(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boasted the United States dealt “monumental damage” to Iran’s nuclear programme after precision missile strikes on three key nuclear facilities.
In a late Sunday night post on Truth Social, Trump declared that the strikes resulted in the “obliteration” of the sites, including the heavily fortified Fordow location:
Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!
The attacks, carried out using 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs, targeted Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz—sites deeply embedded in Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure. The Fordow facility, buried beneath a mountain, is believed to have sustained direct hits, though U.S. officials are still assessing the extent of the damage.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi confirmed that the Fordow site had suffered “direct kinetic impact,” but noted that a full damage assessment was
Speaking at an emergency session of the UN Security Council, Tehran’s ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused the US of deciding to “destroy diplomacy,” promising that the Iranian military would deliver a “proportionate” response in due course.
Meanwhile, the State Department has ordered non-essential diplomats to leave Lebanon, amid concerns of retaliation by Iranian-backed proxy groups. Tensions are also flaring over whether allied states may be drawn into the conflict. Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned that “any country used by the U.S. to strike Iran will be a legitimate target.”