Politics Trump: USA has attacked nuclear facilities in Iran
According to US President Donald Trump, the USA has attacked nuclear facilities in Iran.
22.06.2025, 02:31
SDA
A "very successful attack" had been carried out on three facilities - including the underground uranium enrichment plant in Fordo, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform. The Natan and Isfahan sites were also attacked. The attacks have now been completed. All aircraft involved are safely on their way home.
"Congratulations to our great American fighters," Trump wrote. "There is no other military in the world that could have done this." In capital letters, he added: "NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!"
The Israeli army radio reported, citing Israeli representatives, that the USA had informed Israel of the plan before the attack in Iran. Stealth bombers of the B-2 type were used, reported the usually very well-informed Israeli journalist Barak Ravid on Platform X, citing a senior Israeli official. These aircraft are the only ones capable of dropping heavy bunker-busting bombs.
How the war has developed
Israel has been attacking targets in Iran for days - including nuclear facilities, leading military officers, nuclear scientists, defense positions, targets in cities and oil and natural gas fields. The declared main objective is to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons. Iran responded with counter-attacks on Israel.
On Thursday, Trump announced that he would make a decision within two weeks on possible US involvement in the war. He had previously tried to dissuade Iran from its controversial nuclear program through negotiations. Another round of talks between the USA and Iran, mediated by Oman, had originally been planned for last Sunday - but Israel's attacks scuppered the plan.
The war between the two arch-enemies is a significant escalation of the already dramatic situation in the Middle East. Israel has been at war with the Islamic Gaza Strip since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. In the meantime, Israel also bombed the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, which is allied with Iran.
Help with bunker buster bombs?
In recent days, experts have argued that Israel could not achieve its war aim of destroying the Iranian nuclear program without the support of the US military. Fordo, one of Iran's most important nuclear facilities, is located deep inside a mountain and, according to experts, could only be destroyed with the largest bunker buster bombs in the US arsenal. According to the report, Israel has neither these heavy bombs nor the large military aircraft required to drop them.
US media reported on Saturday (local time) that the stealth bombers had left their regular US Air Force base at Whiteman in the state of Missouri. Several of these B-2 aircraft had made their way west over the Pacific, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported, citing government officials and flight tracking services. The WSJ saw this as a sign that the US government is positioning the stealth bombers in case of a possible attack on Iran. However, observers had not expected such a quick attack.
The US military has already supported Israel's defense in recent days, particularly by shooting down ballistic missiles fired from Iran. Initially, however, the US government had always emphasized that it was not involved in the fighting between Israel and Iran. The protection of its own troops in the region had priority, it said. According to US media, a total of 40,000 soldiers are currently stationed at US military bases in the region - for example in Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait.
Due to the crisis in the Middle East, Trump left the G7 summit in Canada early last Monday (local time). During his visit there, he had already issued cryptic warnings to the Iranians and called on all residents of the capital Tehran to flee.
The US military had gradually increased its presence in the Middle East in recent days and gradually deployed additional resources to the region. Trump had actually taken office with the aim of not leading the USA into new wars.
