US joins Israeli offensive against Iran as Trump announces strikes on 3 nuclear sites in Tehran
US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that America has struck three nuclear sites in Iran, directly joining the Israeli offensive against the Islamic country to decapitate its nuclear programme and threatening a possible Iranian retaliation that could spark a wider regional conflict. Iran's state run news agency IRNA reported early on Sunday that the attacks targeted the country's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites without elaborating.
In a major escalation of conflict, Trump joined the Israeli offensive against Iran after days of deliberation and more than a week after Israel launched its strikes on Iran that aimed to systematically destroy the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
Trump said: 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan…Iran must agree to end this war.'
The US President added that he would address the country on Saturday night at the White House and give out details about the US military's operation in Iran. The strikes by US on three nuclear sites in Iran is a perilous decision as Tehran had pledged to retaliate if Washington joined the Israeli offensive. The US strikes also goes against Trump's electoral promise where he had said to keep America out of costly foreign conflicts.
'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.… pic.twitter.com/AqCLmaLYJb
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 21, 2025
The United States struck three key nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz — hubs of Iran's nuclear ambitions. The International Atomic Energy Agency had confirmed that Iran was producing highly enriched uranium at Fordow, which raised the possibility of the nuclear material to be released in the area. Earlier strikes by Israel on Natanz nuclear site's centrifuge had only caused contamination at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA had said.
The Fordow nuclear site is located near the city of Qom and is surrounded by mountains. Not much was known about this nuclear site until the Israeli intelligence was able to steal a trove of Iranian documents related to the site years ago. The main hall of the nuclear site is located about 80 to 90 metres beneath the ground. A recent IAEA report had stated that Iran had ramped up production of enriched uranium to a level of 60% at Fordow and the facility contains about 2,700 centrifuges.
The Isfahan nuclear site is the largest nuclear research complex in the country and is located in central Iran. It was opened in 1984 and was built with the help of China, non-profit organisation NTI stated. According to NTI, about 3,000 scientists work at the facility which is 'suspected of being the center' of Iran's nuclear programme.
President Donald Trump's direct military intervention in Iran, by joining the Israeli offensive, comes after his administration pushed for a nuclear deal with the Islamic country and held several high-level talks, direct negotiations in the past couple of months. However, the Trump administration's attempts to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear programme failed and no agreement was reached. It was then that Israel launched its strike against Tehran last Friday.
Trump, while issuing a warning to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had said: 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.'
The US's military conflict with Iran comes after seven years when Trump withdrew from a deal signed between Tehran and then US President Barack Obama's administration, calling it the 'worst deal ever'.
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