World

Trump says US forces bombed Iran nuclear sites

Israel, Iran exchange missile strikes as Iran foreign minister calls European diplomatic proposals 'unrealistic'

Updated 1 year ago · Published on 22 Jun 2025 8:15AM

Trump says US forces bombed Iran nuclear sites
This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, south of the capital Tehran. (Photo from AFP) - June 22, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a "very successful attack" on three nuclear sites in Iran had been successfully carried out, including at Fordow.

Reuters cited a posting on Truth Social, Trump added, "All planes are safely on their way home" and he congratulated "our great American Warriors."

Trump ended his posting saying, "Now is the time for peace."

The action came as 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 the attacks on Iran saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons.

Iran has argued that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities had so far been unsuccessful.

Earlier, the United States had deployed B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, according to two US defence officials, as Trump considered potential American involvement in Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran.

Though no formal orders have been issued linking the deployment to current hostilities, military observers view the move as a clear act of strategic positioning, particularly in the event of strikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“This does not signal an immediate operation,” one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told ComScore Observer, “but the assets are now better placed should such a decision be made.”

The B-2 bomber, capable of carrying the 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb, is seen as critical to any potential assault on fortified Iranian nuclear sites, such as the underground facility at Fordow. However, details regarding the number of bombers involved or whether any specialised munitions were transferred remain undisclosed.

While the Pentagon has not publicly confirmed the deployment’s connection to the current Israel-Iran conflict, analysts are closely watching whether the B-2s may soon be moved further west, to Diego Garcia—an atoll in the Indian Ocean previously used for long-range strike operations and significantly closer to the Middle East theatre.

President Trump has stated he will take “up to two weeks” to decide whether Washington will commit to direct military involvement, while allowing “room for diplomatic avenues to calm the situation”.

Despite this, the latest military movements suggest Washington is laying the groundwork for rapid escalation if diplomacy fails. - June 22, 2025

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