Will the bombing of Iran end America鈥檚 role in the war, or start it?
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a news conference after the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran to destroy the country's nuclear program.
Alex Brandon/AP
London; Amman, Jordan; and Brussels
The United States struck three key nuclear sites in Iran overnight Saturday, leaping into Israel鈥檚 eight-day military campaign against Iran with bunker-buster bombs, in a dramatic American attack that could reshape the Middle East for decades to come.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. attack 鈥渢otally and completely obliterated鈥� what remained of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, after more than a week of pummeling by Israeli airstrikes.
An Iranian official said that the strikes had done no irreversible damage to the country鈥檚 nuclear program, which it insists is designed for peaceful purposes.
Why We Wrote This
President Trump cast the U.S. attack on Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities as a move to force peace. But Tehran has already retaliated against Israel and shows no sign yet of acceding.
Mr. Trump said Iran 鈥渕ust make peace鈥� 鈥� underscoring his previous demand of 鈥渦nconditional surrender鈥� by Iran 鈥� and said that, 鈥淚f they do not, future attacks will be far greater.鈥�
The White House portrayed the strikes as a one-off action alongside Israel, meant to avoid drawing the U.S. into a long and costly 鈥渇orever war鈥� like Iraq and Afghanistan.聽
Iran immediately on Sunday launched waves of missiles at Israel in retaliation, and聽described the American attack as the beginning of a new, much broader escalation of conflict.
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that the American strikes 鈥渨ill have everlasting consequences,鈥� and that Iran 鈥渞eserves all options鈥� to retaliate.
The U.S. attack is the latest high-stakes episode in the acrimonious, often covert and sometimes violent strategic tug-of-war that has defined relations between arch-foes Washington and Tehran since Iran鈥檚 1979 Islamic revolution.
While President Trump responded positively to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 plea for help in destroying Iran鈥檚 nuclear installations, the two appear to differ over the current war鈥檚 ultimate aim, which 鈥� for Israel 鈥� may include regime change. That appears to go beyond Mr. Trump鈥檚 goal of reducing the military threat Iran poses.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the middle of the unknown. Trump has taken a gamble, but it might not pay off,鈥� says Vali Nasr, a professor of international affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
鈥淗e wants to just declare victory with hitting Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, the infrastructure,鈥� says Prof. Nasr, author of the recent book Iran鈥檚 Grand Strategy: A Political History. 鈥淏ut if he genuinely wanted to make sure Iran had no nuclear capability, then this won鈥檛 do it,鈥� he says, noting that troops on the ground would be required for that.
鈥淚f Iran becomes a quagmire, I think the U.S. is going to regret it, because it will also take resources and eyes off of China, Russia, and everything else,鈥� says Prof. Nasr. 鈥淚t can become far larger than Trump bargained for.鈥�
Bombs trump 鈥� or encourage 鈥� diplomacy?
Iran has said it would respond to any American attack on its nuclear sites by targeting U.S. bases and 40,000 personnel in the region, using allied militias in Iraq and Yemen, and with its missile arsenal.
The Islamic Republic could also close the Strait of Hormuz, the channel for 20% of the world鈥檚 oil, analysts say, or even attempt to dash for a nuclear weapon 鈥� which it has forsworn until now 鈥� in the belief that such a step may be its only way to deter future attack.
Iranian state media quoted a senior official saying that the 鈥渕ajority鈥� of Iran鈥檚 highly enriched uranium was 鈥渢ransferred to an undisclosed location鈥� before the U.S. attack. The claims could not be independently verified.
Mr. Araghchi had been negotiating a nuclear deal with Washington until Israel launched a military attack on June 13, which upended diplomacy by striking a swath of targets across Iran in hundreds of airstrikes, and assassinating the top echelons of Iran鈥檚 military leadership and nuclear scientists.
European efforts to reach a diplomatic solution on Friday made no progress due to the absence of support from Washington.
Israel says it struck Iran 鈥減re-emptively,鈥� to remove what it called an 鈥渆xistential鈥� threat from Iran鈥檚 swiftly advancing nuclear program, which it claims was on the verge of weaponizing. Tehran insists its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.
Israel鈥檚 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to bring Mr. Trump into the conflict alongside Israel from the start.
He said Mr. Trump鈥檚 鈥渂old decision to target Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities, with the awesome and righteous might of the United States, will change history.鈥� Only the U.S. had the military capability, with its largest bunker-buster bombs, to credibly strike Fordow.聽
Yet a mismatch of expectations between the United States and Israel appeared evident.
鈥淔rom the president鈥檚 perspective, the targeted strike was intended to swiftly bring the military campaign to an end through a diplomatic agreement,鈥� write Eldad Shavit and Chuck Freilich, in an analysis for Israel鈥檚 Institute for National Security Studies.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that the United States remains committed to avoiding entanglement in a prolonged war. The dilemma over continued military involvement will intensify if Iran persists in its defiance and fails to comply with [U.S.] demands.鈥�
A dangerous and uncertain future
But the strikes also present a newly dangerous moment in a region already reeling from dramatic changes 鈥� most wrought by Israeli military force 鈥� since Hamas militants allied to Iran attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023, killing 1,250 Israelis and taking 250 hostages.
Iran鈥檚 so-called 鈥淎xis of Resistance鈥� regional allies, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been eviscerated.
Oman, which had been mediating nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, said the American action threatened to 鈥渨iden the war.鈥� Qatar warned 鈥渢hat these dangerous tensions 鈥� will lead to disastrous repercussions at the regional and international levels.鈥�
Mr. Trump said B-2 stealth bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iran鈥檚 most heavily protected uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, which is buried a half mile under mountainous rock.
Another 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired by U.S. submarines at Iran鈥檚 Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities.
Still, analysts say that destroying Iran鈥檚 nuclear program is an exceedingly complicated military process that airstrikes alone 鈥� even with bunker-buster bombs 鈥� may not accomplish.
鈥淪ome stuff will be destroyed, but a lot of it won鈥檛 be,鈥� says David Des Roches, professor at National Defense University鈥檚 Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C.
That will depend in part on whether the rubble has effectively entombed the facilities or not. For this reason, there may be a need for follow-up sorties of attack aircraft to 鈥渟hoot anything that you see going in or coming out of these facilities for the next few days,鈥� he says.
Such concerns might prompt Mr. Trump to decide that military prudence requires 鈥渋nserting U.S. ground forces and getting involved in some kind of regime change operation,鈥� says Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East program at Defense Priorities think tank.
That would increase the risk of 鈥渁 broader and deeper pulling in of American military forces into a conflict that involves U.S. troops on the ground,鈥� she says.
鈥淭he thinking is that an Iran so beset by internal problems 鈥� a basket case like Libya is today 鈥� wouldn鈥檛 be able to go back and race for a bomb after all this,鈥� adds Dr. Kelanic.聽
Meanwhile, Middle East governments braced themselves for retaliatory Iranian attacks on U.S. interests and allies. None had been launched by midday Sunday.
A presenter on Iran鈥檚 IRIB state broadcaster declared all U.S. citizens and soldiers in the region to be 鈥渓egitimate targets鈥� in the wake of the U.S. strike, airing a map of American military bases in the Middle East.
Those bases, spread around the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Jordan, were put on high alert on Sunday in expectation of attacks either by Iranian forces or by Tehran鈥檚 proxy forces in Iraq and Yemen.
In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels 鈥� who last week vowed to strike U.S. flagged vessels in the Red Sea as retaliation for any US military strikes on Iran鈥� declared an end to their recent ceasefire with the United States and vowed to attack 鈥渟oon.鈥�
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement鈥檚 political bureau, told Al Jazeera Sunday that the group鈥檚 response was 鈥渙nly a matter of time.鈥�
The U.S. strikes are the culmination of more than two decades of nuclear advances by Iran, diplomacy to limit that program, and threats and brinksmanship by all sides.
Analysts noted that, after these U.S. strikes, it will no longer be possible to verify the condition or progress of Iran鈥檚 nuclear efforts.聽
鈥淭his has enormous repercussions for the broader nonproliferation regime,鈥� wrote Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, on X. 鈥淭he U.S. killed an effective deal [in 2018], failed to negotiate a new one & Trump鈥檚 use of military force is likely to push Iran toward the bomb.鈥� 聽