Trump says US ‘obliterated' Iran nuclear sites, threatens more
In a televised address to the nation from the White House after the United States joined Israel's air campaign against Tehran, Trump called the US attacks a 'spectacular military success.'
Trump had earlier stunned the world by announcing on social media that US aircraft had struck Iran's Fordo nuclear enrichment plant, plus the Natanz and Isfahan facilities.
But the fresh US military entanglement comes despite Trump's promises to avoid another 'forever war' in the Middle East -- Iran has vowed to retaliate against US forces in the region if Washington got involved.
'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran the bully of the Middle East must now make peace,' said Trump.
'If they do not, future attacks will be far greater, and a lot easier,' added Trump, who was flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his address on Saturday evening for US audiences.
Trump said earlier on his Truth Social site that a 'full payload of BOMBS' was dropped on the underground facility at Fordo, describing it as the 'primary site.'
Trump added that 'all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors.'
'Heads up'
Earlier Saturday there were reports that US B-2 bombers -- which carry so-called 'bunker buster' bombs -- were headed out of the United States across the Pacific.
Trump did not say what kind of US planes or munitions were involved.
Iranian media confirmed that part of the Fordo plant as well as the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were attacked.
Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attacks, while the United States also gave key ally Israel a 'heads up' before the strikes, a senior White House official told AFP.
Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the strikes, saying that 'America has been truly unsurpassed.'
Trump had said on Thursday that he would decide 'within two weeks' whether to join Israel's campaign -- but the decision came far sooner.
The US president had also stepped up his rhetoric against Iran in recent days, repeating his insistence that it could never have a nuclear weapon.
Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday of a 'more devastating' retaliation should Israel's nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear program 'under any circumstances.'
On Saturday, Israel said it had attacked Isfahan for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard meanwhile announced early Sunday that 'suicide drones' had been launched against 'strategic targets' across Israel.
Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and on Saturday Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program 'cannot be taken away... by threats or war.'
Huthi threat
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.
Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany had met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war.
Iran's Huthi allies in Yemen on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Friday that, based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people had been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.
Iran's health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed in the Israeli strikes.
Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.
Leading US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said Trump risked US 'entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,' while the Israeli army raised its alert level, permitting only essential activities until further notice.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
FEMA to require states use terrorism prevention funds for migrant arrests
A resident enters a FEMA's improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, U.S., October 5, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Emergency Management Agency will require states to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the Trump administration arrest migrants, as part of the U.S. president's transformation of the agency. This is latest example of the Trump administration tying its goal to arrest migrants to federal funding for states. States must spend at least 10% of their funds from the Homeland Security Grant Program on enforcing immigration laws 'against all inadmissible and removable aliens,' according to an agency announcement. They can use it for tasks that support President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, including to construct detention facilities or set up partnerships between police officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the post. States have until Aug. 11 to apply for their portion of $373.3 million, according to the post. Congress established the Homeland Security Grant Program before Trump took office to help states prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks. All 50 states receive the funds annually. In the past, they have used the money to buy security cameras, firefighting foam equipment and computers, among other needs, according to statements from state officials. Reuters asked the White House press office whether Congress intended the funds be spent on migrant arrests. The office referred Reuters to FEMA. (Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: 'AI is too important not to regulate'
TECH titans have finally got what they were clambering for: a free pass to artificial intelligence (AI) development, thanks to United States President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan unveiled on Wednesday in Washington, at a tech summit attended by the elites of the industry. Calling it "Winning the AI Race", he said his action plan is designed to put the US ahead of other nations. "America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with green light, not strangled with red tape", the media quoted him as saying. There is only one way to read Trump's "green light" message: whatever regulations that stand in the way of AI "innovation" will be removed. First to go will be whatever that remains of the former administration's regulations. Is this the right path to take on AI? While tech titans will say yes, there are others who say no because AI comes with so many unknowns. Not even the AI entrepreneurs know where the technology is taking us. Certainly, AI has promises of benefits, but they come clothed with known and unknown risks. Alphabet and Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai writing an opinion piece in the Financial Times on May 23, 2023 said that "AI is too important not to regulate and too important to regulate well", meaning regulating in a way that balances innovation and potential harms. But a race to be first will certainly not strike the right balance. Google's promise is to develop AI responsibly, but when the profit chase becomes hot would the pledge still hold? Pichai must know AI is fast becoming a crowded space, with every company racing to shape the technology according to its business needs. In other words, profit before people and planet. Our bad old free market economic model — the myth that markets perform best when they are free of regulations — has followed us into the digital world. Myth-busting economist Ha-Joon Chang has made it crystal clear that the free market doesn't exist anywhere in the world. With this "free-to-choose" mindset, nothing can be developed responsibly, let alone AI. We have long been witnesses of irresponsible capitalism, at times victims even. Hence the call for "compassionate capitalism", a sign that the free-to-choose market model has hit the lowest of low. Innovative AI development is only possible in a regulation-free space is a similar myth by another name. This is why the European Union has opted for the AI Act, one of whose aims is to make the technology "work for people and is a force for good in society". It came into effect on Aug 1 last year, claiming the honour of being the first-ever legislation to address the risks of AI. Whether or not such a goal is enforced is a question of political will, not the fault of the law. The EU model isn't the only way to tame AI. A better approach is a global AI treaty. But this will only work in a rules-based world order. Ours isn't. The Paris Treaty on climate change is in a bit of a shambles. So are the Rome Statute and the Law of the Sea. Regional or national approach may be inevitable.
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Netherlands bars two hardline Israeli ministers
AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands has declared Israel's finance and national security ministers persona non grata for inciting violence and urging ethnic cleansing in Gaza. In June, the Netherlands backed a failed Swedish proposal to impose EU sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. "They repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told parliament in a letter released late Monday. Smotrich responded on X, saying European leaders had succumbed to "the lies of radical Islam that is taking over" and "rising antisemitism." Ben-Gvir said he would continue to act for Israel, even if he was banned from entering "all of Europe." "In a place where terrorism is tolerated and terrorists are welcomed, a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted," he wrote on X. Veldkamp said the Netherlands wanted to "relieve the suffering of the population in Gaza" and was exploring further ways to contribute to humanitarian aid. "Airdrops of food are relatively expensive and risky," he said. "This is why the Netherlands is also taking steps to further support land-based aid delivery." Aid drops resumed in Gaza on Sunday as Israel announced temporary humanitarian pauses in parts of the besieged territory. Around 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said on Tuesday that famine is unfolding across much of Gaza, with thresholds breached and over 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition since April. Veldkamp said the Netherlands would push to suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement if Israel fails to meet its humanitarian obligations. "The summons will also be used to remind Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law," he said. After speaking by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the government's position was "crystal clear." "The people of Gaza must be given immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid," he said. Israel's foreign ministry said Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar had summoned the Dutch ambassador Marriët Schuurman to Jerusalem for a formal reprimand on Tuesday afternoon. "The conversation will take place in light of the Dutch government's decisions to take measures against Israel, including against its right to defend itself and against ministers in its government," the ministry said in a statement. The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 59,921 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
