The United States decisively entered into conflict with Iran on Saturday after President Donald Trump ordered US warplanes to drop massive bombs on three nuclear sites inside the country, thrusting him squarely into an escalating Middle East conflict even as he holds out hope the matter can be resolved diplomatically.
In social media posts and during a late-night address from the White House, Trump described the bombings as entirely successful and warned Iran against retaliation.
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” Trump said during his four-minute speech from the White House Cross Hall.
He described the mission as a “spectacular military success” and called on Iran to immediately return to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. He said the sites had been “totally obliterated.” Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” Trump said, flanked by his vice president, secretary of state and defense secretary. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”
The US strikes on the Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump identified earlier as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, significantly ratchet up tensions in the country, and amounts to one of the most consequential choices of Trump’s young second presidency. The debate over whether to target Iran directly had divided Trump’s political coalition, with concerns high among some members of the Republican base that intervening could drag the US into a new, prolonged conflict. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” Trump said, flanked by his vice president, secretary of state and defense secretary. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”
The US strikes on the Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump identified earlier as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, significantly ratchet up tensions in the country, and amounts to one of the most consequential choices of Trump’s young second presidency. The debate over whether to target Iran directly had divided Trump’s political coalition, with concerns high among some members of the Republican base that intervening could drag the US into a new, prolonged conflict.
Soure: Here