The US military struck three sites in Iran early yesterday, inserting itself into Israel’s effort to decapitate Iran’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 defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
US President Donald Trump announced the strikes.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country’s Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said the US had “crossed a very big red line,” the time for diplomacy was over and Iran had the right to defend itself.
Some have questioned whether a weakened Iran would capitulate or remain defiant and begin striking with allies at US targets scattered across the Gulf region.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said Israel was still assessing damage from US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Asked whether enriched material had been removed from the Fordow site before the US strike, Defrin said that it was too early to know.
The strikes were carried out in coordination with the Israeli military, he said.
Satellite images taken yesterday show damage on the mountainside at Iran’s underground nuclear site at Fordow after US airstrikes targeted the facility.
The images by Planet Labs PBC show the once-brown mountain had parts turned gray and its contours appeared slightly different than in previous images, suggesting a blast threw up debris around the site. That suggests the use of specialized US bunker buster bombs on the facility. Light gray smoke also hung in the air.
Iran has yet to offer a damage assessment of the site.
Other satellite images suggest Iran sealed up the tunnel entrances at Fordow before the strike.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN called for an emergency Security Council meeting for what he described as the US’ “heinous attacks and illegal use of force” against Iran.
In a letter, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that the UN’s most powerful body must “take all necessary measures” to hold the US accountable under international law and the UN charter.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the use of force by the US.
“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement on social media. “I call on Member States to de-escalate.”
“There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy,” he added.
Iran’s foreign minister said diplomacy is not an option after the US strikes
“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,” Araghchi told a news conference in Turkey.
While the “door to diplomacy” should always be open, “this is not the case right now,” he said.
China condemned US strikes on Iran, calling them a serious violation of international law that further inflamed tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged all parties — especially Israel — to implement a ceasefire and begin dialogue.
“China is willing to work with the international community to pool efforts together and uphold justice, and contribute to the work for restoring peace and stability in the Middle East,” the ministry said.
European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas said Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, but she urged those involved in the conflict to show restraint.
“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” the top EU diplomat wrote on social media.
Israeli officials lauded the strikes in sweeping and dramatic language. Israeli President, Isaac Herzog thanked Trump and said the strikes marked a “decisive moment between the axis of terror and evil and the axis of hope.”
Israel’s Minister of Defense congratulated Trump on what he described as a “historic decision.”
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