US strikes three nuclear sites in Iran
The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arriving at the White House (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
The US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's effort to decapitating Iran's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.
The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The agency did not elaborate. Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate.
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The Magen David Adom rescue service says one of those wounded was a 30-year-old man in moderate condition and the other 10 were lightly wounded.
Shortly after the Iranian missile barrage, Israel announced its warplanes were conducting strikes on 'military targets' in western Iran, without immediately elaborating.
The judiciary's Mizan news agency identified the man as Majid Mosayebi and said he was hanged on Sunday after charges of spying in exchange for cryptocurrency payments. The case wasn't previously reported.
The development raises fears of Tehran stepping up executions in the country in retaliation for the US attacks. Iran is one of the world's top executioners.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says in a message on X that there has been 'no increase in off-site radiation levels' after US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
'The IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time,' it said. The 'IAEA will provide further assessments on situation in Iran as more information becomes available.'
The Israeli rescue service United Hatzalah said it was dispatching first responders. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel since Israel launched a surprise attack on its military and nuclear facilities last week. Israel's sophisticated air defenses are able to shoot down most but not all of the missiles and drones.
At least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded.
US Sen. Chris Murphy posted on X that he and other senators received a classified briefing last week from intelligence officials who indicated that Iran did not pose an immediate threat through its nuclear program.
'Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon,' Murphy said. 'The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.'
The Houthi rebels in Yemen are vowing to support Iran in its fight against 'the Zionist and American aggression.'
Their statement called for the Muslim nations to join the holy war and act as 'one front against the Zionist-American arrogance.'
The militant Palestinian group Hamas says the US aid strikers on Iran are a 'direct threat to international peace and security' and 'a blind pursuit of the rogue Zionist occupation's agenda.'
Iran's ambassador to the United Nations called on Sunday for an emergency Security Council meeting for what he described as America's 'heinous attacks and illegal use of force' against Iran.
In a letter, obtained by the AP, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, said that the UN's most powerful body must 'take all necessary measures' to hold the US accountable under international law and the UN charter.
'The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns and denounces in the strongest possible terms these unprovoked and premeditated acts of aggression, which have followed the large-scale military attack conducted by the Israeli regime on 13 June against Iran's peaceful nuclear sites and facilities," the letter continued.
The Israeli military says it's identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of Israel and says its defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.
The public has been asked to go to shelters and protected areas and remain there until further notice.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said on X that Tehran 'reserves all options' to retaliate. He's the first ranking official to comment on the strikes on Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz by the Americans.
'The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,' Araghchi wrote.
He added: 'In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.'
Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency has published an account by one of its reporters, saying flames could be seen after the bombs hit the Fordo facility.
Fars, which is believed close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said its reporter heard anti-aircraft fire around 2:05 a.m. local time and explosions two minutes later.
'When I reached the vicinity ... the air defense system was operating intensely, and its activity was clearly visible in the sky,' the reporter said. Later on, the reporter said, "flames suddenly erupted from the direction of Fordo.'
Simultaneously with the flames, a faint trail of smoke and a significant amount of dust rose in the area, Fars quoted the reporter. It offered no photos or video showing the attack
Israeli officials lauded the strikes in sweeping and dramatic language. Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, thanked Trump and said the strikes marked a 'decisive moment between the axis of terror and evil and the axis of hope.'
Israel's defense minister congratulated Trump on what he described as a 'historic decision.'
The US is stepping up evacuation flights for American citizens from Israel to Europe and continuing to draw down its staff at diplomatic missions in Iraq as fears of Iranian retaliation again US interests in the Middle East grow.
Even before those airstrikes were announced by US President Donald Trump on Saturday evening in Washington, the US embassy in Jerusalem announced the start of evacuation flights for American civilians from Israel.
Sixty-seven American citizens left Israel on two government flights bound for Athens, Greece on Saturday and four more evacuation flights to Athens were planned for Sunday, according to an internal State Department document seen by The Associated Press.
In addition to the flights, a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 American citizens, including several hundred Jewish youngsters who had been visiting Israel on an organized tour, arrived in Cyprus, according to the document.
— Matthew Lee
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arriving at the White House (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
News in 90 Seconds - June 22nd
Israel's Airport Authority announced it was closing the country's airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
The agency said it was shutting down air traffic 'due to recent developments' and did not say for how long.
Iran said early Sunday there were 'no signs of contamination' at its nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz after US airstrikes targeted the facilities.
Iranian state media quoted the country's National Nuclear Safety System Center, which published a statement saying its radiation detectors had recorded no radioactive release after the strikes.
'There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites,' the statement added.
Earlier Israeli airstrikes on nuclear sites similarly have caused no recorded release of radioactive material into the environment around the facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.
The US military used 'bunker-buster' bombs in its attack on Iran's Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, which is built deep into a mountain, a US official said. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
The 30,000-pound bunker-busting American bomb known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to penetrate underground and then explode. Saturday's strikes were the first time it has been used in combat.
US submarines also participated in the attacks in Iran, launching about 30 Tomahawk land attack missiles, according to another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
It was not clear what those missiles were aimed at. Two Iranian nuclear sites besides Fordo were attacked, Isfahan and Natanz.
— Lolita C. Baldor
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video that Trump called him after the strikes.
'It was a very warm conversation, very emotional,' Netanyahu said.
Speaking in Hebrew, he called Trump a friend of Israel like no one before him.
'In my name, and on behalf of all citizens of Israel and on behalf of the entire Jewish world, I thank him from the bottom of my heart.'
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