By carrying out synchronized airstrikes on three of Iran’s most important nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—the United States declared war on Iran on Saturday, June 21, 2025. The U.S. military had “successfully completed” the attack, according to President Donald Trump, who made the announcement on social media. All aircraft safely returned from Iranian airspace after dropping a full payload of bombs, with special attention to the heavily fortified Fordow facility.
The U.S. joined Israel’s campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which had already seen more than a week of Israeli strikes aimed at destroying Iran’s air defenses, missile systems, and nuclear infrastructure. This marked a dramatic escalation in the ongoing Middle East hostilities.
Following days of discussion in the White House, President Trump decided to go on strike after considering the dangers and the repercussions of becoming directly involved. Advanced American stealth bombers fitted with massive bunker-buster ordnance—which is specifically made to penetrate deeply buried and reinforced targets that conventional munitions cannot reach—were used to carry out the strikes. The tight coordination between the two partners was highlighted by the fact that Israeli officials were informed beforehand and that President Trump had a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the operation.
It is unclear how the strikes will affect Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities and larger nuclear aspirations in the near future. President Trump declared that the targeted facilities were “completely and utterly destroyed,” but there has been no independent confirmation or assessment of the true extent of the destruction.
The administration hailed the strikes as a “spectacular military success,” but worries about radioactive contamination remain, particularly if future attacks target Iran’s commercial nuclear reactors, like the one at Bushehr, which international nuclear watchdogs have warned could have disastrous environmental effects.
Fears of a wider regional conflict were raised by Iran’s prior promise to attack if the United States intervened militarily. The escalation comes after a period of fierce drone and missile combat between Israel and Iran, during which both sides reported heavy losses and there was growing international alarm about the possibility of additional destabilization.
President Trump gave Iran a clear ultimatum in his post-strike remarks, saying that the nation now had to decide between seeking peace or facing “catastrophe far exceeding what we have seen in the past eight days,” and threatening more, more severe strikes if hostilities persisted.
Given President Trump’s prior promises to steer clear of expensive international conflicts, the United States’ engagement into the fight marks a significant change in American foreign policy.
Hopes for a mediated truce have been essentially dashed by the administration’s actions, which also indicated a willingness to employ overwhelming military force in order to accomplish strategic goals in the area. The entire implications of this intervention—for regional stability, international nuclear non-proliferation efforts, and U.S. engagement in the Middle East—remain to be seen as the world awaits Iran’s response and President Trump’s planned national speech.
