That's what it's about

• The US has attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• US President Donald Trump says a full load was dropped.
• Now is the time for peace.

According to US President Donald Trump, the US has attacked nuclear facilities in Iran. A highly successful attack was carried out on three facilities – including the underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform. The Natanz and Isfahan sites were also attacked. The attacks have now been concluded. All aircraft involved are safely returning home.

"Congratulations to our great American fighters," Trump wrote."There is no other military in the world that could have done this." In capital letters, he added:"NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!"

Shortly after the attack, the president delivered a brief address to the nation. In it, he stated that the nuclear facilities had been completely destroyed. If Iran did not make peace quickly, the attacks would continue, Trump said. The country would then face even greater destruction.

Israel was informed

The Israeli army broadcaster, citing Israeli officials, reported that the US had informed Israel of the plan before the attack in Iran. B-2 stealth bombers were used, reported the usually well-informed Israeli journalist Barak Ravid on Platform X, citing a senior Israeli official. These aircraft are the only ones capable of dropping heavy so-called bunker-buster bombs.

How the war developed

Israel has been attacking targets in Iran for days – including nuclear facilities, senior military officials, nuclear scientists, defensive positions, targets in cities, and oil and gas fields. The stated primary goal is to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons. Iran responded with counterattacks against Israel.

Trump announced on Thursday that he would make a decision on possible US participation in the war within two weeks. He had previously tried to negotiate Iran's abandonment of its controversial nuclear program. Another round of talks between the US and Iran, mediated by Oman, had originally been scheduled for last Sunday – but Israel's attacks derailed the plan.

The war between the two arch-enemies is a significant escalation of the already dramatic situation in the Middle East. Israel has been waging war against the Islamists in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. Meanwhile, Israel also bombed the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Unexpectedly fast attack

Experts have argued in recent days that Israel cannot achieve its war goal of destroying Iran's nuclear program without US military support. Fordo, one of Iran's most important nuclear facilities, is located deep within a mountain and, according to experts, could only be destroyed with the largest so-called bunker-buster bombs in the US arsenal. Israel therefore has neither these heavy bombs nor the large military aircraft necessary to drop them.

US media reported on Saturday (local time) that the stealth bombers had left their regular US Air Force base in Whiteman, Missouri. Several of these B-2 aircraft had set off westward across the Pacific, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported, citing government officials and flight tracking services. The WSJ interpreted this as a sign that the US government was preparing the stealth bombers in case of a possible attack on Iran. Observers, however, had not expected such a swift attack.

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