President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the US has conducted strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, causing panic and world war fears amid the Iran-Israel conflict. The 78-year-old added that the crown jewel of Tehran’s nuclear program, Fordow, is gone. This comes after days of speculation about Washington joining forces with Tel Aviv.
“This was an amazing success tonight,” Trump told Reuters in a telephone interview. “They should make peace immediately or they’ll get hit again.”
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The president said that US forces struck three key nuclear sites in Iran: Natanz, Esfahan and Fordow. He told Fox News six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordow, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites.
“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. Fordow is gone. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR,” he added.
Will Iran retaliate against US strikes?
A US official told The New York Times that US strikes on Iran were complete and no follow-up attacks were expected. “Although commanders were ready to respond to any Iranian retaliatory attacks.”
One expert, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told NYT that Washington might be looking at ‘a significant escalatory spiral that could get out of hand quickly’.
The report added that Iran could also get to the negotiation table. On Friday, Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that if the US chose to strike Iran, the country reserved the right to retaliate, as it has against Israel.
“When there is a war, both sides attack each other. That’s quite understandable. And self-defense is a legitimate right of every country,” he said in an interview with NBC News.
Read More: War Powers Act vs. Article II: Is the US bombing of Iran constitutional? Could Trump be impeached?
Meanwhile, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged an attack on the country’s Fordo nuclear site.
IRNA quoted Akbar Salehi, Isfahan’s deputy governor in charge of security affairs, saying there had been attacks around the sites.
Quoting a statement from Iran’s Qom province, IRNA said: “A few hours ago, when Qom air defences were activated and hostile targets were identified, part of the Fordo nuclear site was attacked by enemies.”
