US President Donald Trump confirmed overnight Sunday that the US Air Force carried out extensive strikes on three key nuclear facilities in Iran, marking a dramatic escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict and the first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution that the US has attacked major military targets inside Iranian territory. The sites targeted were Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
"We have completed a very successful strike," Trump wrote on his social media platform, TruthSocial. "All aircraft returned safely. Now is the time for peace!"
According to reports, the US Air Force used GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg), capable of penetrating the mountain over the Fordow facility. The decision came after weeks of internal deliberations in Washington, during which Trump weighed giving diplomacy another chance. But with no sign of progress from Tehran, he opted for military action.
Senior Israeli officials believe the US has been preparing to join the wider campaign and had begun logistical preparations well in advance.
Just hours before the airstrikes, Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser and a leading voice among isolationist conservatives who oppose foreign interventions, hinted at the looming operation on his podcast, saying: "The party's starting."
Meanwhile, sources in the Persian Gulf conveyed messages to both Washington and Tehran that they would not cooperate with the strikes and would not allow their airspace to be used for the operations. "The Gulf states share a unified position: stop the war and prevent its spread," said Yasmin Farouk of the International Crisis Group.
Before the US strikes, the US State Department began an evacuation operation for American citizens in Israel and the West Bank. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced that rescue flights were already underway, with dozens of Americans flown to Greece for onward travel.
Simultaneously, the Tehran regime reinstated internet restrictions across Iran, after a brief window of restored access. Many VPN services were once again blocked, and access to social media platforms was severely limited.
In Yemen, the Iran-aligned Houthis warned they would break the ceasefire with Washington and threatened to target US ships in the Red Sea should the US continue to assist Israel. "If the Americans intervene, we will strike their military and civilian ships in the Red Sea," a Houthi spokesperson warned.
