By The Associated Press
(AP) — The U.S. military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel ’s effort at decapitating the country’s nuclear energy program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.
The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. However, U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.
President Donald Trump was the first to disclose the strikes. There was no immediate acknowledgment from the Iranian government. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country’s Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear sites. The agency did not elaborate.
Here is the latest:
US Steps Up Efforts to Evacuate Citizens from Israel
The U.S. is stepping up evacuation flights for American citizens from Israel to Europe and continuing to draw down its staff at diplomatic missions in Iraq as fears of Iranian retaliation against U.S. interests in the Middle East grow.
Even before those airstrikes were announced by President Donald Trump on Saturday evening in Washington, the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem announced the start of evacuation flights for American civilians from Israel.
Sixty-seven American citizens left Israel on two government flights bound for Athens, Greece on Saturday, and four more evacuation flights to Athens were planned for Sunday, according to an internal State Department document seen by The Associated Press.
In addition to the flights, a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 American citizens, including several hundred Jewish youngsters who had been visiting Israel on an organized tour, arrived in Cyprus, according to the document.
— Matthew Lee
Israel Closes Airspace in Wake of US Attacks
Israel’s Airport Authority announced it was closing the country’s airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
The agency said it was shutting down air traffic “due to recent developments” and did not say for how long.
Iran Says ‘No Signs of Contamination’ after US Strikes Nuclear Facilities
Iran said early Sunday there were “no signs of contamination” at its nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo, and Natanz after U.S. airstrikes targeted the facilities.
Iranian state media quoted the country’s National Nuclear Safety System Center, which published a statement saying its radiation detectors had recorded no radioactive release after the strikes.
“There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites,” the statement added.
Earlier Israeli airstrikes on nuclear sites similarly have caused no recorded release of radioactive material into the environment around the facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.
Strikes Used ‘Bunker Buster’ Bombs and Cruise Missiles
The U.S. military used “bunker-buster” bombs in its attack on Iran’s Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, which is built deep into a mountain, a U.S. official said. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
The 30,000-pound bunker-busting American bomb known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to penetrate underground and then explode. Saturday’s strikes were the first time it has been used in combat.
U.S. submarines also participated in the attacks in Iran, launching about 30 Tomahawk land attack missiles, according to another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
It was not clear what those missiles were aimed at. Two Iranian nuclear sites besides Fordo were attacked, Isfahan and Natanz.
— Lolita C. Baldor
Trump Called Netanyahu After Strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video that Trump called him after the strikes.
“It was a very warm conversation, very emotional,” Netanyahu said.
Speaking in Hebrew, he called Trump a friend of Israel like no one before him.
Quiet Outside the White House as Trump Describes Iran strikes
After Trump spoke to the country about the bombing in Iran, the White House had an eerie calm.
There was darkness outside the West Wing, other than bright TV crew lights and yellow lights from the nearby Eisenhower Executive Office Building overlooking the White House.
A siren rang in the background in city traffic that continued without pausing for the historic moment.
Trump’s speech came on in the overhead speakers in the White House press area, only for his voice to give way to a sudden silence after he thanked God.
Trump Warns Iran ‘There Are Many Targets Left’
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that he will not hesitate to strike other targets in Iran if peaceful submission does not come quickly in the Middle East.
“There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” he said.
Trump said that while the nuclear facilities struck by the U.S. on Saturday were the most “lethal,” “there are many targets left.”
“If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed, and skill,” he added.
Trump Says He Worked ‘As a Team’ with Israel’s Prime Minister to Strike Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump said he worked “as a team” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the collaboration was “perhaps” like “no team has worked before.”
Trump also noted that no military in the world except for that of the U.S. could have pulled off the attack.
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Confirms Strikes
Iran’s nuclear agency on Sunday confirmed attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz atomic sites, but is insisting its work will not be stopped.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued the statement after President Donald Trump announced the American attack on the facilities.
“The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped,” it said in its statement.
Japan Evacuates Group from Iran
Japan’s Foreign Ministry said that 21 Japanese residents of Iran and their family members arrived safely in Baku, the capital of the neighboring Azerbaijan, after evacuating by bus. It was Japan’s second evacuation from Iran.
U.S. Lawmakers Concerned
Elected Democrats and some far-right Republicans questioned the move, particularly without authorization from the U.S. Congress.
“Horrible judgment,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. “I will push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.”
Said conservative Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, “While President Trump’s decision may prove just, it’s hard to conceive a rationale that’s Constitutional.”
“This is not Constitutional,” posted Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a longtime opponent of U.S. involvement in foreign wars.
Nonproliferation Group Condemns Attacks
The Washington-based Arms Control Association, which focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, said the attack was an “irresponsible departure from Trump’s pursuit of diplomacy and increases the risk of a nuclear-armed Iran.”
“The U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear targets, including the deeply fortified, underground Fordo uranium enrichment complex, may temporarily set back Iran’s nuclear program, but in the long term, military action is likely to push Iran to determine nuclear weapons are necessary for deterrence and that Washington is not interested in diplomacy,” it warned.
Trump Claimed Attack Threatens to Reignite US War with Houthi Rebels
The attack claimed by U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to reignite America’s war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” able to launch regular attacks.
The Houthis on Saturday warned they would resume attacks on American ships in the Red Sea corridor if the U.S. joined the Israeli campaign.
Saudi Arabia Condemns ‘Blatant Israeli Aggressions’ Against Iran
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has condemned “blatant Israeli aggressions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security, constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms, and threaten the security and stability of the region,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
Speaking at Friday’s meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, he called for “the immediate cessation of military operations, the avoidance of escalation, and a return to the negotiation track between Iran and the international community.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia were long regional arch-rivals but have normalized relations in recent years. Riyadh was quick to side publicly with Tehran after Israel launched a surprise barrage of strikes on Iran last week.
Bin Farhan also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The kingdom and France had been set to co-chair a conference in New York this month on the topic, which was postponed due to the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war.
Iranian President Says Iran Will Never Resign its Right to Nuclear Power
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will never renounce its right to nuclear power, which “cannot be taken away from it through war and threats.”
In a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, Pezeshkian said Iran was ready to provide guarantees and confidence-building measures to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, according to IRNA, the state-run news agency.
Pezeshkian said that Iran has never sought to produce nuclear weapons, IRNA reported. Posting on X, the French leader said he told his Iranian counterpart that “Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, and it is up to Iran to provide full guarantees that its intentions are peaceful.”
Egypt Rejects Israeli Campaign Against Iran and Calls for Negotiated Solution
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has expressed his government’s “complete rejection” of Israel’s campaign against Iran, calling for a negotiated solution to the conflict.
El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Saturday with Iranian President Masoud Pezezhkin, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
The statement said el-Sissi voiced Egypt’s “complete rejection of the ongoing Israeli escalation against Iran,” as a threat to the Middle East’s security and stability.
The Egyptian leader called for an immediate ceasefire to resume negotiations with the aim of reaching a “sustainable, peaceful solution to this crisis.”
Germany Closes Tehran Embassy and Withdraws Staff from Iran
The German embassy in Tehran has been closed until further notice “due to the current crisis situation,” the diplomatic representation wrote on its website.
“Please do not come to the embassy or the consulate building. Appointments that have already been arranged have been canceled,” the embassy said.
Due to the war between Israel and Iran, the German Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it has withdrawn all of its embassy staff in Tehran and brought them out of the country.
The embassy is still reachable online for Germans remaining in Iran. On its website, the embassy gives advice on the different possibilities to leave by land via Armenia or Turkey. According to the German Foreign Ministry, there are still about 1,000 German citizens in Iran.
Nasrallah’s Bodyguard Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Iran, Hezbollah Says
The head of security to the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while in Iran, a Hezbollah official said Saturday.
Abu Ali Khalil, better known as Abu Ali Jawad, was killed after he went to Iran from neighboring Iraq, the official said.
For many years, Abu Ali was seen behind Nasrallah during most of his public appearances.
After Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstike in a Beirut suburb in September, his bodyguard was put in charge of his tomb in Beirut.
The Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the airstrike that killed Abu Ali occurred earlier Saturday.
Erdogan Offers to Mediate Iran-US Talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for technical and leadership-level talks between Iran and the United States to resolve tensions, during a meeting with Iran’s top diplomat.
A statement from Erdogan’s office said the Turkish president also told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday that Turkey was ready to take on the role of facilitator.
Erdogan said that the region cannot tolerate another war and said Israel must be “stopped immediately.”
Araghchi was in Turkey to attend a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
