• New satellite images show damage after US airstrikes at Iran's Fordow nuclear facilities.

• Fordow was one of three Iranian nuclear sites that the US bombed early Sunday morning (local time).

• The strikes came amid an Israeli campaign to degrade Iran's nuclear program.

New satellite imagery reveals damage at the Fordow nuclear facility in Iran after US military aircraft bombed the site.

In the images, which were captured on Sunday by the US commercial satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies and obtained by Business Insider, several large holes or craters can be seen on a ridge over the underground complex at Fordow, south of Tehran.

The images show what looks like a layer of dust or debris caused by the US airstrikes over the area, and several tunnel entrances that lead to the underground facility appear to be blocked with dirt.

President Donald Trump announced early Sunday morning local time that the US had attacked Iran's Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear facilities in what he later described as a "spectacular military success."

He said that US aircraft dropped a "full payload" of bombs on Fordow, one of Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities. The site is buried deep in the side of a mountain and is the country's most hardened facility.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped a total of 14 heavy bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities. He described the operation, known as Midnight Hammer, as highly secretive and complex.

Speaking to reporters early on Sunday, Caine said that the B-2s dropped the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is the US military's largest non-nuclear bomb and believed to be the only weapon that is capable of penetrating Iran's deepest nuclear facilities like Fordow.

It marked the first-ever operational use of the MOP, he added.

During a press conference, Caine said that over 125 US aircraft — a mix of the B-2s, 4th- and 5th-generation fighter jets, and aerial refueling tankers — were involved in the operation, which consisted of a considerable amount of deception.

He said that American forces used 75 precision-guided weapons against Iranian targets, including the 14 MOPs, and more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a submarine somewhere in the Middle East.

Caine said the battle damage assessment will take some time, although he said initial indications are that all three Iranian nuclear sites that were struck sustained damage and destruction.

The US bombing came after a week of sweeping Israeli airstrikes across Iran that officials said were intended to degrade the country's nuclear program and military capabilities. Trump, who had long pushed Tehran to agree to a new nuclear deal, had spent the past few days weighing whether to join Israel in its campaign.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has preferred a military solution to Iran's nuclear program, praised Trump for attacking the Iranian nuclear sites.

Since June 13, Israeli fighter jets have targeted Iran's nuclear sites, top scientists, senior commanders, missile launchers, air defenses, bases, warplanes, weapons production facilities, and other high-profile military infrastructure.

Iran has retaliated by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, many of which have been intercepted.

The US bombing is a major escalation in the conflict that could see Iran retaliate by targeting American forces, as Tehran has threatened to do. The Pentagon has a large presence in the Middle East, consisting of warships, aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and ground troops.

Both Trump and Pentagon leadership have called for peace, warning Iran it could see more strikes if that can't be achieved.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

US bombs three nuclear sites in Iran: Trump hails ‘very successful’ strikes as he enters Iran-Israel crisis

President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. has bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, ending days of speculation over whether he’d order American forces to join Israel’s week-old campaign to knock out Tehran’s nuclear weapons program by ordering long-range bombers with a surprise attack aimed at bringing Iranian officials back to the negotiating table.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.”

Fordow and Natanz both house uranium enrichment centers, while Isfahan is where Iran is believed to be keeping near-bomb-grade enriched uranium. The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is buried deep underground, heavily fortified and expected to contain 2,700 centrifuges, which are essential for uranium enrichment.

“All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors,” Trump added. “There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Trump briefly addressed the nation from the White House two hours after his initial post, claiming the nuclear sites were “totally obliterated” by the strikes.

“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.”

Israel launched attacks against Iran on June 13, claiming the country was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran then retaliated with its own series of airstrikes. The two countries have continued to trade attacks since. At least 657 people have been killed in Iran, with another 2,037 wounded, the Associated Press reports, citing the non-profit Human Rights Activists.

Some users initially reported issues loading the post or Trump’s profile on Truth Social. However, the post remained visible on his X account.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the strikes in an English-language video statement.

“Congratulations President Trump, your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” Netanyahu said.

The U.S. used B-2s to carry out the strikes. Those planes dropped six 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs on Fordow, Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. The U.S. also fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at Natanz and Isfahan, he said.

Multiple B-2 bomber planes departed an airbase in Missouri and flew across the Pacific earlier Saturday ahead of the strikes.

U.S. officials gave Israel a warning before the strikes, according to reports from CNN and The New York Times. Trump did not notify the so-called Gang of Eight, a group of the highest-ranking members of Congress, ahead of the strikes, ABC News reports. He also did not tell Representative Jim Himes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee.

Trump did notify Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to ABC News.

The Independent understands that Trump decided to green-light the strikes in the last few days despite issuing a statement through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday that he would make a decision within two weeks.

That decision was informed by a belief that only American capabilities could take out Iran's nuclear program, and it was made only after American forces in the Middle East region had made preparations for possible Iranian retaliatory attacks. The timing of the attack was also informed by concerns that Iran would soon be able to restore defensive and offensive weapons systems that had been knocked offline by Israeli attacks over the last week.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. of committing “a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations.”

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior,” Araghchi said. “In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”

He previously warned that U.S. attacks on Iran would be “very, very dangerous,” during a round of diplomacy talks in Istanbul on Saturday. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, similarly warned on Wednesday that the U.S. will suffer “irreparable” harm for entering the conflict.

There are tens of thousands of U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East across several military bases that could become targets for retaliation by Iran. The U.S. military operates at least 19 locations in the Middle East region. Eight of them are permanent, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Iran-backed forces have attacked American troops on several occasions since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza and the subsequent conflicts in the wider region. Trump has previously warned that any attack on American military forces in the Middle East will be met with the “full strength and might of the US Armed Forces.”

Just 24 hours before Saturday’s strike, Trump claimed Tehran could produce a working nuclear weapon within “a matter of weeks.” His remark directly contradicted sworn testimony given in May by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard. The former Congresswoman testified that the intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.”

Trump said Wednesday that Iranian negotiators should have accepted an agreement his administration previously proposed during talks that took place over the last two months.

“They should have made the deal. I had a great deal for them,” Trump said. “They should have made that deal 60 days. We talked about it, and in the end, they decided not to do it, and now they wish they did it, and they want to meet, but it's, you know, late to meet, but they want to meet, and they want to come to the White House.”

According to White House officials, the president monitored the strikes from the White House situation room on Saturday after returning from New Jersey, where he attended a political fundraiser at his Bedminister golf club.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican and Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, called today’s strikes “the right call.” Thune also said he “stand[s]” with Trump and will “pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.”

Johnson said the strikes serve as a reminder that “Trump means what he says.”

“President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated,” the speaker said in a statement. “That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.”

But other lawmakers, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, aren’t as happy with the move. Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican who co-sponsored a bill that would require Congressional authorization for military action against Iran, called the attack “not Constitutional.”

Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat who co-sponsored that same bill, said Congress must “immediately return to DC and vote on @RepThomasMassie and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the strike “grounds for impeachment.”

“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” she wrote on X. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.”