US has struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel ’s effort to destroy the country’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 defences 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.
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.”
The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.
“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
Key events
Bernie Sanders was in Tulsa, Oklahoma at a rally on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of the US on Saturday evening when the news of the strikes came through.
He read Trump’s announcement to the crowd, prompting immediate boos and chants of “no more war”.
“I agree,” replied Sanders.
“It is so grossly unconstitutional. All of you know that the only entity that can take this country to war is the US Congress. The president does not have the right.”
The sentiment was shared by Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who has also denounced the strikes as unconstitutional. In a statement, she said:
“President Trump sending U.S. troops to bomb Iran without the consent of Congress is a blatant violation of our Constitution. The American people do not want another forever war. We have seen where decades of endless war in the Middle East gets us—all based on the lie of ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ We are not falling for it again.
“Instead of listening to the American people, Trump is listening to War Criminal Netanyahu, who lied about Iraq and is lying once again about Iran. Congress must act immediately to exert its war powers and stop this unconstitutional act of war.
US strikes hit Fordow enrichment plant – Iran official
IRNA, the state-run news agency (whose website is currently down) has cited an unnamed provincial official in confirming that part of the Fordow nuclear facility was hit.
“Hours ago, after Qom’s air defenses were activated and hostile targets were identified, part of the Fordow nuclear site was attacked by enemy airstrikes,” said Morteza Heydari, a spokesman for the Qom Provincial Crisis Management Headquarters, according to a translation by Al Jazeera.
Separately, Iranian state media has said the sites struck by US bombings did not contain materials that cause radiation, according to Reuters.
Fordow is one of Iran’s two uranium enrichment sites, estimated to be about 80-90 metres underground below a mountain. Israel struck the site on the first day of its attacks, but no damage was seen at the time, according to the IAEA nuclear watchdog.
We’re also still awaiting reactions from the Democratic leadership in the US.
Trump’s closest supporters have posted their support for the attack on social media.
South Carolina senator Lindsay Graham says:
Good. This was the right call. The regime deserves it. Well done, President @realDonaldTrump
To my fellow citizens: We have the best Air Force in the world. It makes me so proud. Fly, Fight, Win.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a steadfast Trump supporter who advocated US involvement in Iran this week, posted a statement on Twitter / X:
The prospect of an Iranian regime acquiring nuclear weapons represents the most acute immediate threat to America and our allies.
President Trump has persistently and unequivocally stated that those threats cannot be countered without dismantling the Iranian regime’s enrichment capacity.
We’re still awaiting verified reports to help us understand the impact of the US strike, particularly the Fordow nuclear site that was a principal target of American B-2 bombers.
President Donald Trump has reposted an account on his Truth Social platform saying “Fordow is gone”.
Via Reuters, the Israeli state broadcaster Kan is citing an Israeli official saying Israel was “in full coordination” with the US on the Iran strike.
In a post on Truth Social announcing his 10pm address, President Donald Trump says:
This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!
Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli Minister for Defence, has posted on Twitter / X in support of the US Strike.
President Trump took a bold decision for the United States, for Israel, for all of humanity.
The world is now a safer place.
US Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has posted on Twitter / X in support of the US strike on Iran.
He said:
As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS
Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.
President Donald Trump is expected to speak at the White House at 10pm local time “regarding our very successful military operation in Iran”.
U.S. B-2 bombers were involved in strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites announced by President Donald Trump on Saturday, a U.S. official told news agency Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Reuters had reported earlier on Saturday the movement of B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry massive bombs that experts say would be ideal to strike the sites.
US has struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel ’s effort to destroy the country’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 defences 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.
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.”
The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.
“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
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Israel-Iran war.
Donald Trump has announced that the US has bombed nuclear sites in Iran, including the Fordow site.
In a post on Truth Social, he said “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. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
