US Bombs Iran’s Nuclear Sites:
United States President Donald Trump has announced the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, as Washington effectively joined Israel’s war against Iran.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air airspace,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, using a different spelling for Isfahan.
In a televised address early on Sunday, he said, “The strikes were a spectacular military success”.
The US decision to intervene militarily to aid the Israeli attacks on Iran has prompted fears of a serious escalation across the Middle East and brought back memories of the devastation in Iraq following the 2003 US invasion. Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran on June 13, targeting its nuclear sites and top military commanders.
More than 400 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Iran, while retaliatory strikes by Tehran have killed at least 24 people in Israel.
Here is what we know so far about the US attacks on Iran:
What areas has the US bombed in Iran?
The US used bunker-buster bombs to target three key nuclear facilities – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – using the B2 bomber jets, according to US media reports.
“The strikes were a spectacular military success,” Trump said in his televised address. “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and obliterated,” he said, adding that “our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity”.
The three sites bombed are;
Fordow, a highly fortified underground uranium enrichment facility, is reportedly buried hundreds of metres deep in the mountains near Qom, in northwestern Iran. This site is designed to hold up to 2,976 spinning centrifuges, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Natanz is Iran’s largest enrichment complex, containing vast halls of centrifuges, some underground. It has been a key hub of Iran’s nuclear programme and the site of multiple past sabotage attempts, and was hit by Israeli strikes on the first wave of attacks on June 13.
Isfahan is an important nuclear research and production centre that includes a uranium conversion facility and fuel fabrication plants. It plays a critical role in preparing raw materials for enrichment and reactor use.
For years, Israel and the US have accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran maintains its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
