (1:30am local time and 21:00 GMT), a US submarine in the region launched more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, striking surface infrastructure targets in Isfahan. At 6:40pm EST (2:10am Iran time and 22:40 GMT), the lead B-2 dropped two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) on Fordow, followed by a total of 14 MOPs dropped across Fordow and Natanz. All three nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—were hit between 6:40pm and 7:05pm EST (1:30am-2:10am local time; 22:40-23:10 GMT). The final wave of Tomahawk missiles struck Isfahan last to preserve surprise. In total, more than 125 US aircraft participated, including stealth bombers, fighter jets, dozens of tankers, surveillance aircraft, and support crews. The Pentagon described it as the largest B-2 combat operation in US history and the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown. Force protection across the region was elevated in anticipation of potential retaliation. Where are Iran's nuclear sites? Iran's nuclear programme is spread across several key sites. While Iran insists its programme is peaceful and aimed at energy and medical research, the US and Israel remain deeply suspicious. Iran's resumption of uranium enrichment after the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 has only deepened tensions. Israel, which had vehemently opposed the nuclear deal under US President Barack Obama, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons by any means necessary. On June 13, it launched strikes on Iran a day ahead of a sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks. Attack on Fordow Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, located about 95km (60 miles) southwest of Tehran, is built deep inside a mountain, reportedly up to 80-90 metres (260-300 feet) underground, to survive air strikes and bunker buster attacks. Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to the chairman of the Iranian parliament, claimed that the US attack was not surprising and that no irreversible damage was sustained during the strikes. He added that authorities had evacuated all three sites in advance. Attack on Natanz Natanz nuclear facility, the largest uranium enrichment site in Iran, is located in Isfahan province. In a previous attack on June 15, the above-ground section of a pilot fuel enrichment plant, where uranium was enriched up to 60 percent, was destroyed by an Israeli strike, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Natanz's key electricity infrastructure, such as the substation, main power building, emergency supply, and backup generators, was also destroyed. There was no direct hit on the underground cascade hall, but the power loss may have damaged centrifuges used for uranium enrichment. Attack on Isfahan Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center is a key conversion and research facility south of Isfahan city. It plays a critical role in preparing raw materials for enrichment and reactor use. This is the third time Isfahan has been struck since Israel launched attacks across Iran on June 13, prompting fears of a regional escalation. Bunker buster bombs The strikes on Iran's nuclear sites were conducted using B-2 stealth bombers armed with so-called 'bunker buster' bombs, alongside submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. Experts have long noted that the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant—buried deep within a mountain—could only be destroyed by the US's 30,000-pound (13,600kg) Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the world's most powerful bunker-busting bomb. The US remains the only country known to possess this weapon. No signs of contamination Iran's nuclear agency said on Sunday that radiation monitoring and field assessments show no signs of contamination or risk to residents near the targeted sites. 'Following the illegal US attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities, no contamination has been recorded,' the agency posted on social media. 'There is no danger to residents around these sites. Safety remains stable.' In a separate statement, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran vowed that its nuclear activities would continue despite the strikes, saying it 'assures the great Iranian nation that, despite the hostile conspiracies of its enemies, the efforts of thousands of committed and revolutionary scientists will ensure that this national industry—built on the blood of nuclear martyrs—will not be stopped'. The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, also did not notice an increase in radiation levels near the targeted sites. The attacks came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat, with more than 400 killed in Iran and 24 casualties reported in Israel. Six Iranian scientists, two of whom were prominent nuclear scientists, were also killed in Israeli strikes.
