After hitting Iran’s most heavily fortified
nuclear installation, President Trump warned of more strikes “if peace does not
come quickly.” Israel’s prime minister called the bombings a “bold decision.”
June 22,
2025, 1:03 a.m. ET6 minutes ago
Maggie
Haberman Farnaz Fassihi Eric Schmitt Tyler Pager and Eric Nagourney
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/21/world/iran-israel-trump
Here are
the latest developments.
American
warplanes and submarines attacked three key nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday,
bringing the U.S. military directly into Israel’s war and prompting fears that
the strikes could lead to more dangerous escalations across the Middle East.
President
Trump said the objective of the strikes “was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear
enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1
state sponsor of terror.” He claimed success, saying in a televised address
from the White House that the nuclear facilities had been “completely and
totally obliterated.”
The
strikes hit Iran’s two major uranium enrichment centers: the heavily fortified
mountain facility at Fordo and a larger enrichment plant at Natanz, which
Israel had struck several days ago with smaller weapons. A third site near the
ancient city of Isfahan where Iran is believed to keep near-bomb-grade uranium
was also bombed. Iranian officials acknowledged the sites had been attacked but
did not immediately describe the damage.
Mr. Trump
warned that more strikes were possible. “Iran, the bully of the Middle East,
must now make peace,” he said. “If they do not, future attacks will be far
greater and a lot easier.”
Iran’s
foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who is in Europe for diplomatic talks,
responded early Sunday by saying on social media that the country “reserves all
options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.” Around the same time,
air-raid sirens in Israel were warning of incoming Iranian ballistic missile
fire.
António
Guterres, the head of the United Nations, called the U.S. attacks a “dangerous
escalation in a region already on the edge — and a direct threat to
international peace and security.”
As people
in the Middle East woke up to news of the strikes, Mr. Trump’s decision was
reverberating through Congress.
Top
Republicans were rallying behind him, calling the strikes a necessary check on
Iran’s ambitions of developing a nuclear weapon. But senior Democrats and some
G.O.P. lawmakers condemned the move as an unconstitutional one that could drag
the United States into war.
Iran has
also warned that America’s entry into war would bring retaliation, including
the targeting of U.S. forces in the region or the acceleration of its nuclear
program — assuming the program survives U.S. bombing.
Here’s
what you need to know:
Israel’s
role: Israel and Iran have been exchanging attacks since June 13, when the
Israeli military launched a surprise assault that targeted Iranian
infrastructure, including nuclear installations, and military leaders. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday that the U.S. strikes had been
carried out “in full coordination” between the American and Israeli militaries.
Strike
details: A U.S. official said that six B-2 bombers dropped a dozen 30,000-pound
bunker buster bombs on the Fordo nuclear site, which lies deep underground, and
Navy submarines fired 30 TLAM cruise missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan sites.
One B-2 also dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, according to the official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
The
lead-up: For a week, Mr. Trump sent mixed signals about whether the U.S. would
enter the war. He was weighing whether to use the powerful munitions needed to
destroy Iran’s deeply buried nuclear enrichment facilities. Only American bombs
known as bunker busters are believed up to the job, and only American aircraft
can deliver them.
What’s
next? Now that Mr. Trump has helped Israel, it will most likely initiate a more
dangerous phase in the war. Here are some ways that could play out, and a look
at how the U.S. military’s powerful bunker-busting bombs work.
Robert
Jimison, Michael Gold, Megan Mineiro, Jonathan Swan, Aaron Boxerman and Talya
Minsberg contributed reporting.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário