Donald Trump says US forces bombed Iran nuclear sites

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a “very successful attack” on three nuclear sites in Iran had been successfully carried out, including at Fordow.

In a posting on Truth Social, Trump added, “All planes are safely on their way home” and he congratulated “our great American Warriors.”

Trump ended his posting saying, “Now is the time for peace.”

The action came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat that has resulted in deaths and injuries in both countries.

Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons.

Iran has argued that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities had so far been unsuccessful.

In another social media posting Trump said, “Fordow is gone.”

Trump appeared to be referring to the underground nuclear storage facility in Natanz. The bombing came after B-2 bombers had been dispatched to Guam earlier on Saturday, according to U.S. sources.

A U.S. official told Reuters that B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

It was still unclear whether any Israeli forces were involved in this latest bombing, which significantly expanded the scope of the hostilities.

U.S. B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Fordow is gone.”

Reuters had reported earlier on Saturday the movement of the B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry massive bombs that experts say would be needed to strike Fordow, which is buried beneath a mountain south of Tehran. Given its fortification, it will likely be days, if not longer, before the impact of the strikes is known.

An Iranian official, cited by Tasnim news agency, confirmed part of the Fordow site was attacked by “enemy airstrikes.”

However, Mohammad Manan Raisi, a lawmaker for Qom, near Fordow, told the semi-official Fars news agency the facility had not been seriously damaged.

Iranian media quoted Iran’s nuclear body as saying there were no signs of contamination after the attacks, and no danger to residents living nearby.
Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of Iran’s state broadcaster, said Iran had evacuated the three sites some time ago.

“The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots,” he told the channel.

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed and 1,272 people injured, according to local authorities.

Source: Reuters

- Agencies