U.S. bombs three Iranian nuclear sites; Trump warns against retaliation

The U.S. struck Iran's Fordo nuclear facility with "six huge bunker buster bombs," Fox News' Sean Hannity told listeners last night, citing a phone call with President Donald Trump.

Only the U.S. is known to have the 30,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs needed to damage Iran’s Fordo nuclear enrichment facility, which is located 300 feet under a mountian.

Hannity added that Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities "were wiped out with 30 Tomahawk missiles launched by American submarines some 400 miles away."

Missiles coming from Iran were launched toward Israel, causing sirens to sound in several areas, the Israel Defense Forces said.

"At this time, the IAF is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat," the IDF said.

It asked the public to listen to instructions from the Home Front Command.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his nation "reserves all options" in responding to the attack on its nuclear sites by the United States.

"The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," he said in a statement on X. "In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."

He characterized the U.S. attacks as a "grave violation" of the United Nations' charter, international law and the global Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The Trump administration is bracing for potential retaliation from Iran, with the next 48 hours being of particular concern, according to two defense officials and a senior White House official. 

It’s unclear whether any retaliation would target overseas or domestic locations, or both, the officials said. 

Two officials familiar with military planning said earlier in the week that Iran already has plans on the books to target U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East if need arises, though they cautioned at the time there were no indications of imminent deployment of the plans.

U.S. bases and assets have been at their highest state of alert for months, but after Israel began warring with Iran on June 13, the officials who spoke earlier in the week said concerns were heightened even more about the potential for attacks on U.S. assets from Iran or its proxies in the region.

From support for a return to diplomacy to outright condemnation, the reaction to the U.S. strikes on Iran from Latin American leaders is less enthusiastic than what has been seen from Trump's domestic allies tonight.

Mexico's Foreign Affairs Ministry issued "an urgent call for diplomatic dialogue for peace among the parties involved in the Middle East."

"Under Mexico’s constitutional principles of foreign policy and our nation’s pacifist convictions, we reiterate our call to de-escalate tensions in the region," the ministry said on X. "Restoring peaceful coexistence among the States in the region remains the highest priority."

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on X that the U.S. attack could draw the world into a crisis.

The MAGA movement’s top influencers were divided over bombing Iran until Trump did just that tonight. 

Now, at least for the time being, the lay leaders in Trump’s base appear to be rallying around a position that spares him criticism: Direct attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities are justified, as long as American troops aren’t sent into a third full war halfway around the world in the last quarter of a century. 

“People don’t want an escalation where ground troops are sent in, but this is not Iraq,” said Ryan Girdusky, a Republican consultant who worked for a super PAC that backed Vice President JD Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio. Girdusky predicted the MAGA base will swing in line behind Trump.

Read the full story here.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is out with a statement calling on congress to enforce the War Powers Act.

“President Trump must provide the American people and Congress clear answers on the actions taken tonight and their implications for the safety of Americans," he said in the statement. "No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., who was notably not briefed about the strikes on Iran, is calling on Trump to go before Congress to lay out the strategy for why he decided to strike Iran now and what the strategy is going forward.

"The president must come before Congress immediately to articulate clear strategic objectives and lay out how he plans to protect American lives and ensure we are not once again drawn into a costly, unnecessary, and avoidable conflict," Warner said.

A senior White House official told NBC News the following people were in the Situation Room during the strikes on Iran:

Trump

Vice President JD Vance

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard

CIA Director John Ratcliffe