US bombs 3 Iranian N-sites

Washington/Dubai: The United States attacked three sites in Iran on Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying the Iranian nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe that prompted fears of a wider regional conflict as Tehran accused Washington of launching "a dangerous war.”

US President Donald Trump asserted that Iran's key nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated” in an address to the nation from the White House.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the time for diplomacy had passed and that his country had the right to defend itself. “The warmongering, a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,” he said at a news briefing at a conference in Turkiye in the first comments by a high-ranking Iranian official since the strikes.

Araghchi also said that “there is no red line” that the US has not crossed — and that "the most dangerous one was what happened only last night when they crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities only.” He added that he will be travelling to Moscow later on Sunday to meet with President Vladimir Putin as the US enters its regional war with Israel.

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran confirmed that attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz sites, but it insisted that its nuclear programme will not be stopped. Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination at the three locations following the strikes.

It was not clear whether the US would continue attacking Iran alongside its ally Israel, which has been engaged in a war with Iran for nine days. Countries around the globe are calling for diplomacy and no further escalation.

Trump acted without congressional authorisation, and he also warned there would be additional strikes if Tehran retaliated against US forces.

“There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,” he said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said Washington had “betrayed diplomacy” with the military strikes in support of Israel and said that “the US has itself launched a dangerous war against Iran” now. “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its right to resist with full force against US military aggression and the crimes committed by this rogue regime, and to defend Iran's security and national interests,” the ministry said in a lengthy statement. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel that significantly degraded Iran's air defences and offensive missile capabilities and damaged its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said American B-2 stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker-buster bomb that only they have been configured to carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground.

Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear programme, perhaps permanently.

“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, using common alternate spellings for two of the sites. "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 added.