US Attacked the Three Main Nuclear Sites in Iran, Trump Says

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said American jets struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites, pulling the US directly into the country’s conflict despite his longtime promises to avoid new wars.

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Trump said Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were struck in the operation, specifically describing a “payload of BOMBS” dropped on Fordow, a key location of uranium enrichment that has raised international concern that Iran was preparing to create a nuclear weapon.

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The president called the operation “very successful,” adding that the aircraft involved had exited Iranian air space, and are “safely on their way home.”

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“NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” he wrote on Truth Social.

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Trump also said he would address the nation about the military operation at 10 p.m. at the White House.

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“Part of the area surrounding the Fordow nuclear site came under aerial attack by enemy forces” early Sunday after air defenses in the city of Qom were activated, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing a spokesman for the city’s crisis management headquarters. The Fordow nuclear facility sits around 30 kilometers south of Qom, and 100 kilometers south of the capital, Tehran.

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Trump’s decision to launch the strikes was a surprise given that he had said late last week he would make a decision within two weeks, suggesting he was willing to give more time for negotiations. On Friday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK had met with Iranian officials in a bid to prevent a US attack.

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It could immediately open the US to attack since Iran had warned it would retaliate if Trump ordered strikes. Trump’s combative language in the last couple of days had also triggered new threats from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and led Iranian officials to call the US Israel’s “partner in crime.”

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“I hope that the Iranians are measured in their response but there will be a response – this is an act of war by the United States against a foreign country, which has not attacked us lately,” said Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center. “Americans are at risk all over the Middle East, all over the world.”

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Earlier Saturday, the State Department said the US had begun evacuating US citizens from Israel. The agency organized two flights to Athens from Tel Aviv with about 70 US citizens, family member and permanent residents, it said.

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The continued fighting has evoked fears of a regional conflict that results in massive civilian casualties, and disrupts the flow of energy and other trade through the region. Around a fifth of the world’s daily oil supply goes through the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbors.

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Conflicting Advice

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For days, Trump had faced conflicting advice from his supporters, after he campaigned for president on promises to keep the US out of foreign wars, pointing to American involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. MAGA allies including longtime Trump supporter Steve Bannon, have warned against any US intervention, insisting this is Israel’s fight to finish.