The United States attacked Iran on Sunday night of June 22nd, With 6 B-2 bombers who bombed 3 Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. According to some analysts, the US president Donald Trump would have decided to attack not only with the declared objective of stop the Iranian nuclear programbut also for issues of international prestige and of pressing by the Israeli government, who in recent days has attacked Iranian nuclear objectives with the operation Rising Lion. The extent of the damage to the three plants is still to be calculated, and the international community is waiting for the next steps of the actors involved.
What happened on the night of June 22: the United States bombed Iran in support of Israel
Following the Rising Lion operation, a massive Israeli air attack with the declared objective of sabotage the Iranian nuclear plan, the United States, allies of Israel, entered the Israel-Iran issue in the question, with the threat of attacking nuclear and military bases if Iran had continued to respond to Israeli missile attacks.
The bombers took off last Saturday 21 June by Whiteman air base (Missouri), and headed to the US area base of the island of Guam, and then silently fly up to the three bombarded Iranian nuclear plants, that is Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. The cited aircraft can release anweapon of which only the American army is in possessionthat is the bombs GBU-57 MOP (Motorized bunker penetting bomb), capable of penetrating deep in the ground (60 meters of reinforced concrete and 40 meters of rocky ground).
Shortly after two in the morning (local time) the spokesman for the headquarters for the management of the crises of the province of Qom, in Iran, confirmed the attack on the Fordow nuclear plant:
A few hours ago, after the activation of the Qom air defense system and the identification of hostile objectives, part of the Fordow nuclear site area was attacked by the enemy.
The consequences of the attack
Following the attack, Iran would have launched 30 missiles towards Tel Avivdamaging some buildings and causing some slight injuries (we speak of 86 injured), and then on Haifa (city in the north of Israel), causing several collapses. A few hours later, according to the Tasnim news agency, the Israeli airport also attacked Ben Gurionthe Israeli biological research center and other military logistical bases, but at the moment nothing is known about the amount of damage.
Meanwhile, Israel has made it known that he had released More than 60 bombs on dozens of military goals scattered throughout Iranalso hitting the Missilistic Command Center Imam Hussein, where according to intelligence, long -haul missiles had been stored. According to the IDF, between Isfahan, Bushehr and Ahvaz, launches and other strategic military sites were also affected.
The first reactions
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi He defined the “outrageous, illegal and criminal American bombings”, reiterating that Iran has the right to defend its sovereignty, and that what happened will have “eternal” consequences. He then added:
In accordance with the United Nations Charter and its provisions that allow a legitimate response of self -defense, Iran reserves all the options to defend their sovereignty, their interests and their people.
The comment of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu It was not long in coming:
I and I president Trump often say, “peace through strength”. Because the strength comes first, then peace comes. And tonight the president Trump and the United States acted with great strength. Trump’s decision is courageous and will change the story.
According to the premier, who on video thanked the American president for this triple attack, the Iranian program threatened the survival of Israel and was “a risk to the peace of the entire world”, even if there is no actual evidence that can attest that the Iranians could have suitable devices to start making an atomic bomb. The Israeli president Isaac Herzog However, he said that the attacks will not end there.
On the other hand, the US President He said that Iranian nuclear capabilities were “completely and totally annihilated”, and has made it known that if Iran should respond to this attack, other objectives will be attacked with precision, speed and ability. Meanwhile, Trump has also given order to strengthen security in all States, with the Washington police department who sent new agents in strategic sites, churches and other religious institutions.
Instead, the Secretary General of the United Nations has proved to be very worried Antonio Guterrescontrary to this dangerous escalation, which to resume his words takes place in a region “already on the edge of the abyss”. For Guterres, the only way that is passable is that of diplomacy, but other EU comments are not as neutral. For example, the high European Union representative Kaja Kallas He urged all the actors involved to sit at the negotiation table, but he also added that Iran must not be able to develop nuclear weapons, because it would be a “threat to international security”. The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, continued on the same line, asking Iran not to counterattack and commit to a credible diplomatic solution. Comments that confirm the western idea that only Iran has the reins of the conflict in hand, although it was Israel who first attacked and each state by law should have the opportunity to defend himself.
Meanwhile, theAtomic Agency of Tehran He defined the action of the USA a series of “barbaric attacks” in complete violation of international law, then specifying that despite what happened the nuclear activities will not stop.
Have the three nuclear plants really be annihilated? Because there are no radiation
Observing the satellite imagesthe craters formed by the bombs released by the Americans are evident, but at the moment it is not known with precision how much the Iranian nuclear program has been damaged.
Despite Trump’s first words of Trump, the situation of the plants would not be so tragic. The Vice -Bank of Qom Mortza Heidari In fact, he said that the Americans attacked only a part of the Fordow plant (the most important one), because the Iranians were already prepared and the aerial defense system of the area. However, according to the satellite images, it would seem that the ventilation wells have been affected, necessary to circulate the area and avoid the accumulation of dangerous substance in depth.
Following attacks, AIEA – the International Agency for Atomic Energy – confirmed on its X profile that at the moment no increases in radiation levels have been reported outside the three plants, but which has already ordered other assessments. But how is it possible? According to various analysts, the reason lies in the fact that in recent days Tehran would order it movement of about 400 kg of enriched uranium in unidentified areas to put it safe.
What are the reasons behind Trump’s choice and what could happen now
The objective declared by the USA was that of neutralize the Iran nuclear enrichment skillsbut the action was unilateral, without approval of the congress, marking the abandonment of the traditional anti -interventionist approach of Trump, who for months has praised America First. The risk of losing the consent of the voters is quite high, but the president has still chosen to continue with this choice, perhaps also for consolidate one’s position of “powerful leader” in front of the heads of state of the whole world. Furthermore, given the traditional US support for the Jewish state, Trump could having felt compelled To help Israel, but each of these possible motivations is nothing more than a series of assumptions.
In any case, now it remains to be seen as long as the missile exchanges of the last few hours will last, with the concrete risk for Iran to see other strategic bases damaged. In addition to the much chat possible possible total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with possible repercussions on oil prices, a continuum of the conflict could ensure that too Saudi Arabia, Türkiye And Egypt enter the conflict alongside Iran.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Palestinians and Iranians continue to die under the Israeli bombings, while the attention of the West has shifted to this last front.
