The United States has significantly escalated tensions in the Middle East by launching coordinated airstrikes on three major Iranian nuclear facilities, aligning itself with Israel’s nine-day-long military campaign to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
The attacks, ordered by President Donald Trump without prior Congressional approval, mark the most direct American military involvement against Iran in years, injecting new urgency into a volatile regional conflict.
In a nationally televised address from the East Room of the White House late on 21 June 2025, Trump announced that U.S. forces had carried out precision bombings on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, which Iran has long insisted are used for peaceful energy purposes.
“Iran’s key nuclear sites were completely and fully obliterated,” Trump declared, although no independent damage assessment has yet been released.
The strike, he stated, was necessary to prevent Iran from rapidly assembling a nuclear weapon, a claim he made despite longstanding assessments by American intelligence agencies that Iran is not actively pursuing a nuclear bomb.
“There will either be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” he warned.
President Donald J. Trump Delivers Address to the Nation, June 21, 2025 https://t.co/yutRDvtWv0
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 22, 2025
The operation featured the use of advanced American weaponry, including the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb capable of destroying facilities buried deep within mountainous terrain. These bombs, delivered by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, were specifically deployed to neutralise the heavily fortified Fordow enrichment site.
The U.S. also launched over 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles from submarines positioned in the region, targeting the Natanz and Isfahan facilities.
This marks the first known combat use of the MOP bomb, underscoring the strategic priority placed on eliminating Iran’s subterranean nuclear capabilities. According to U.S. defence officials, Fordow, which is embedded deep within a mountain, was the primary target of the most destructive munitions.
Iran acknowledged the strikes, confirming that the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan sites were hit. However, Iranian authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) both reported no signs of radioactive leakage or danger to nearby civilians. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization stated that the attacks would not derail its nuclear programme.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded defiantly, posting on social media that the U.S. would face “everlasting consequences” and that Tehran reserved all options for retaliation.
The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations.
The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 22, 2025
Meanwhile, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned the operation as a “heinous act of aggression” and demanded an emergency Security Council meeting to hold the U.S. accountable under international law.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres voiced grave concerns, warning of the serious danger of the conflict spiralling out of control. “There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement.
I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.
There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of…
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 22, 2025
The international community is now bracing for the consequences of what many analysts are calling the most dangerous moment in the region since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Israel, which began its offensive nine days ago with the goal of crippling Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure, had requested U.S. support to destroy the Fordow facility, which it could not effectively target with its own arsenal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the American intervention, stating in a public message to Trump that his “bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the awesome and righteous might of the United States, will change history.” Netanyahu also announced that Israel would close its airspace to commercial traffic, citing national security concerns amid potential Iranian retaliation.
Iran has launched multiple missile attacks on Israel since the start of hostilities, with early Sunday morning seeing renewed alarms in Jerusalem as Iranian projectiles were detected.
Although Iran’s missile barrages have diminished in intensity, Israeli officials believe Tehran may be conserving its resources for a prolonged conflict.
In Yemen, the Iranian-aligned Houthi rebel movement warned that it would resume attacks on U.S. naval vessels in the Red Sea, reversing a recent agreement to cease such operations. The group said that American participation in the assault on Iran made it a legitimate target once more.
The Trump administration’s decision to strike comes after weeks of diplomatic back-and-forth, during which Trump reportedly urged Netanyahu twice to delay military action to allow space for negotiations.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, U.S. diplomats had attempted to reach a resolution with Iranian representatives as recently as early June. However, those talks failed to yield results.
Critics of Trump’s decision, including many Democrats and some members of his own Republican Party, have argued that the President acted unconstitutionally by bypassing Congress.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that “military action of this magnitude demands Congressional scrutiny,” while Senator Bernie Sanders decried the bombing as a “dangerous, unilateral escalation.”
Supporters of the operation argue that it was both legally justified and strategically necessary. Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, called the strike “a message to tyrants and terror sponsors around the globe.”
Back in Washington, Trump appeared unbothered by the constitutional concerns, stating that his “first duty is to protect the American people and our allies.” He praised the military operation as “an incredible success” and said he hoped no further action would be necessary.
“Tonight was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill,” Trump added.
Strategists and analysts warn that the situation could rapidly destabilise oil markets and global shipping lanes.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes, is viewed as a likely site for Iranian retaliation. Energy analysts noted that Iran has already begun jamming ship navigation systems in the region, and the placement of sea mines could effectively halt all maritime traffic through the strait.
The Biden-era 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, had placed strict limitations on Iran’s enrichment levels in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump had long argued the deal was inadequate and claimed that it failed to restrain Iran’s regional behaviour or its potential for future nuclear weaponisation.
Intelligence officials, however, maintain that Iran had complied with the deal’s terms prior to the U.S. withdrawal.
The ongoing conflict has already resulted in significant casualties.
According to Human Rights Activists, a Washington-based organisation tracking events in Iran, at least 865 people have died in the conflict since Israel began its strikes, including 363 civilians and 215 Iranian security personnel. Thousands more have been injured.
As international diplomats prepare for emergency meetings in New York and Geneva, the world is left watching anxiously to see how Iran will respond.
The stakes are high—not only for Tehran and Washington but for global peace and economic stability.
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