The unprecedented US strikes carried out on Iran on Sunday "devastated" Iran's nuclear program, the Pentagon said on Sunday, specifying that they were not aimed at regime change in Tehran, while Tehran accused Washington of having crossed a major "red line."
The unprecedented US strikes carried out Sunday in Iran "devastated" Iran's nuclear program, the Pentagon said Sunday, clarifying that they were not aimed at regime change in Tehran, while Tehran accused Washington of crossing a major "red line."
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian condemned the "aggression" against three major Iranian nuclear sites and accused the United States of being "behind" the Israeli military operation launched on June 13 against Iran.
The Iranian news agency IRNA reported after these raids the firing of 40 missiles at Israel, which caused extensive damage and injured 23 people, according to Israeli emergency services.
Dispelling the doubts he had left hanging over an intervention called for by his Israeli ally, US President Donald Trump announced that the country's main nuclear enrichment facilities, suspected by the West and Israel of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, had been "totally destroyed" by US strikes.
The US raids caused no casualties, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, but the exact extent of the damage remains unknown.
Israel announced it was verifying the situation at the major Fordo site, a uranium enrichment plant buried under a mountain 180 kilometers south of Tehran.
According to an AFP satellite image analysis using data from the US company Planet Labs PBC, the ground there appears to be affected, and the color of the mountain has changed since June 19.
In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old computer engineer, told AFP he hopes the US intervention will "shorten" an "inevitable" war.
"There's nothing left"
Iran's armed forces said they had used multiple-warhead ballistic missiles "for the first time." The Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic's ideological army, threatened to resort to "options beyond comprehension."
Israel raised its alert level nationwide and announced a new series of strikes in Iran, as well as the continuation of its military campaign.
A "massive" explosion was heard Sunday in the southern province of Bushehr, where a nuclear power plant is located, the Iranian daily Shargh reported.
In Ramat Aviv, a residential neighborhood of Tel Aviv, residents emerged from shelters and discovered gutted buildings. "There's nothing left," said one of them, Aviad Chernichovsky. A housing development was also hit in Ness Ziona, further south.
"Iran's critical nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally destroyed. Iran (...) must now make peace," declared Donald Trump, threatening otherwise "much more significant" attacks.
Before Israel launched its massive offensive against Iran on June 13, Tehran and Washington had been holding talks since April, mediated by Oman, for a nuclear deal.
The United States and Israel "have crossed a major red line," castigated Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during a visit to Istanbul.
"Dangerous escalation"
He affirmed that his country, weakened by years of sanctions, ten days of Israeli offensives, and the setbacks inflicted by Israel on its allies, notably Hamas and Hezbollah, would defend itself "by all necessary means," and declined European calls for a return to the negotiating table.
While Moscow condemned the US strikes, he announced that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
In addition to Fordo, Mr. Trump mentioned two other targets in central Iran: Natanz, the most well-known enrichment site, and a uranium conversion site near Isfahan.
Iran's nuclear program is "devastated," said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, specifying that the strikes were not aimed at "regime change."
Seven B-2 stealth bombers carried out the raids, which, he said, Iranian air defenses failed to respond to.
"No increase in radiation levels has been reported," said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which announced an "emergency meeting" on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about a "dangerous escalation." Arab countries strongly condemned the US strikes, expressing concern about their regional fallout.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Mr. Trump for creating a "historic turning point" that could "help lead the Middle East" toward peace.
Until now, the United States had limited itself to defensive assistance to Israel, but experts say it alone had the capacity to destroy deeply buried Iranian sites like Fordo.
Repatriations to France
Donald Trump had stated that Iran was "weeks, if not months" away from nuclear weapons.
US claims to have 'devastated' Iran's nuclear program with unprecedented strikes
