Trump bombs Iran and enters the war

WashingtonThe United States has attacked Iran. Donald Trump announced on Saturday via the social media platform Truth Social that US bombers had attacked the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. And this Sunday, he confirmed in an appearance from the White House that the three facilities had been "completely destroyed." The three plants were used to enrich uranium, and the United States and Israel reported that this enrichment had exceeded 60%, a level at which it becomes suitable for making atomic bombs.

"Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capability and ending the nuclear threat posed by the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," said the US president, flanked by Vice President JD Vance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In a brief address to the nation, he also warned Iran that more attacks could come: "This cannot continue. There will be either peace or a tragedy far greater than what we have already witnessed these past eight days. Remember, tonight we still have many targets left," he said, referring to other nuclear bases in the country.

On Sunday morning, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth continued Trump's triumphant narrative, speaking of "severe damage" to describe the impact of the bombings. And like the president, he declared that any Iranian response against US bases would be met with force. "This mission is not about regime change," he clarified, however.

For their part, Iranian authorities confirmed the attack but questioned its results. In fact, the deputy political director of Iranian Radio, Hassan Abedini, appeared live on state television early Sunday morning to clarify that the attacked nuclear facilities had been evacuated "some time ago" and withdrawn. However, on Sunday the Ministry of Health acknowledged that an unspecified number of people were injured in the offensive, but assured that they "showed no signs of radioactive contamination." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States "betrayed diplomacy" and transferred the "sole responsibility for the dangerous consequences," he added.

In fact, Tehran has already begun to move to retaliate. This Sunday, the Iranian Parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of trade passes through the strategic Strait that is distributed worldwide. The mouth of the Persian Gulf, used by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, where between 17 and 18 million barrels of oil pass through every day. The Supreme National Security Council approved the crossing. Closing the passage could be considered an act of war by the United States and would very likely force the Americans to respond.

Months of preparation

The US Secretary of Defense explained that the attack on the nuclear bases "required months of preparation so that it would be ready when the US president gave the order." This suggests that Washington had been working on this device for some time, although in March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated that Tehran was not developing a nuclear weapon. "Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Khamenei has not authorized the resumption of the nuclear programs it suspended in 2003," she said at the time. In fact, this Sunday, Hegseth was unable to give a clear response to this change of position: "The president made it very clear: he analyzed all the information we have and concluded that the Iranian nuclear program is a threat," he said.

The Secretary of State also failed to provide details about Iran's alleged capability to develop nuclear weapons. When asked in an interview with CBS News what information the United States had on Tehran's weapons production, Rubio replied, "This is irrelevant." When the journalist insisted on the importance of the issue, the Secretary of State declared, "No, it's not... Forget about information."

Iraq War

Entering the conflict with the supposed aim of seeking peace and preventing an enemy country from acquiring weapons of mass destruction is increasingly reminiscent of the Iraq War. In 2003, former President George W. Bush launched Operation Freedom under the premise that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction, which were never found. Faced with the possibility that the United States could again be drawn into a similar scenario, the Secretary of Defense clarified that Sunday's attack "is not an open-ended operation" and that President Trump has tasked him with "a focused, decisive, and clear mission." It remains to be seen, however, whether the mission's consequences will also be decisive and clear.

Beyond confirming that the attack on Iran was not a hasty action due to the escalation of recent days, the White House has also corroborated that Washington has collaborated with Israel at all times. Tel Aviv began the bombing of the Islamic Republic on June 13 with the aim of ending its nuclear program. When the attack had been carried out, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated it and thanked the Republican: "History will remember that Trump acted to prevent the most dangerous regime in the world from having the most dangerous weapons in the world." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We have worked as a team, and we have come a long way to eradicate this horrific threat to Israel."

Operation Midnight Hammer

The Pentagon revealed details of the attack on Sunday, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, which involved a decoy operation to fool Iranian defenses. General Dan Caine confirmed the use of seven B-2 fighter jets, which fired GBU-57A missiles (the model known as bunker-busters) at Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday afternoon. In total, the mission involved more than 125 aircraft, multiple flights of fourth and fifth generation fighters, "dozens and dozens of aerial refueling tanker aircraft, a guided missile submarine and a whole suite of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of professionals.

Israel had already carried out attacks on Natanz and Esfahan, but not on Fordow, because its completely buried location made it impenetrable to Israeli bombs. The only country that could destroy it was the United States. To penetrate the eighty meters of rock and earth that protect the Fordow plant, a GBU-57 missile was needed, a type of bunker-buster bomb that only the United States has and that, in fact, was used in combat for the first time in this attack. "It was the most important B-2 combat operation in the history of the United States and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown, surpassed only by those that took place in the days after 9/11," said the general.