TEHRAN, KOMPAS.com – Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared war after the United States (US) launched air strikes on three major nuclear facilities in Iran.

The IRGC's firm statement on Sunday (22/6/2025) marked a major escalation of the Iran and Israel conflict that has been occurring since Friday (13/6/2025) towards a full-scale war in the Middle East.

"This is no longer just a matter of attacking each other. This is a phase of open warfare," a Middle East analyst told Euronews.

In response to this, the Israeli government immediately raised the alert status to the highest level.

The Israeli Defense Ministry announced the cancellation of all educational activities, public events and non-essential work activities.

Fordow is only accessible to the US

The Fordow nuclear facility, one of the sites attacked by the US, has long been considered extremely difficult to destroy without high-yield bunker-busting bombs.

US and Israeli officials say only America's B-2 stealth bomber is capable of carrying the 15,000-kilogram GBU-57 bomb, which is designed to penetrate up to 60 meters of ground before exploding.

“This type of bomb can be dropped in succession, creating a drill-like effect that penetrates underground bunkers,” a defense official told US media.

However, according to reports, parts of Fordow's structures could lie much deeper, even hundreds of meters below the ground surface.

Acceleration of attack decisions

US President Donald Trump had previously said he would decide within the next two weeks whether the US would join the war. However, the decision came just two days later.

The move comes amid reports that the US has diverted a large number of military aircraft to the Middle East over the past few days.

Trump is also scheduled to meet with his national security team Saturday evening US time, before finally announcing the attack.

Iran Warning

Iran has previously warned that US involvement would have major consequences.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that an attack on his country"will result in irreparable harm" for the US.

With this direct attack, that threat has now become a reality.