Trump says US 'obliterates' Iran nuclear sites, Tehran reserves 'all options' to defend itself

Istanbul/Washington/Jerusalem: US President Donald Trump said he had "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites in strikes overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.

Trump, in a televised address to the US people, called the strikes a "spectacular military success" and warned Tehran against retaliation, saying it would face more devastating attacks if it did not agree to peace.

Iran, which has responded to Israel's sudden blitz on its nuclear and military apparatus since June 13 with missile fire on Israeli cities, called the US attack a grave violation of international law that would have "everlasting consequences".

"Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest and people," wrote Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a social media post, noting that the Israeli and US attacks on Iran came despite ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran.

The US strikes, with bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles, pushes the Middle East to the brink of a major new conflagration in a region already aflame for more than 20 months with wars in Gaza and Lebanon and a toppled dictator in Syria.

The Islamic Republic has been a sworn enemy of both Israel and the United States since its 1979 revolution, and the eruption of open warfare after decades of proxy shadow-fighting could have vast unforeseen consequences.

While Western hawks have long hoped military action against Iran's clerical rulers would spark an internal revolt and regime change, opponents of the idea fear it could instead push Iran to accelerate its atomic programme or trigger chaos and bloodshed that could spill well beyond its borders.

CBS News reported that Washington had contacted Tehran to say it did not aim for regime change. However, Trump said Iran's future held "either peace of tragedy" and "if peace does not come quickly we will go after those other targets".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on a "bold decision".

Iranian missile fire on Israel appeared heavier overnight, witnesses in the country said, with the health ministry reporting 86 people injured.

Gulf Arab states, which have in recent years tried to cool long-time rivalries with Iran and fear their crucial energy exports could be targeted in any expanded conflict, expressed concern at the escalation.

Iranians contacted by Reuters described their fear at the prospect of an enlarged war involving the United States.

"Our future is dark. We have nowhere to go - it's like living in a horror movie," Bita, 36, a teacher from the central city of Kashan, said before the phone line was cut.

Nuclear sites

Trump's decision is the biggest foreign policy gamble of his two presidencies and he was flanked during the announcement by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He said US bombing had taken out Iran's three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, which are involved in production or storage of enriched uranium, a material used as fuel for power plants but also to make atomic warheads.

Trump told Fox News that "bunker-buster" bombs were dropped on the deep-underground Fordow site, where it may be days before the impact of the attack is known, and Tomahawk missiles were fired against the other facilities.

The UN nuclear watchdog said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the US strikes, and the agency's head Rafael Grossi said he was calling an emergency meeting of its 35-nation board of governors for Monday.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack and the number of nuclear personnel there had been reduced to a minimum.

Mohammad Manan Raisi, a member of parliament for Qom, near Fordow, told the semi-official Fars news agency the facility had not been seriously damaged, without elaborating.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said it would not allow development of its “national industry” to be stopped.

The head of the Iranian parliament's foreign policy committee said Tehran had a legal right to quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the document that allows it rights to a civilian atomic programme while barring it from seeking a bomb.

Israeli cities

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said they had fired 40 missiles at Israel overnight and, warning of more to come, added that they had not yet made the main part of their capabilities operational.

Iran has repeatedly targeted Tel Aviv, the country's business and economic hub and home to a metropolitan population of 4 million, and several critical military sites.

Air raid sirens sounded across most of Israel, sending millions of people to safe rooms and bomb shelters as explosions rang out and missile interceptions were seen above Jerusalem and in other parts of the country.

Aviad Chernovsky, 40, emerged from a bomb shelter to find his house had been destroyed in a direct hit. "It's not easy to live now in Israel (right now), but we are very strong. We know that we will win,” he said.

It was not immediately clear how many missiles had pierced Israel's air defence systems. Police confirmed at least three impact sites in residential areas of central and northern Israel.

Israel's Health Ministry said 86 people were injured on Sunday morning, most of them lightly.

Most airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East after the US intervention in the conflict. Israel's Airport Authority said Israeli airspace would open for six hours on Sunday.

Background

Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat that has resulted in deaths and injuries in both countries. Israel launched its attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons.

Iran says its uranium enrichment programme is for peaceful purposes only. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to defuse the hostilities have so far failed. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the US strikes a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security."

US ally Britain said the United States had taken action to alleviate the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. It and Germany urged Iran to sit down for more negotiations on the future of its atomic programme.

Iran's Araqchi accused the United States of blowing up the diplomatic process.

In the US, Democratic lawmakers and some from Trump's Republican Party have argued that he must receive permission from Congress before committing the US military to any combat against Iran.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, the Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.

In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed and 1,272 people injured, according to local authorities.