In a dramatic escalation of Middle Eastern tensions with potentially global repercussions, former U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that the United States has carried out a direct, large-scale military strike against three Iranian nuclear facilities. The targeted sites include the highly fortified underground uranium enrichment center at Fordow, as well as facilities at Natanz and Esfahan — all considered pillars of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. The planes are safely out of Iranian airspace and on the way home.”
The announcement has ignited a global diplomatic firestorm, stoked fears of a broader regional war, and raised the specter of a full-blown nuclear crisis in the Middle East. Though Trump did not specify the nature of the attack aircraft or munitions used, multiple defense sources cited earlier reports of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers — capable of deploying the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (“bunker buster”) — leaving U.S. airbases just hours before the announcement.
This marks the most direct American military strike against Iranian territory in recent history and comes only 48 hours after Trump publicly stated that he would decide “within two weeks” whether to join U.S. ally Israel in targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The three facilities targeted represent the core of Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
Fordow, buried under a mountain near Qom, is a fortified site that has long been a symbol of Iranian resistance and technological defiance. Intelligence assessments over the years have warned that Fordow, which is equipped with advanced centrifuges, was designed specifically to survive airstrikes.
Natanz, in central Iran, has been the epicenter of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities for more than two decades. Heavily damaged in past sabotage incidents, including cyberattacks and alleged Israeli operations, Natanz had recently resumed operations with new IR-6 centrifuges, raising alarms in the West.
Esfahan hosts critical uranium conversion facilities and has long been suspected of being part of Iran’s nuclear weapon development pipeline, although Tehran insists it is strictly for peaceful purposes.
The magnitude of Saturday’s bombing has not yet been independently verified, but satellite imagery analyzed by defense experts shows extensive structural damage and fires at the Natanz and Esfahan facilities. Iran has not released casualty figures or assessments of physical damage as of this writing.
Despite the scale of the attack, Trump attempted to frame the military action as a precursor to peace.
“There is not another military in the world that could have done this,” Trump boasted. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”
However, Iranian leaders have reacted with fury, denouncing the U.S. strike as an act of war and promising severe retaliation.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, maintained that Iran is committed to peaceful nuclear development, but emphasized that the Islamic Republic would not accept a total rollback of its nuclear program.
“We do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” Pezeshkian said, according to state-run IRNA. “Our response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating.”
While Pezeshkian focused his condemnation on Israel, analysts believe Tehran views Saturday’s U.S. strikes as an existential threat and may take broader retaliatory action across the region.
The United States, along with several other countries including China, India, and multiple EU nations, began evacuating citizens from Israel and the Palestinian territories as the possibility of wider war loomed.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed Saturday that the State Department was facilitating evacuation flights, with at least 70 U.S. nationals flown from Tel Aviv to Athens on two government-chartered planes.
“We are urging U.S. citizens to leave the region on their own if possible, without waiting for official help,” said a State Department spokesperson. “The situation is volatile and could deteriorate quickly.”
Several airlines have canceled all commercial flights to and from Tel Aviv, further complicating the evacuation efforts.
Meanwhile, the security situation on the ground has become increasingly unstable, as Israel and Iran continue their exchange of deadly airstrikes. Since Israel launched its air campaign on June 13, claiming that Iran was on the verge of achieving a nuclear weapon, the death toll has mounted rapidly.
Iran’s Health Ministry reported more than 400 deaths from Israeli strikes, while Iranian retaliatory attacks have killed at least 25 people in Israel. Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and cultural sites, have reportedly been damaged on both sides, prompting urgent calls for de-escalation from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies.
Reactions from world leaders poured in throughout Saturday. While some, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, praised the U.S. action as a “decisive strike to ensure regional security,” most international actors voiced deep concern.
France’s President Macron, in his call with Pezeshkian, urged both sides to avoid further escalation. A statement from the Élysée Palace expressed “serious alarm” at the potential for the conflict to spiral into a broader war involving neighboring countries.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. strike as a “dangerous and reckless provocation” and called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council. Moscow, a longtime ally of Tehran, has reportedly placed its military bases in Syria on high alert.
China’s Foreign Ministry called for “calm and restraint,” urging the U.S. to “stop stoking the flames of conflict.” Beijing has growing energy and strategic ties with Tehran and has historically opposed Western military interventions in the region.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire and opened diplomatic channels to prevent further escalation.
“The region is on the brink,” Guterres warned. “All parties must cease hostilities and return to negotiations.”
Analysts are divided on the motivations behind Trump’s decision to authorize such a dramatic escalation. Although he is not currently President — having launched a controversial reelection campaign in 2024 amid legal and political challenges — Trump maintains significant influence over U.S. foreign policy through the Republican-controlled Congress and a divided National Security Council.
Sources close to Trump say he believed that delaying action against Iran would “embolden the regime,” especially after months of intelligence indicating accelerated uranium enrichment.
There are also suggestions that domestic political considerations played a role. With the 2024 U.S. presidential election results still under legal dispute in several battleground states, Trump may be seeking to project strength and leadership as a means of rallying public support.
Beyond the immediate military and political implications, Saturday’s strike may deliver a fatal blow to decades of nuclear non-proliferation diplomacy. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the landmark 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by Trump in 2018 — had kept Iran’s nuclear program in check for several years.
Since its collapse, Iran has incrementally expanded its uranium enrichment efforts. While Tehran has maintained that its program is for peaceful energy purposes, Western intelligence agencies believe Iran may now be within months of weaponization capability.
The U.S. strike, while tactically successful, may ultimately remove any remaining incentive for Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or return to the negotiation table.
As of Sunday morning, there is no sign that the conflict is winding down. Missile alerts continue to sound across Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem, while Iranian proxy groups — including Hezbollah in Lebanon and various militia in Syria and Iraq — have increased their activity.
The Pentagon has not released an official statement on the operation, and current U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to speak publicly, raising questions about whether the attack was sanctioned at the highest levels or orchestrated through unofficial channels.
Meanwhile, social media is flooded with disinformation, conspiracy theories, and unverified footage of bombings and military movements. The digital fog of war has made it increasingly difficult for journalists, analysts, and civilians to distinguish fact from fiction.
- U.S. military has conducted a massive strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, confirmed by Donald Trump.
- Strategic facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan were targeted.
- Iran vows devastating retaliation as global leaders urge restraint.
- Evacuations underway amid escalating Israeli-Iranian conflict.
- International concerns mount over risk of full-scale war and collapse of nuclear diplomacy.
