The United States Army attacked three enclosures in Iran on early Sunday, inserting in the Israel War destined to destroy the country’s nuclear program, a risky bet to weaken an ancient enemy despite the fears of a broader regional conflict.
In a speech to the nation from the White House, President Donald Trump said that Iran’s key nuclear sites were “completely and totally destroyed.” There was no independent evaluation of damage.
It was not clear if the United States would continue to attack Iran with its ally Israel, who has been at war for nine days. Trump acted without authorization from Congress and warned that there would be additional attacks if Tehran took reprisals against US forces.
“There will be peace or tragedy for Iran,” he said.
The main diplomat of Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned in an X publication that US attacks “will have lasting consequences” and that Tehran “reserves all options” to retaliate.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council to address what he described as the “atrocious attacks and the illegal use of the United States for force” against Iran.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that the UN powerful organ must “take all necessary measures” to hold the United States under international law and the UN letter.
On early Sunday, Israel alerted the public about an Iranian missile launch and urged people to take refuge. The sirens sounded in Jerusalem shortly after and a series of explosions was heard.
Iran has launched missile walks to Israel since the war began, but they have decreased in size as Israel points to Tehran missile launchers. The Islamic Republic could also be reserving some weapons.
Iran’s atomic energy organization confirmed that the attacks took place in their centers in Fordo, Isfahán and Natanz, but insisted that their work will not stop. Iran said there were no signals of radioactive contamination in the three locations and that there was no danger to nearby residents.
For its part, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday that there was “no increase in radiation levels outside the enclosure” after US air attacks, in an X message.
“The OIEA will make new evaluations about the situation in Iran as there is more available information,” added the UN Nuclear Agency.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program only has peaceful purposes, and the United States intelligence agencies have evaluated that Tehran does not actively develop a bomb. However, Trump and Israeli leaders have claimed that Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon, making it an imminent threat.
The decision to directly involve the United States in the war occurs after more than a week of Israeli attacks against Iran, which have sought to systematically eradicate air defenses and the ability of Iranian offensive missiles, in addition to damaging their nuclear enrichment facilities. However, American and Israeli officials have affirmed that the US furtive bombers and a 13,600 kilograms (30,000 pounds) antibúnker bombs that only the United States can transport, offer the best opportunity to destroy strongly fortified facilities, linked to the Iranian nuclear program and buried in great depth.
“We have completed our successful attack against the three nuclear facilities in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahán,” Trump said in a publication on social networks. All airplanes are now outside the Iranian airspace. A complete charge of pumps on the main site, Fordow was launched. All airplanes return healthy and saved home. ”
Trump added in a later publication: “This is a historical moment for the United States, Israel and the world. Iran must now accept to finish this war. Thank you!”
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, praised Trump’s decision to attack in a video message addressed to the US president.
“His bold decision to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the impressive and just power of the United States, will change the story,” said Netanyahu. Israel announced on Sunday that it would close the country’s airspace to both incoming and outgoing flights after US attacks. The war has interrupted air trips throughout the Middle East.
The White House and the Pentagon did not offer more details about the operation. The United States military leaders were expected to offer a press conference at 8 in the morning, Eastern time.
The attack used antibúnker pumps at the Fordo Nuclear Fuel Enrichment Plant in Iran, which is built in the heart of a mountain, said an American official. Weapons are designed to penetrate the ground before exploding. The official spoke about anonymity to comment on military operations.
In addition, American submarines launched around 30 Tomahawk missiles, according to another American official who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
The attacks are a dangerous decision, since Iran has promised to retaliate if the United States joins the Israeli attack, and for Trump personally. He won the White House with the promise of keeping the United States out of expensive foreign conflicts and making fun of the value of American interventionism.
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said “seriously alarmed” by the “dangerous escalation” of US attacks.
“There is a growing risk that this conflict can quickly get out of control, with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region and the world,” he emphasized in a statement.
Trump had indicated to journalists on Friday that he was not interested in sending land forces to Iran, saying that it is “the last thing one wants to do.” He had previously stated that he would make a final decision in the course of two weeks.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatolá Ali Jamenei, warned the United States on Wednesday that attacks aimed at the Islamic Republic “will result in irreparable damage to them.” And the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of Iran, Esmail Baghaei, declared that “any US intervention will be a recipe for a total war in the region.”
Trump has promised that he will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and had initially expected that the threat of using the force would lead the Iranian authorities to peacefully renounce its nuclear program.
Israel’s army indicated on Saturday that he was preparing for the possibility of prolonged war, while Iran’s chancellor warned before the US attack that US military participation “would be very, very dangerous for all.”
The perspective of a broader war also threatened. The Hutis rebels backed by Iran in Yemen indicated that attacks against US ships will resume in the Red Sea if the Trump government joined the Israel military campaign. The Hutis paused such attacks in May under an agreement with the United States.
The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Thursday that Trump planned to make his decision on the attacks within two weeks. Instead, he attacked only two days later.
But Trump seems to have made the calculation, at the request of the Israeli authorities and many Republican legislators, that Israel’s operation had softened the land and presented an opportunity perhaps without equal to delay Iran’s nuclear program, perhaps permanently.
The Israelis say that their offensive has already paralyzed Iran’s aerial defenses, allowing them to considerably degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites.
But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel has appealed to Trump to obtain US antibúnker bombs, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator of 13,600 kilograms, which uses its pure weight and strength weight and strength to achieve deeply buried objectives and then explode. The penetrator currently only launched from the B-2 furtive bomber, which is exclusively part of the American Arsenal.
It was the first use in combat of the weapon.
The pump carries a conventional eye and it is believed that it can penetrate about 61 meters (200 feet) below the surface before exploiting, and the pumps can be launched one after another, effectively drilling more and deeper with each successive explosion.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium in Fordo, which increases the possibility that nuclear material will be released in the area if the GBU-57 A/B be used to hit the installation.
Previous Israeli attacks in another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, in a centrifugated site, have caused contamination only on the site itself, not in the surrounding area, according to the IEA.
Israeli attacks in Iran have killed at least 865 people and wounded to another 3,396, according to the Washington Human Rights Activists headquarters. The group said that of the dead, identified 363 civilians and 215 members of the security forces.
Trump’s decision of a direct military intervention of the United States occurs after his government made a failed attempt of two months, including high -level direct negotiations with the Iranians, destined to persuade Tehran to limit his nuclear program.
For months, Trump said he was determined to maintain a diplomatic effort to urge Iran to give up his nuclear ambitions. And twice, in April and again at the end of May, he persuaded Netanyahu to postpone military actions against Iran and give more time to diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Trump has publicly express the hope that the moment could be a “second chance” so that I will make a treatment to launch explicit threats to Jamenei and make calls to the unconditional surrender of Tehran.
The military confrontation with Iran occurs seven years after Trump to withdraw the United States from the agreement negotiated by the then Barack Obama government in 2018, qualifying it as the “worst agreement in history.”
The 2015 Pact, signed by Iran, the United States and other world powers, created a long -term comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited the enrichment of Tehran uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Trump criticized the Obama era agreement for giving Iran too much in exchange for very little, because the treatment did not cover Iran’s non -nuclear malignant behavior.
Trump has reacted angry at the criticism of some of the supporters of his campaign “Let’s make the United States again” (Maga), including conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that a greater participation of the United States will be a betrayal of followers who were attracted to their promise to end the participation of the United States in expensive and endless wars.
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