Trump addresses the nation after we bomb Iran’s nuclear site
After the US attack on three Iranian nuclear sites that President Trump called “very successful,” he addressed the nation from an oval office.
Tensions rose on Monday over the possibility of Tehran’s return on investment against the US or its allies after struck three Iranian nuclear facilities amid fears that the Middle East conflict could swirl into a wider war.
Israeli forces began strikes in several Iranian cities on Monday. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said it had attacked Tehran’s Evin prison and the “Internal Security Headquarters.”
Iran’s state news agency said Israel had hit the Fordau nuclear site, but the US bombed it on Sunday, but the report could not be verified immediately. Sirens rang across Israel amid reports of fresh missile launches by Iran.
The US continued its vigilance of 40,000 troops in the region two days after President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Fordau, a facility for Natanz and Isfahan, a uranium enrichment facility deep in Iran’s remote areas.
Many world leaders – including those from the UK, France and Germany – sought detention and return to the diplomatic table. And protesters from several US cities, such as the country’s capital and New York, took them to the streets to express their enthusiastic opposition to intervention in Iran.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a breaking warning about the US “growing threat environment.” The State Department has sent out a “Global Attention Security Alert” advising US citizens to exercise increased vigilance to citizens abroad.
The extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear sites remains a question mark as there has been no independent assessment to date. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the main body assessing Iran’s nuclear program, was holding an emergency meeting on Monday.
Iranian civil servant Ebrahim Zolfakari warned that the US should expect serious consequences. “Gambler Trump, you may start this war, but we will end it,” Zolfakari said in English in a video shared Monday.
There is also concern about the possibility of closure of the Hormuz Strait, a major oil and gas route. The Iranian parliament supported measures to close the channel, but the final decision came to Iran’s highest national security council, Iranian television said.
Around 20% of the world’s oil and gas flows through narrow waterways connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. That closure would mean rising fuel costs for global consumers, including Americans.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned against the strait closure, telling CBS in an interview, “It would be a suicidal move on their part. If they did that, you’d think the whole world would oppose them.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Moscow’s Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakich on Monday that the attack on Iran was unfounded.
Putin made a comment at the start of the Kremlin speech, saying that Russia, which denounced the US strike, was ready to help the Iranian people.
The US bombing likely caused “very serious” damage to the underground areas of Iran’s Fordauuran enrichment plant, but the scope is unknown, UN Nuclear Observation Director Rafael Grossi said on Monday.
“We expect very significant damages have been caused given the explosive payload used and the vibration-sensitive nature of the centrifuge,” Grossi said in an emergency meeting of the 35 National Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran and its powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei almost certainly intends to fight back in response to three historic US attacks at the nuclear facility.
But when history is a guide, the response can happen anytime, anywhere, anywhere, in any way, says the former US intelligence director and diplomatic expert.
“Missiles, militias, hostage actions — that’s what they’ll do,” Brett McGurk, Biden management coordinator for the Middle East, said on CNN on June 21. “I think Iran has to do something,” please see here for more information.
– Josh Meyer
The US used millions of dollars, 30,000 pounds of “bunkerbusters” of more than dozens to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities on a strike known as Operation Midnight Hammer, marking the first operational use of the weapon, according to the Pentagon.
The US bomber plane dropped 14 giant bombs at three nuclear facilities in Iran, Chairman of Chief of Staff Dan Kane said.
The bombs used on the strike are called massive weapon intruders, or MOPSs, each weighing 30,000 pounds and costing millions of people to produce. Also known as the guided bomb unit, or GBU-57, MOPS is a GPS guided weapon designed to dig deep holes in underground targets such as reinforced tunnels and bunkers. The bomb is about 20 feet long and spans six feet at the widest point. Click here for details.
– cybele Mayes-Osterman
Some lawmakers, including Hardline Conservatives and major progressives, have called the US strike a violation of the constitution.
“The president’s tragic decision to bomb Iran without approval is a serious violation of the constitution and the powers of parliamentary war,” D-New York’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on X.
R-Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie responded to Trump’s social media rating in a statement that “this is not the constitution.”
The 1973 war resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action. The law also limits the deployment of military forces for more than 90 days without a formal declaration of war.
– Savannah Kucha
Trump ordered a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities and effectively took part in the war that began on June 13, when Israel began bombing Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Israel said it will help the US coordinate and plan the strike.
Trump said all three sites were “completely gone.” However, independent assessments have not yet been performed. The International Atomic Energy Agency – the United Nations nuclear watchdog – has issued a statement that so far has not detected an increase in “off-site radiation levels,” one of the threatening outcomes of a strike.
Vice President JD Vance argued on Sunday that the US has not entered an open-ended conflict in the Middle East. “We are not in a war with Iran. We are in war with Iran’s nuclear program,” Vance told NBC.
Contribution: Reuters
