On Saturday night President Donald Trump declared successful strikes on three crucial Iranian nuclear sites, terming it a ‘spectacular military success’.

What Happened: The US military executed precision strikes on the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities in Iran around midnight local time.

“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” Trump said while addressing the nation.

“A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan,” Trump said. “Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.” 

“For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.' They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs,” Trump added. “That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular.”

Also Read: Trump Publicly Contradicts DNI Gabbard’s Claim That Iran Lacks Nuclear Capabilities: ‘She’s Wrong’

The President had previously announced last Thursday that he would decide on whether to strike Iran within a two-week period.

Despite his calls for Iran to negotiate on its nuclear program, the country withdrew from scheduled talks with the US and declined to return to the negotiation table.

Trump announced the successful attacks via a Truth Social post on Saturday evening. The US reportedly used six bunker-buster bombs and 30 tomahawk missiles launched from American submarines in the strikes.

Earlier, on June 12, Israel had ordered strikes on Iran as Israeli intelligence indicated that Iran’s nuclear program was advancing rapidly. The Israeli strikes, known as “Operation Rising Lion,” targeted Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure.

Why It Matters: The strikes come amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program. The US has long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

The successful strikes represent a significant escalation in the US’s efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The decision to strike follows Iran’s refusal to engage in talks about its nuclear program, further straining relations between the two countries.

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