The world prepared for Iran’s reaction following the US’s assault on vital Iranian nuclear sites, aligning with Israel in the largest Western military intervention against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
In response to the US’s deployment of 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs targeting the mountainous area above Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, Iran pledged to defend itself resolutely. Meanwhile, American officials urged Iran to de-escalate, as anti-war demonstrators began to mobilize in various US cities.
In a statement on the Truth Social platform yesterday, US President Donald Trump commented on the matter of regime change in Iran. “It’s not politically correct to use the term ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian regime cannot MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a regime change??? MIGA!!!” he expressed.
Iran and Israel continued their exchange of missile strikes, with an explosion in western Iran reportedly resulting in the deaths of several military personnel, as per an Iranian media outlet.
Municipal and civil workers operate at the scene where an Iranian missile landed in Haifa, Israel.
The US State Department instructed employees’ families to evacuate Lebanon and encouraged citizens elsewhere in the region to minimize their visibility or limit travel.
A warning from the US Department of Homeland Security highlighted a “heightened threat environment in the United States.” Law enforcement in major US cities intensified patrols and allocated extra resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites.
Air France KLM announced the cancellation of flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh for yesterday and today, reflecting the broader fallout from the strikes.
So far, Iran has not acted on its threats of retaliation against the United States by targeting US bases or attempting to disrupt global oil supplies, but this restraint may change.
In Istanbul, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that all potential responses would be considered, asserting that there would be no return to diplomatic talks until after Iran had retaliated.
“The US has demonstrated that they lack respect for international law. They only respond to threats and force,” he remarked.
Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggested on X that the initiative was “now with the side that plays smart, avoiding reckless strikes. Surprises will continue!”
In a televised address, Mr. Trump referred to the military strikes as “a spectacular military success,” claiming that Iran’s critical nuclear enrichment facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated.”
However, his administration’s officials offered more measured evaluations, and aside from satellite images showing craters on the mountain above Iran’s underground site at Fordow, there has been no public disclosure of the damage inflicted.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, reported that there have been no increases in off-site radiation levels following the US strikes.
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IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi informed CNN that assessing the damage done underground is currently impossible. A senior Iranian official disclosed to Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been relocated prior to the bombardment. Reuters could not immediately verify this claim.
Mr. Trump, who fluctuated between advocating for diplomacy to end the conflict and pursuing the most significant foreign policy gamble of his tenure, urged Iran to refrain from any retaliation.
He declared that the government “must now make peace” or “future attacks will be much more significant and easier.”
US Vice President JD Vance asserted that the US is not at war with Iran, but rather with its nuclear programme, noting that it has been delayed significantly due to US intervention.
In a move perceived as Iran’s most effective threat to disrupt the West, its parliament approved a proposal to close the Strait of Hormuz. This passage sees nearly a quarter of global oil shipments.
According to Iran’s Press TV, closing the strait would require endorsement from the Supreme National Security Council, overseen by an appointee of Mr. Khamenei.
Attempting to block Gulf oil by closing the strait could send global oil prices soaring, disrupt the world economy, and provoke almost certain confrontations with the US Navy’s substantial Fifth Fleet, stationed in the Gulf to maintain the strait’s accessibility.
Smoke billowed after an Israeli strike on Iran.
Security analysts have long cautioned that a weakened Iran could seek unconventional methods of retaliation, including bombings or cyberattacks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” cautioned Iran against retaliatory actions for the US strikes.
In a separate interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Mr. Rubio noted that the US has “additional targets we can attack, but we have achieved our objective.”
“Currently, there are no planned military operations against Iran,” he later asserted, “unless they provoke us.”
The UN Security Council convened yesterday to deliberate on the US strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities as Russia, China, and Pakistan advocated for a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier remarked that the US bombings in Iran marked a troubling turn in the region and urged a cessation of hostilities and a return to negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear programme.
Diverging arms
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli journalists that Israel is nearing its objective of eliminating the threats posed by ballistic missiles and Iran’s nuclear programme.
US officials, many of whom observed Republican President George W. Bush’s popularity plummet following his unsuccessful intervention in Iraq in 2003, have emphasized that their intentions do not include toppling Iran’s government.
“This mission has not been, and is not, about regime change,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth conveyed to reporters at the Pentagon. “The president authorized a precision operation aimed at nullifying the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear programme.”
Anti-war activists organized demonstrations in New York, Washington, and other US cities, with protesters displaying signs that read “hands off Iran.”
People hold signs during a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington.
Meanwhile, Iranians reached out to Reuters expressing their anxiety about the potential for an expanded conflict involving the US.
“Our future is bleak. We have nowhere to escape to – it feels like living in a horror movie,” Bita, 36, a teacher from Kashan, lamented before the phone line went dead.
Much of Tehran, home to 10 million residents, has been deserted, as people flee to rural areas to avoid Israeli airstrikes.
Iranian officials assert that over 400 individuals have been killed since the onset of Israel’s attacks, primarily civilians.
Iran has been retaliating with missile strikes against Israel, resulting in at least 24 fatalities over the past nine days.
Air raid sirens blared throughout most of Israel yesterday, compelling millions to seek refuge in secure areas.
In Tel Aviv, Aviad Chernovsky, 40, exited a bomb shelter to discover his home had been leveled in a direct hit. “Life in Israel (right now) is challenging, but we are resilient. We know we will prevail,” he stated.
