US leaders react, call for Trump's impeachment after attack on Iran's nuclear sites

[Editor's Note: Follow our live blog for real-time updates on the latest developments in the Israel-Iran conflict.]
Following the announcement of US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a wave of reactions swept through the American political landscape.
Prominent lawmakers from across the political spectrum swiftly condemned President Donald Trump's decision, raising alarms about the legality, constitutional overreach, and long-term consequences of the action.
While the administration framed the strikes as a strategic success, critics argued it marked a reckless escalation that bypassed congressional authority and endangered global stability.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen
'Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but he failed to deliver."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Trump's decision 'disastrous' and 'grounds for impeachment'.
The President�s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.
He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.
It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 22, 2025
US Representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene also called out Trump's attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, saying Netanyahu was the one who bombed the people of Iran first.
House Member Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi said the president "ignored the constitution" and urged the administration to provide answers on the deadly move that potentially "endangers American lives".

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Khaleej Times

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• Khaleej Times

US attacks Iran: What are the nuclear contamination risks from Iranian sites?

[Editor's Note: Follow our live blog for real-time updates on the latest developments in the Israel-Iran conflict.] President Donald Trump said Iran's main nuclear sites had been "obliterated" in military strikes overnight, including on the deeply buried Fordow facility, as the US joined attacks launched by Israel on June 13. Experts have said military strikes on Iran's uranium enrichment facilities pose limited risks of contamination, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday no increased off-site radiation levels had been reported following the US attacks. Which Iranian nuclear sites have been hit so far? The US military struck sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Trump said Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated". The attacks follow previously announced Israeli attacks on nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, Arak and Tehran itself. Israel says it aims to stop Iran building a nuclear bomb and the US says Tehran would not be allowed to get such weapons. Iran denies ever seeking nuclear arms. The international nuclear watchdog IAEA has previously reported damage to the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, the nuclear complex at Isfahan that includes the Uranium Conversion Facility and to centrifuge production facilities in Karaj and Tehran. Israel has also attacked Arak, also known as Khondab. The IAEA said Israeli military strikes hit the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, which was under construction and had not begun operating, and damaged the nearby plant that makes heavy water. The IAEA said it was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so there were no radiological effects. Heavy-water reactors can be used to produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make an atom bomb. What risks do these strikes pose? Speaking to Reuters before the US strikes took place, experts said Israel's attacks had posed limited contamination risks so far. Darya Dolzikova, a senior research fellow at London think-tank RUSI, said attacks on facilities at the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle — the stages where uranium is prepared for use in a reactor — pose primarily chemical, not radiological risks. At enrichment facilities, UF6, or uranium hexafluoride, is the concern. "When UF6 interacts with water vapour in the air, it produces harmful chemicals," she said. "In low winds, much of the material can be expected to settle in the vicinity of the facility; in high winds, the material will travel farther, but is also likely to disperse more widely. The risk of harmful chemicals being dispersed is lower for underground facilities." Simon Bennett, who leads the civil safety and security unit at the University of Leicester in Britain, said risks to the environment were minimal when subterranean facilities are hit because you are "burying nuclear material in possibly thousands of tonnes of concrete, earth and rock". James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that before uranium goes into a nuclear reactor it is barely radioactive. "The chemical form uranium hexafluoride is toxic ... but it actually doesn't tend to travel large distances and it's barely radioactive," he added. Attacks on enrichment facilities were "unlikely to cause significant off-site consequences", he said, while stating his opposition to Israel's campaign. What about nuclear reactors? The major concern would be a strike on Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr on the Gulf coast. Fears of catastrophe rippled through the Gulf on June 19 when the Israeli military said it had struck a site in Bushehr, only to say later that the announcement was a mistake. Israel says it wants to avoid any nuclear disaster. Richard Wakeford, honorary professor of epidemiology at the University of Manchester, said that while contamination from attacks on enrichment facilities would be "mainly a chemical problem" for the surrounding areas, extensive damage to large power reactors "is a different story". Radioactive elements would be released either through a plume of volatile materials or into the sea, he added. Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said an attack on Bushehr "could cause an absolute radiological catastrophe". Why are Gulf states especially worried? For Gulf states, the impact of any strike on Bushehr would be worsened by the potential contamination of Gulf waters, jeopardising a critical source of desalinated potable water. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is on high alert to monitor for any possible environmental contamination after the attacks, said a source with knowledge of the matter. There have been no signs of radiological contamination so far, the source said, adding that the GCC had emergency plans in place in case of a threat to water and food security in the Gulf. In the United Arab Emirates, desalinated water accounts for more than 80 per cent of drinking water, while Bahrain became fully reliant on desalinated water in 2016, with 100 per cent of groundwater reserved for contingency plans, authorities say. Qatar is also 100 per cent dependent on desalinated water. In Saudi Arabia, a much larger nation with a greater reserve of natural groundwater, about 50 per cent of the water supply came from desalinated water as of 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics. While some Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE have access to more than one sea to draw water from, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are crowded along the shoreline of the Gulf with no other coastline. "If a natural disaster, oil spill, or even a targeted attack were to disrupt a desalination plant, hundreds of thousands could lose access to freshwater almost instantly," said Nidal Hilal, professor of engineering and director of New York University Abu Dhabi's Water Research Center. "Coastal desalination plants are especially vulnerable to regional hazards like oil spills and potential nuclear contamination," he said.

The National

44 minutes ago

• The National

Bahrain issues public guidance following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites

Bahrain, home to the US Central Command's regional base, issued public safety guidance on Sunday in the wake of American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The Gulf nation is strategically close to Iran. It hosts US personnel and military officials and established ties with Israel several years ago. "In light of recent developments in the regional security situation, we urge citizens and residents to use main roads only when necessary, to maintain public safety and to allow the relevant authorities to use the roads efficiently," an Interior Ministry statement read. Manama also said 70 per cent of government employees, including those in ministries and government agencies, will work from home, starting immediately, following the US attacks. Emergency staff are excluded from the order, Bahrain's Civil Service Bureau said. "A remote working system will be activated across ministries and government agencies, with a 70 per cent work-from-home capacity," the official Bahrain News Agency said after the US bombed Iran. Nearly 9,000 defence personnel are stationed in Bahrain, including military and civilian staff. The US Navy's Fifth Fleet provides security to ships and aircraft in the region. Kuwait emergency plan In a similar development, the Kuwaiti Finance Ministry said on Sunday it has activated its emergency plan to ensure the continuity of financial and service operations with high efficiency. The measures included preparing shelters in the building of the ministries' complex, which will accommodate about 900 people, and providing warehouses to be used when necessary. Kuwait hosts a major American military base, Camp Arifjan, which is south-east of the capital, Kuwait city. It was established in 1999 and provides primary logistics for US military operations across the region. Iran has previously threatened to target US military bases in the region if Washington intervened on Israel's side. Bahrain and other Gulf states also lie near Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor, which has reportedly been the target of Israeli strikes. Their proximity, just across the narrow waters of the Gulf, has raised regional security concerns, especially amid fears of radioactive fallout or wider escalation.

Khaleej Times

an hour ago

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Kuwait sets up shelters in ministries complex after US strikes on Iran

Kuwait's finance ministry said it has set up shelters in the country's ministries complex following US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. The shelters can accommodate around 900 people, the ministry said in a statement on X. The United States has a military presence across the major oil-producing region, with bases in Kuwait as well as in Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Kuwait