What does striking Iran mean for Trump foreign policy — and his voters?
A Republican president enters a faraway war, despite questions about the intelligence underpinning the attack. America has been here before.
President Trump's rise was, in part, the response of US voters to political leaders embroiling the military in unpopular foreign conflicts, especially the lengthy deployment to Iraq launched by a Republican predecessor, George W Bush, based on flimsy accounts of weapons of mass destruction.
'My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,' Trump concluded in his inaugural address. 'We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end — and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.'
These words, combined with his emphasis on America First and 'peace through strength', were hailed by Trump's base as proof that here was a president who would reverse the neocon drive to impose democracy around the world and resist the 'military-industrial complex' President Eisenhower warned against.
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BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
US and Iran: What's happening?
The United States has launched military strikes in Iran, attacking three nuclear bases in the in a televised speech from the White House, US President Donald Trump called the operation a "spectacular military success" and warned that Iran should make peace or face "far greater" response to the strikes, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said: "The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences." What's the background to this? The US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites comes just over a week after Israel launched strikes on then Israel and Iran have continued to fire missiles at each and the US have long been allies. Now President Trump has decided to support Israel by joining the attack on said American warplanes attacked three nuclear sites in Iran - including an underground nuclear site called has always said its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes like the strikes President Trump said: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated." What has been the reaction? UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described Iran's nuclear programme as "a grave threat to international security"."Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," Starmer Foreign Minister David Lammy says "the UK did not participate in these strikes" and urged Iran to "show restraint and reach a diplomatic solution to end the crisis", which means through peaceful UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:"There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace."Since the US bombing, missile attacks between Israel and Iran have continued.
Sky News
30 minutes ago
- Sky News
US warplanes strike three nuclear sites as Iran warns of 'everlasting' consequences
The US has carried out a "very successful attack" on three nuclear sites on Iran, President Donald Trump has said, while Tehran has warned of "everlasting" consequences. Bunker buster bombs were dropped on the heavily protected Fordow enrichment plant, which is buried deep under a mountain near the city of Qom, as well as sites at Natanz and Isfahan. Satellite imagery has revealed some of the surface damage at Fordow after the US strikes. The dramatic escalation brings the US into direct involvement in the war between Israel and Iran. Tehran's threat of reprisals raises fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the US strikes "will have everlasting consequences", adding that his country "reserves all options" to retaliate. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said America's 'Operation Midnight Hammer' had "devastated the Iranian nuclear programme" but confirmed the strikes were "not about regime change". "The United States does not seek war, but let me be clear - we will act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners, or our interests are threatened," he said. Iran has repeatedly denied that it is seeking a nuclear weapon, and the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said in June that it has no proof of a "systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon". The Iranian foreign minister told journalists on Sunday morning that he was flying to Moscow to have "serious consultations" with Vladimir Putin. He described Moscow as a "friend of Iran", adding: "We always consult with each other." Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) said that "invaders must now await responses that will bring regret" after US strikes. 2:48 Iran has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to "maintain international peace and condemn the US strikes", according to state media. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the "bold decision" by Mr Trump, saying it would "change history". Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it launched 40 missiles at Israel on Sunday morning, including its biggest ballistic missile, the Khorramshahr-4. Iranian missiles hit sites in northern and central Israel, including in Haifa, Ness Ziona, Rishon LeZion and Tel Aviv. The UK is preparing to fly British nationals out of Israel, and Israeli airspace will temporarily open today for repatriation flights to land. Countries trying to evacuate their citizens are waiting for the airspace to reopen fully to charter flights out. Gulf states like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, all home to US military bases, are on high alert after the strikes, with Bahrain urging drivers to avoid main roads and Kuwait setting up shelters. The UK has also further increased "force protection" measures for its military bases and personnel in the Middle East to their highest level. The and reach "a diplomatic solution to end this crisis". "Iran's nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," said Sir Keir Starmer. 3:34 However, Mr Araghchi said the US and Israel had "blown up" negotiations and asked: "How can Iran return to something it never left, let alone blew up?" 2:28 US Senator Chris Murphy posted on X after the strikes, saying that he and other senators received a classified briefing last week indicating that Iran did not pose an immediate threat through its nuclear program. "Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon," Senator Murphy said. "The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success." Addressing the nation in the hours after the strikes, Mr Trump said that Iran must now make peace or "we will go after" other targets in Iran. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days," he said. 1:20 In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: "All planes are safely on their way home", and he congratulated "our great American Warriors". He also threatened further strikes on Iran unless it doesn't "stop immediately", adding: "Now is the time for peace." Sky News understands there was no UK involvement in the strikes. 'Fordow is gone' Among the sites hit was Fordow, a secretive nuclear facility buried around 80 metres below a mountain and one of two key uranium enrichment plants in Iran. "A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," Mr Trump said. "Fordow is gone." There had been a lot of discussion in recent days about possible American involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict, and much of it centred around the US possibly being best placed to destroy Fordow. Meanwhile, Natanz and Isfahan were the other two sites hit in the US attack. Natanz is the other major uranium enrichment plant in Iran and was believed to have possibly already suffered extensive damage in Israel's strikes earlier this week. 1:44 Isfahan features a large nuclear technology centre and enriched uranium is also stored there, diplomats say. 'No increase in radiation levels' US media reported that six 'bunker buster' bombs were used to strike Fordow. However, most of the highly enriched uranium at the Fordow nuclear facility was moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the attack, a senior Iranian source told the Reuters news agency. Personnel numbers were also reduced at the site, according to the report. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that there has been "no increase in off-site radiation levels" after the US airstrikes. Mr Trump said no further strikes were planned and that he hoped diplomacy would now take over. In a briefing with journalists, Iran's foreign minister said Mr Trump had deceived his own voters over his promises not to get involved in any more "forever wars". "While President Trump was elected on a platform of putting an end to America's costly involvement in forever wars in our part of the world, he has betrayed not only Iran by abusing our commitment to diplomacy, but also deceived his own voters."
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Incredible satellite images show the precision of the US attack on Iran's nuclear machine in full
A new series of satellite images has revealed the precision of the US attacks on Iran 's primary nuclear facility. President Donald Trump last night ordered six B-2 stealth bombers to drop a dozen 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs on the base hidden deep inside a mountain in Fordo, 80 miles south of Tehran. 'The strikes were a spectacular military success,' Trump said in a late-night address from the White House, before warning that he wants peace now or that there will be dire consequences. In the aftermath, Iran's foreign minister has branded Trump a 'lawless bully' who 'betrayed' diplomacy as he warned the world has been thrown into an 'unprecedented level of danger'. The newly-released images show the exactitude of military attacks, which Trump claimed flattened the facility. The satellite imagery shows the exact 'strike area' on the Fordow Nuclear Facility, which the B-2 stealth bombers hit as well as possible bomb 'entry points'. Annotated to show the areas clearly, the images also suggest 'possible subsidence' of land which has been caved inwards after the strikes. In response, Iran this morning targeted Israel which has left at least 16 people injured, including a young man with shrapnel wounds to his upper body, according to emergency services. The attacks on Israel are understood to have started at around 6.30am GMT (8.30am IST) this morning - just hours after the US's strikes on Iran. Addressing Trump's attack at a press conference today, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said: 'Humanity has come too far as a species to allow a lawless bully to take us back to the law of the jungle.' He ordered 'urgent and decisive action' must now be taken by the United Nations and other International bodies, adding that 'silence' will 'plunge the world into an unprecedented level of danger'. Sir Keir Starmer said the US took action to 'alleviate' the 'grave threat' of Iran's nuclear programme - but urged Iran to return to the 'negotiating table' to end the conflict. The UK Prime Minister said in a statement: 'Iran's nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. 'Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat. 'The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and stability in the region is a priority. 'We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.' obliterated '.
