Trump says US forces bombed nuclear sites in Iran

The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. 

US and Israeli officials have said American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone could carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.

"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on social media.

"All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home."

Trump congratulated "our great American Warriors" and ended his posting saying: "Now is the time for peace."

The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joins the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.

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

In another social media post, Trump said "Fordow is gone."

Trump appeared to be referring to the underground nuclear storage facility in Natanz. 

The attacks came after B-2 bombers were dispatched to Guam earlier on Saturday.

Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. 

The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation.

Several Republican senators praised Trump after the announcement.

"Well done, President Trump," senator Lindsey Graham posted on X. 

Texas senator John Cornyn called it a "courageous decision" while Alabama senator Katie Britt said she stood by Trump and called the bombings "strong and surgical".

Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin posted: "America first, always."

Democratic senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania also praised the attacks on Iran. 

"As I've long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS," he posted. 

"Iran is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities."

One House Republican criticised Trump's decision. 

"This is not Constitutional," posted Kentucky representative Thomas Massie, a longtime opponent of US involvement in foreign wars.

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes. 

Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.

In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies. 

More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

Israeli officials said 1272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.

At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in Istanbul, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israel's aggression should stop so Iran can "come back to diplomacy".

"It is obvious that I can't go to negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardments under the support of the US," he told reporters on the sidelines, before meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the US on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic would "result in irreparable damage for them".

with AP