Trump Says US Has Carried Out 'Very Successful' Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites, Including Fordow

By RFE/RL June 22, 2025 02:59 CET

US President Donald Trump the US military struck three nuclear sites in Iran -- Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan -- in a potentially risky move to join Israel in its effort to destroy Iran's nuclear program after diplomacy failed to get Iran to return to the negotiating table.

Trump announced the "very successful attack" on social media, saying US bombers had hit nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said on June 21 in a post on social media.

"All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home."

Israel's public broadcaster KAN quoted an Israeli official as saying the strikes were carried out in full coordination with Washington.

Trump had been weighing direct US military involvement in the war between Israel and Iran and had been set to meet with his national security team later on June 21. He now says he will address the nation at 10 p.m. local time.

The announcement came just two days after Trump said he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join Israel in attacking Iran in its effort to destroy Iranian nuclear sites.

Reports earlier on June 21 said that US B-2 stealth bombers -- which are capable of carrying so-called bunker-busting bombs -- were headed out of the United States and flying across the Pacific Ocean.

US and Israeli officials had previously said that the United States was the only country that had the capacity to carry out a strike on Iranian nuclear sites buried deep underground.

Trump reposted a social media post on X by Open Source Intel that said: "Fordow is gone."

A spokesman for Qom Province said part of the Fordow facility was attacked by "enemy airstrikes." Downplaying the strikes, Iranian state TV said nuclear material had been removed from the three sites before they were struck.

Iran's atomic energy organization confirmed that the country's nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were attacked "by the enemies." It said the attacks were "barbaric" and violates international law, adding that it will not allow its "national industry" to be stopped.

Brett McGurk, a former member of the US National Security Council, said the use of the bunker-busting bomb -- formally known as a massive ordinance penetrator -- is "a first in military history," pointing out that it is a weapon "designed for a target like Fordow."

He stressed in comments to CNN that the mission was about hitting the three nuclear sites and not about regime change.

"The message here going out to the region and to Tehran is this is about the nuclear facilities. This is not an expanded mission set. And it can stop here," he said.

Daniel Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel, commented on X about US involvement.

"The imperative has been to ensure Iran emerges from this war with no viable path to a nuclear weapon," Shapiro said. "Diplomacy is always the preferable path, backed by force, with readiness to use force when necessary. Now need to ensure Iran does not escalate and protect US forces."

McGurk said there had been diplomatic efforts throughout the day on June 21 to get the Iranians to sit down with the Americans and negotiate the deal put on the table six weeks ago.

"There was just no opening from the Iranians," he told CNN.

Richard Haass, a former high-ranking US diplomat, said it will be interesting to learn why US attacked now.

"Lost confidence in diplomacy? Worried Iran was moving nuclear assets? Or was the 2 week pause a tactic all along? Hope latter not the case, as discredits US diplomacy across the board going forward," Haass said on X.

Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched an aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies its nuclear program is seeking an atomic bomb.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on June 21 that Iran would not halt its nuclear program "under any circumstances," and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that US military involvement in it "would be very, very dangerous for everyone."

Araqchi, speaking on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkey, said Iran was open to further dialogue but emphasized that Iran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continues to attack.

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said Iran was "ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities."

"However, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances," he added, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Israel said earlier on June 21 that it killed three more Iranian commanders in its offensive, while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps announced that a "vast" wave of "suicide drones" had been launched against "strategic targets" across Israel.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-us-successful- strikes-iranian-nuclear-sites-fordow/33451214.html

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Trump Says US Has Carried Out 'Very Successful' Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites, Including Fordow