Iran weighs retaliation against US for strikes on nuclear sites
Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced today for Tehran's response to the US attack on its nuclear sites and US President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in the Islamic republic.
Iran vowed to defend itself yesterday, a day after the US joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy from around the world.
Commercial satellite imagery indicated the US attack on Saturday on Iran's subterranean Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged or destroyed the deeply buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but the status of the site remained unconfirmed, experts said.
In his latest social media comments on the US strikes, Mr Trump said "Monumental damage was done to all nuclear sites in Iran."
"The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trump earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government "must now make peace" or "future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier".
The US launched 75 precision-guided munitions including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles against three Iranian nuclear sites, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the US strikes.
Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground.
A senior Iranian source said that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim.
Tehran, which denies its nuclear programme is for anything other than peaceful purposes, sent a volley of missiles at Israel in the aftermath of the US attack, wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv.
But it had not acted on its main threats of retaliation, to target US bases or choke off oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Attempting to strangle Gulf oil supply by closing the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf.
Oil prices jumped today to their highest since January.
Iran's parliament has approved a move to close the strait, which Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran's Press TV said any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
General Caine said the US military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. The US State Department issued a security alert for all US citizens abroad, calling on them to "exercise increased caution".
Yesterday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the strait, telling Fox News it would be a "terrible mistake".
"It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours," he said.
The Israeli military reported a missile launch from Iran in the early hours of this morning, saying it was intercepted by Israeli defences.
Air raid sirens blared in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. Iran has repeatedly targeted the Greater Tel Aviv - a metropolitan area of around four million people - the business and economic hub of Israel where there are also critical military assets.
Iranian news agencies reported air defences were activated in central Tehran districts to counter "enemy targets", and that Israeli air strikes hit Parchin, the location of a military complex southeast of the capital.
In a post to the Truth Social platform yesterday, Mr Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran.
"It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" he wrote.
Mr Trump's post came after officials in his administration, including US Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran's government.
Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on 13 June, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment.
As Tehran weighed its options, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today. The Kremlin has a strategic partnership with Iran, but also close links with Israel.
Speaking in Istanbul yesterday, Mr Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses and there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated.
Russia's foreign ministry condemned the US attacks which it said had undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and warned of the conflict spreading in the Middle East.
The UN Security Council met yesterday to discuss the US strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the US bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
20 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Iranian women in Dublin concerned for their families in Iran
Reporter Charlie McGinley speaks to Iranian citizens living in Ireland on the conflict in their homeland.
Irish Daily Mirror
21 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Iran threatens US with 'decisive response' after Donald Trump attacks nuke sites
The US has been threatened with a "decisive response" after Donald Trump unleashed American bombs on Iran this weekend. "Every time the Americans committed crimes, they received a decisive response, and it will be the same this time too," said General Hatami, the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army. Days before the attack, Iran had reportedly warned the US that it could activate its network of sleeper cells on US soil. The Department of Homeland Security said yesterday that the "Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States". They say "if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the homeland" there could be a surge in violence. Follow our live blog below... BREAKING:Iranian missile hits Israel's Ashdod.#Iran #Israel #Ashod Israel's strikes against Iran have struck Iran's Radio and Television building, and the Fordow nuclear plant, according to reports. It comes after the US claimed to have "obliterated" the underground nuclear site with air strikes over the weekend. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who is reportedly hiding in a bunker - has named three senior clerics to take his place should he be killed by Israel or the US. Khamenei is said to have ordered the officials hiding him to shut down all electronic communications so it's harder to find him, the New York Times reports, citing three officials close to the leader. The report reads: "Ayatollah Khamenei's son Mojtaba, also a cleric and close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was rumoured to be a front-runner, is not among the candidates, the officials said. Iran's former conservative president, Ibrahim Raisi, was also considered a front-runner before he was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024." Iran's foreign minister has hand delivered a letter from the Supreme Leader to Vladimir Putin today. Sources say the letter is asking Putin for support in the ongoing conflict. They add that Iran thinks Russia could be doing more to back it against Israel and the US. Oil prices have hit a five-month high - threatening to hit British households in the pocket. Brent crude topped $80 a barrel in early trading, before falling back to $77. The rise, after Donald Trump's missile struck on Iran, risks feeding through to different aspects of everyday life. If sustained, it could result in higher fuel prices for drivers, air fares and transportation costs. By pushing up production costs it could also lead to an uptick in inflation, which may deter the Bank of England from cutting interest rates, in a blow for borrowers. David Lammy has warned Iran it would be a "catastrophic mistake" to fire at US bases in the Middle East in revenge for strikes on its nuclear sites. The Foreign Secretary urged Tehran to step from the brink, "get serious, and calm this thing down" after Donald Trump's weekend bombings fanned the flames in the region. Mr Lammy said he was "crystal clear" to Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, "it would be a huge catastrophic mistake to fire at US bases in the region at this time". The Foreign Secreary stressed that the UK played no role in the US or Israeli bombings, and repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether the US action was legal. Mr Lammy said: "I can tell you, as Foreign Secretary that we were not involved. It is for the Americans to discuss those legal issues. UK gives chilling two-word warning to Iran over nuclear site retaliation Donald Trump's call to bomb key nuclear sites in Iran has sparked fears Tehran could retaliate - with mounting concerns that instability in the region could spark World War Three. Over the weekend the US attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, including the deep underground Fordow facility, with President Trump claiming they had been "completely and fully obliterated." The US President ordered the strikes - dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer - after Israel carried out attacks against the country's nuclear, energy and military infrastructure last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran had been wanting to develop a nuclear weapon to threaten the Jewish-majority state, and said the strikes were to damage its nuclear programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency also found the Fordow site had enriched uranium to 83.7 per cent, which was close to the 90 per cent required to develop nuclear weapons. WW3 fears explained and if world is safer or more dangerous after US bombs Iran Israel has suffered the "longest barrage" since the start of the war amid Iran's bombardment this morning. Jerusalem Post correspondent Dr Amir Bobhot wrote on Telegram: "Longest barrage since the war began. Dozens of surface-to-surface missiles scattered across the country." Reports are emerging of missiles flying over the holy city of Jerusalem. "Thuds" have reportedly been heard nearby amid an exchange of missile fire between Israel and Iran. Following Israeli strikes on targets in Iran, the Islamic Republic has returned fire, according to the Israeli military. Residents are being told to take cover in protected spaces. The UK's armed forces minister has said it wasn't involved in Donald Trump's strikes on Iran over the weekend. Luke Pollard refused to comment on whether the UK had agreed with the hostilies. He told Sky News: "What we can say is we were not involved in the military action that the US took, nor have we been involved in the action the Israeli government have been taking against Iran," he said. "Our focus and the work that we are doing in conjunction with our US allies... is to put the pressure on the Iranian regime to get back to negotiations, because a diplomatic solution is how we bring this crisis to an end." He said the UK wasn't asked to participate, and UK bases were not used to launch the strikes. Israeli strikes yesterday killed at least 10 members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). An unknown number of IRGC personnel were also wounded, according to Tasnim News Agency. Israel claims to have taken out 24 commanders and nuclear scientists since the conflict began. Israel's air force is attacking military sites in Kermanshah in western Iran. The air force said it deployed more than 15 Israeli jets to strike a number of missile launch and storage sites in the city - which is home to around one million people. Donald Trump's plans of "Making Iran Great Again" would be unwelcome as the Iranians demand a "hard response" against the US for its bombardment of their country. Iranian journalist Emad Anshenas told Sky News that for the first time in 40 or 50 years, there is a solidarity among the Iranian people. The vast majority of people are rejecting the idea of negotiating with the "US which attacked us", he said. "We probably had this solidarity during the Iran-Iraq war and now it is back again", he said. "If you walk through the Iranian streets everyone is asking for a hard response, especially against Israel. "And now everyone is questioning why the nuclear bomb is not being produced." Iran has threatened to activate its network of "sleeper cells" after Donald Trump unleashed American bombs on its key nuclear sites. A sleeper cell is a small group of spies, terrorists or resistance fighters who are secretly embedded in a target country. Their handlers order them to live regular lives and blend into society, remaining "asleep" - sometimes for years - until they're activated to carry out acts of espionage or terrorism. The lack of communication with their controlling country is designed to make it more difficult for the military, security services, or police to detect them. The groups are usually quite small, with the members knowing little about each other beyond their concocted identities - making it more difficult for them to inform on each other if compromised. Sleeper agents for Iranian-backed Hezbollah are said to have already been established across the world. In 2021, a Hezbollah cell bombed a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria after years of planning. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is also well-known for its activation of sleeper agents on British soil America's Department of Homeland Security has warned that "violent extremists" could mobilize on US soil in response to the situation in Iran. A National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin says there are a number of ways Iran could strike back, including through using its hackers to disrupt US networks. However, the DHS said the most serious threat could materialise if Iran's leaders issue a fatwa, an Islamic ruling, to attack American institutions on US soil. The statement reads: "The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States. Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks. "Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020. "The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland." Iran has been warned that shutting down a crucial Middle East oil "choke point" following US strikes on its nuclear facilities would be tantamount to "economic suicide". US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Iran's allies, including China, to exert pressure on Tehran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, stating that any closure would be a "terrible mistake". "I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil," Mr Rubio said during an interview with Fox News. "If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours," he continued. Iran told shutting down oil 'choke point' would be 'economic suicide' A commander of Iran's armed forces has threatened a "decisive response" after Trump's strikes on the country. "Every time the Americans committed crimes, they received a decisive response, and it will be the same this time too," General Hatami said, according to state-run Fars news agency. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country has "interesting intel" on location of Iran's highly enriched uranium. According to Iranian sources, the majority of the uranium - which was based at the Fordow nuclear plant - had been moved in anticipation of the attack. When asked about where the uranium is, Netanyahu said: "We've been following that very closely. I can tell you that it's an important component of a nuclear programme. "It's not the sole component. It's not a sufficient component. But it is an important component and we have interesting intel on that, which you will excuse me if I don't share with you." Iran had threatened to activate sleeper cells on US soil days before Donald Trump launched the attack. He was given the information by an intermediary at G7. The Department of Homeland Security warned yesterday that the "Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States". They say "if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the homeland" there could be a surge in violence. Authoritarian dictatorship North Korea has criticised US President Trump's involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and violation of the UN Charter. The North Koreans described the escalating situation as a result of Israel's 'ceaseless war moves and territorial expansion', which are 'accepted and encouraged by the West'. An official spokesperson said his country 'strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US which … violently trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state'. Internationally isolated Iran and North Korea have long kept up ties, cooperating economically and in military development. British forces stationed throughout the Middle East have been placed on heightened alert for potential drone strikes after the US airstrikes on Iran, according to Defence Secretary John Healey. Healey has affirmed that protection of UK Armed Forces is now at "highest level" amid escalating concerns that the US action might ignite a broader conflict. Since the strikes took place early Sunday morning, security measures at British bases in the Middle East have been significantly intensified, with staff preparing for the possibility of not only drone attacks but conventional rocket and missile assaults too. President Trump has alleged that satellite images have confirmed the success of operation 'Midnight Hammer', with "monumental damage" done to Iranian nuclear sites, some of which were deeply embedded underground. Taking to Truth Social, Trump said that "obliteration is an accurate term" for the outcome of the bunker-busting B2 bomber raid on three main targets, Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow. He added: "The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. "The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has taken to X to demand that Israel and its ideological allies 'be punished', after the US deployed B2 bombers to decimate a key nuclear site. Alluding to this attack as a 'big crime', Khamenei said: "The punishment continues. "The Zionist enemy has made a big mistake, committed a big crime; it must be punished and it is being punished; it is being punished right now." Alongside the post from Khamenei's purported account was a propaganda image of missiles hitting a skull with a Star of David etched on the forehead. While Iran's missile launch at Israel appears to have been intercepted, at the same time, loud explosions have been heard all across Tehran. Residents in Iran's capital described hearing consecutive "massive booms"; however, it is not yet clear what the Israeli Air Force is striking. Air defence systems in Tehran were also activated during the attack. فوریصادقیه تهران همین الانانفجارهای پیاپی People in Israel are being urged again to find shelter after being notified that Iran has launched a fresh wave of missiles. The IDF warned in a statement that "sirens sounding across central Israel due to a missile launch from Iran", adding that "defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat". Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have held another 'important' meeting on the situation in the Middle East, following Trump's 'Midnight Hammer' strike on Iranian nuclear sites. Both top officials have been vocal supporters of a 'diplomatic solution' to the ongoing Israel-Iran war, which has now drawn the US into the aerial offensive against Iran's military leaders, missile sites, and nuclear facilities. Important discussion with @SecRubio this evening on the situation in the Middle will continue to work with our allies to protect our people, secure regional stability and drive forward a diplomatic solution. An unnamed senior official within the US government has reportedly said that the timing of the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites was decided by Donald Trump - and suggested the Pentagon had a limited role in the planning of the operation. They told Axios: "This wasn't a Pentagon operation. This was a Donald Trump operation. "He came up with the PR. He chose the plans. He chose the day." Trump's decision to go ahead with the strikes followed days of discussions with close political allies who had urged restraint, another official is reported to have said. Tonight, Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani has said the country will decide "the timing, nature and scale" of its response to the US attacks over the weekend. He told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that "Iran had repeatedly warned the warmongering U.S. regime to refrain from stumbling into this quagmire." He accused Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of succeeding in getting US President Donald Trump to do the West's "dirty work" and hijack its foreign policy, "dragging the United States into yet another costly and baseless war." Iravani also called US and Israeli actions against Iran "a clear and flagrant breach of international law." An alert has been issued by the US Dept of State Consular Affairs advising Americans living abroad to "exercise increased caution" due to the risk of targeted demonstrations abroad. The warning also mentions "disruptions to travel" and "periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East." Worldwide Caution: The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises U.S.…
The Journal
35 minutes ago
- The Journal
'A big mistake': Iran vows to retaliate after US attack on nuclear sites
IRAN HAS PROMISED retaliation against the US for the attack on its nuclear sites over the weekend. The US struck three nuclear facilities with the bunker-buster bombs on Saturday night as it waded into the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, which saw more exchanges of fire in the early hours of this morning. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US strikes revealed Washington was 'behind' Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response. US President Donald Trump insisted the attack had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to determine how significantly Tehran's nuclear programme had been impacted. As the world awaited Iran's reply, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on 13 June 'a big mistake'. 'The Zionist enemy… is being punished right now,' Khamenei wrote on social media. Sirens sounded across Israel and Iran early this morning as the arch enemies exchanged their latest round of fire. The Israeli army said it was intercepting missiles from Iran, while Iranian state media Fars said the air defence system was working to counter a drone attack. In a sign of possible nervousness about the conflict spilling into a wider regional war, oil prices jumped by more than four percent in early trading today. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. With Iran threatening US bases in the Middle East, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad. Advertisement 'The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad,' the department's security alert said. It made no mention of the US strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. 'Regime change' In central Tehran yesterday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against US and Israeli attacks. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was 'truly shocked' by the strikes. 'Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near,' she said. After the Pentagon stressed that the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. 'But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes. 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!' Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing. 'The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' he added. At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be 'way too early' for him to determine the level of destruction, 'initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's bombardments will 'finish' once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. 'We are very, very close to completing them,' he told reporters. Related Reads Tánaiste says 15 Irish citizens and dependants have departed from Israel Ireland's reaction to the US bombing Iran: 'Extremely dangerous spiral of escalation' US bombs caused 'extremely severe damage and destruction' to three Iranian nuclear sites 'Grave consequences' In response to the US attack, which used over a dozen massive 'bunker buster' bombs, Iran's armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded. Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was struck. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage. He added that 'armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked.' The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticised the US strikes and called for de-escalation, while France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran 'not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.' North Korea, which is also at odds with Washington over its own nuclear weapons, condemned the US strikes as a violation of the United Nations charter. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of deciding to 'blow up' nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war. He headed to Moscow on Sunday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an 'immediate ceasefire' in Iran.
