US strikes Iran’s nuclear sites: What we know so far — and what could happen next

Dubai: The United States has entered the Israel-Iran conflict with a dramatic show of force, bombing three of Iran’s most critical nuclear sites overnight.

President Donald Trump declared the facilities “completely and fully obliterated,” warning of further strikes if Iran retaliates.

The US intervention follows a week of intensifying warfare between Israel and Iran, ignited by Israel’s surprise barrage on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure on June 13.

Those strikes killed several top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. In response, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, breaching parts of its air defense system.

The escalating conflict has killed hundreds and wounded more than 1,000 in Iran, while at least two dozen Israelis have died and hundreds more have been injured.

While Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, Israel considers it an existential threat and says its military action is necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb.

In the first public accounting of the operation, the Pentagon said the US strikes that targeted Iran’s nuclear sites involved submarines launching Tomahawk missiles and B-2 bombers dropping 14 bunker-buster bombs,

The operation — dubbed “Midnight Hammer” — saw the US deploy B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, Air Force General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a press conference Sunday morning. He said there are no reports of US forces coming under fire.

According to Caine, B-2 bombers took off early Saturday US time and later dropped the bunker busters, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, which had never before been used in combat. Another group of the planes went west — and whose flight was widely reported and picked up by flight-tracker data — were decoys meant to maintain tactical surprise, he said.

“This is a plan that took months and weeks of positioning and preparation, so that we could be ready when the President of the United States called,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

“It took a great deal of precision. It involved misdirection and the highest of operational security.”

The officials said 75 precision-guided weapons were used and the operation involved some 125 aircraft. Caine said the battle damage would take time to assess but “all three sites sustain extremely severe damage and destruction.”

The flights to deliver the targets amounted to the second-longest flights in the B-2’s operational history, according to Hegseth. The longest was a 40-hour round trip in October 2001 in the initial phase of the Afghanistan war.

The United States struck three of Iran’s top nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — overnight, escalating the Israel-Iran conflict. Trump called the operation a “spectacular military success” and warned of more strikes if Iran retaliates. He said the facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.”

The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a surprise aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, claiming Tehran was close to building a nuclear bomb. Iran responded by firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, breaching parts of its air defense system. With casualties mounting — over 400 dead in Iran and two dozen in Israel—the US stepped in, citing an urgent threat.

Fordow: A fortified uranium enrichment plant near Qom, buried deep inside a mountain. It houses nearly 3,000 centrifuges and has long been viewed as a red line by Western powers.

Natanz: Iran’s largest enrichment facility, frequently targeted in past sabotage operations. It includes both aboveground and underground sections.

Isfahan: A key site for uranium conversion and fuel production. It also contains sensitive research labs critical to Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle.

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flying from Missouri dropped at least a dozen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs)—30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs—primarily on Fordow. The mission lasted over 37 hours with multiple mid-air refuelings. US Navy submarines are believed to have fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at Natanz and Isfahan.

Iran confirmed the strikes but claimed it had anticipated them and evacuated key personnel and material from Fordow in advance. Its Atomic Energy Organization said there was no radiation leakage and vowed to continue nuclear activities.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the strikes “lawless aggression,” held Washington “fully responsible” for what happens next, and hinted Iran may withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

He said diplomacy is not an option after the US strike on its nuclear facilities.

He said while the “door to diplomacy” should always be open, “this is not the case right now.”

Washington is “fully responsible” for what actions the Islamic Republic takes next in retaliation against the US strikes on its various nuclear sites.

“The warmongering, a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far reaching implications of its act of aggression,” Araghchi said in a news briefing.

These were the first public statements from a high-ranking Iranian official since the US carried out its strikes.

Iran is likely to respond. One probable target is the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway vital to global oil shipments. Iran could deploy fast-attack boats, naval mines, or fire missiles from its Gulf coast — actions that could disrupt oil markets and trigger a US naval response. Even a brief skirmish could spike oil prices and heighten global alarm.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will “result in irreparable damage for them.” And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”

The Israeli military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war.

Yes. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed no increase in off-site radiation. Director General Rafael Grossi announced an emergency meeting to evaluate the impact of the strikes and their implications for nuclear monitoring.

UAE urged restraint and warned of further regional destabilization, calling for urgent diplomacy.

Saudi Arabia and Oman expressed serious concern and called for de-escalation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the strikes could spark dangerous regional escalation.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged a return to dialogue.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the US, calling Iran’s nuclear ambitions a threat.

India’s PM Narendra Modi spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, urging peace talks.

Tensions have been building for years, especially after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) in 2018. His administration has maintained a hardline stance, opposing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and demanding total dismantlement of its program. Israel’s sudden strikes this month accelerated the crisis. Although US intelligence does not believe Iran is actively building a bomb, Israeli and US leaders say Tehran could assemble one quickly.

The region has been on edge for the past two years as Israel seeks to annihilate the Hamas militant group, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

Targeting the Strait of Hormuz: The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf, through which some 20% of all oil traded globally passes, and at its narrowest point it is just 33km wide. Any disruption there could send oil prices soaring worldwide and hit American pocketbooks.

Iran boasts a fleet of fast-attack boats and thousands of naval mines that could potentially make the strait impassable, at least for a time. It could also fire missiles from its long Gulf shore, as its allies, Yemen’s Houthi militants, have done in the Red Sea.

The US, with its 5th Fleet stationed in nearby Bahrain, has long pledged to uphold freedom of navigation in the strait and would respond with far superior forces. But even a relatively brief firefight could paralyse shipping traffic and spook investors, causing oil prices to spike and generating international pressure for a ceasefire.

International efforts — through the IAEA, UN Security Council, and backchannel diplomacy — may shape the next chapter. But the risk of broader war has never been higher.