As a result of Washington’s effective engagement in Israel’s nuclear war, US President Donald Trump announced the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. Trump used a different spelling for Isfahan to translate the statement on his Truth Social platform to state that “every plane is now outside of Iranian air space.”
He described the strikes as a “spectacular military success” in a televised address on Sunday morning.
The US decision to intervene militarily to aid the Israeli attacks on Iran has prompted fears of a serious escalation across the Middle East and brought back memories of the devastation in Iraq following the 2003 US invasion. On June 13, Israel launched unprecedented attacks against Iran, aiming specifically at its top military figures and nuclear sites.
At least 24 people have been killed in Israel as a result of retaliatory strikes by Tehran, compared to more than 400 in the past 400 attacks in Iran.
Here is what we know so far about the US attacks on Iran:
What areas in Iran have the US bombed?
According to US media reports, the US used bunker-buster bombs to attack three important nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, using B2 bomber jets.
“The strikes were a spectacular military success”, Trump said in his televised address. He continued, “Our goal was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity,” adding that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and completely destroyed.
Trump’s claims were not immediately independently verified by Al Jazeera.
Here’s what we know about the three nuclear sites:
Near Qom in northwestern Iran, Fordow, a highly fortified underground uranium enrichment facility, is reportedly buried hundreds of meters deep. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), this site is designed to house up to 2, 976 spinning centrifuges.
Natanz is Iran’s largest enrichment complex, containing vast halls of centrifuges, some underground. It has been a significant center for Iran’s nuclear program and the site of numerous previous sabotage attempts, and Israeli bombings struck on June 13 as a result.
A uranium conversion facility and fuel fabrication facilities are part of Isfahan, a significant nuclear research and production facility. It plays a critical role in preparing raw materials for enrichment and reactor use.
Iran has been accused of developing nuclear weapons by Israel and the US for years, but Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
Despite concerns over Iran’s decision to enrich uranium at up to 60% purity, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has refuted claims that Tehran was about to start producing nuclear weapons.
Tehran stepped up enrichment after Trump walked out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal – Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , (JCPOA) – in 2018 that had capped Iran’s nuclear activity.
What weapons did the US use against Iran?
Trump made the claim that the attack’s weapons used “massive precision strikes,” but he provided no specific information. However, US media reports suggested the US army dropped “bunker buster” bombs and navy submarines fired multiple cruise missiles.
The US military’s GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) weighs nearly 13, 000 kg (30, 000 pounds), making it the most potent bunker bomb ever. Bomber buster bombs can penetrate 61 meters (200 feet) of earth or 18 meters (59 feet) of concrete, which conventional bombs cannot do.
The B-2 Spirit, a US stealth bomber, is currently the only aircraft designed to deploy the GBU-57 and can carry two bunker buster bombs at a time, which the air force says can drop multiple bombs sequentially, allowing each strike to burrow deeper.
Given its breadth, the US intervention is seen as crucial at this time for the Israeli campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities, particularly Fordow. The site had been destroyed by Israeli attacks.
While nearly half a dozen B-2 bombers reportedly dropped a dozen 13, 000kg bunker buster bombs on the Fordow site, navy submarines are said to have coordinated strikes by cruise missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan sites, according to media reports.
MOPs are also used for the first time by the US in combat.
What effect did the US strikes have?
Trump claimed “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated”.
Yet the extent of the damage at the nuclear facilities is still being independently verified.
According to Mehdi Mohammadi, an Iranian parliament representative, the US attack was not unexpected and that the Iranian government had already evacuated the Fordow facility in advance.
“Iran has been expecting strikes on Fordow for several days. No irreversible damage was caused by today’s attack, according to Mohammadi in a statement posted on X.
Iran’s nuclear agency confirmed the attacks on Sunday, saying that there are no signs of contamination or danger for nearby residents based on the radiation system data and field surveys.
“Following the illegal US attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, field surveys and radiation systems data showed: No contamination recorded”, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said in a social media post. Residents of these locations are not in danger, according to the statement. Safety is in a stable state.
After the US bombing of its key nuclear facilities, the agency insisted that its work would not be stopped.
The organization promises to the great Iranian nation that despite the evil plans of its enemies, the government will not allow the development of this country’s industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, be stopped, according to AEOI in a statement.
Additionally, the IAEA found no increases in radiation near the enlisted sites.
“Following attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran – including Fordow – the IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time”, the agency said in a social media post on Sunday.
As more details become available, “IAEA will provide further assessments of the situation in Iran.”
In response to the attacks, Grossi stated that the IAEA will hold an urgent meeting on Monday.
Iran has said what?
Abbas Araghchi, the country’s foreign minister, claimed that the US “attacks Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations in a grave violation of international law, international law, and the NPT.”
Tehran has already threatened to walk away from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The circumstances of this morning are outrageous and will have repercussions for life. This lawless, extremely dangerous, and criminal behavior must be alarming for all UN members, Araghchi said in a statement posted on X.
“In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people”, he added.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, issued a warning to the US last week to refrain from joining Israeli airstrikes against Iran. He claimed that the US would suffer irreparable harm as a result.
In his first televised address since Israel began its attacks on June 13, Khamenei said Iran “will not surrender to anyone” and “will stand firm against an imposed war, just as it will stand firm against an imposed peace”.
How will Iran attack the US in retaliation?
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the US attacks, said on Sunday that it had the right to block such “aggression.”
“The world must not forget that it was the United States that, in the midst of a diplomatic process, betrayed diplomacy” by supporting Israel’s “aggressive action”, and is now waging “a dangerous war against Iran”, the ministry said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The Islamic Republic of Iran added that it has the right to defend Iran’s security and national interests by standing with all of its might in opposition to US military aggression and the crimes committed by this rogue regime.
The US attacks on Iran have seriously alarmed Antonio Guterres, the UN’s chief, who stated.
“This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security. According to Guterres, there is a growing chance that this conflict will quickly spiral out of control, with disastrous effects for people in the region, as well as the world, “.
The Iranian foreign minister claimed at a press conference on Sunday that his nation had the right to defend itself now that diplomacy had come to an end.
“The warmongering, a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far reaching implications of its act of aggression”, he said.
Iranians have a number of options in the wake of the US attacks, according to Stephen Zunes, the University of San Francisco’s director of Middle Eastern studies. They have the ability to directly attack US forces. There are up to 40, 000 Americans within the range, not just of Iranian missiles but of drones and other weaponry”, he said.
“You have the fleet off the Iranian coast, in the Persian Gulf.” If they attack, they could also be vulnerable, according to Zunes, who also refers to the Gulf as the Arabian Gulf. “It could impact global shipping, impacting oil prices and indeed the entire global economy”.
Zunes also cited “proxy militias in Iraq who could take advantage of American bases there,” adding that he would be surprised if Iranians didn’t take advantage of at least some of these.
Iran launched attacks on Israel on Sunday using one of its most advanced missiles, the Kheibar Shekan.
Iran might also move towards withdrawing from the NPT. Tehran has the legal right to leave the NPT, according to Abbas Golroo, the head of the parliament’s foreign policy committee.
An NPT member has “the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it believes extraordinary events have endangered its country’s supreme interests,” according to Article 10.
Adam Weinstein, the deputy director of the Middle East programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said the US is now at risk of getting dragged into a prolonged war in the Middle East.
He noted that Iran has already stated that it intends to carry out its nuclear program.
“They’ll do it more covertly,” they say. They might exit the NPT, and, of course, the Israelis will say, ‘ Well, this is why we need even more strikes. ‘ And the Iranians are likely to engage in some form of retaliation, which would undermine their legitimacy, Weinstein said.
“The escalation cycle begins here.” And so I’m very sceptical that it will be a one-off strike by the US. I believe that the US is at risk of starting an Iran-focused conflict of choice.
Trump, by contrast, threatened Iran with even more threats.
