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IT’S U.S.-IRAN WAR: U.S. BOMBS IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES (NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ROUNDUP)

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The United States attacked three key Iranian nuclear sites in a dramatic entrance into Israel’s war aimed at wiping out Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program. President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran. He said unless Iran moves towards peace, more bombings of its threatening sites will be in the offing.

Iran is now claiming the Fordow site survived the bombing and Israel acknowledges there’s a slim chance that the site has not been obliterated.

The bombing came after a slew of reports and social media speculation and reporting that suggested a)Trump was all in and would trigger the bombings, b)Officials in his government and intelligence agencies were against bombing c) Trump was going to live up to the TACO nickname his critics gave him: Trump Always Chickens Out. Memes and videos of him saying he would decide in two weeks and then nix an action were all over social media and CNN.

It now appears that the “two weeks” was a ploy to catch Iran off guard.

Here is Trump’s statement announcing the bombings:


Here is the full text of his remarks.

The BBC on how this all started:

Israel launched a surprise attack on dozens of Iranian nuclear and military targets on 13 June. It said its ambition was to dismantle its nuclear programme, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would soon be able to produce a nuclear bomb.

Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. In retaliation, Tehran launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel. The two countries have continued exchanging strikes since, in an air war which has now lasted more than a week.

Trump has long said that he is opposed to Iran possessing a nuclear weapon. Israel is widely believed to have them, although it neither confirms nor denies this.

In March, US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said that while Iran had increased its uranium stockpile to unprecedented levels, it was not building a nuclear weapon – an assessment that Trump recently said was “wrong”.

On the campaign trail, Trump had criticized past US administrations for engaging in “stupid endless wars” in the Middle East, and he vowed to keep America out of foreign conflicts.

The US and Iran were in nuclear talks at the time of Israel’s surprise attack. Only two days ago, Trump said he would give Iran two weeks to enter into substantial negotiations before striking – but that timeline turned out to be much shorter.

The New York Times:

American warplanes and submarines attacked three key nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday, bringing the U.S. military directly into Israel’s war and prompting fears that the strikes could lead to more dangerous escalations across the Middle East.

President Trump said the objective of the strikes “was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror.” He claimed success, saying in a televised address from the White House that the nuclear facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated.” That claim could not be independently verified.

Talking Points Josh Marshall:

Trump has referred to this as very successful and – if I’m understanding his statement – essentially done. I don’t think that’s how it works. My understanding is that there’s real uncertainty about how many strikes it would take to destroy especially the Fordow facility, which is buried deep in a mountainside. So I think we should be skeptical about how we know how successful this was. You need after action reports to have any sense of what actually happened. The geography here, the composition of the mountainside, how it interacts with these particular munitions. These are incredibly complicated and make outcomes uncertain. (I’m going from memory since we’re reacting to breaking news. So keep that in mind.) The US has conducted extensive testing on these “bunker buster” bombs. And there has been extensive planning going back a number of years on how this attack specifically would be carried out. The Pentagon produces and maintains war plans on almost everything. But this specifically has been planned out in great detail and over many years.

Has Fordow been destroyed as Trump seems to be saying? I very much doubt the military planners would be stating that so confidently at this point.

Let me add a political judgment where, unlike with munitions, I feel like I have understanding of the situation. Trump’s statement on Truth Social was very much: ‘We did it. It worked. It’s done.’ I think Trump felt like he’d gotten himself far out on a limb with his threats and was now in a position where if he didn’t act he’d again be mocked as someone who always caves in response to fear or pressure – TACO, as they’re now saying. So he was stuck there and it was weighing on him. Now he feels like he’s addressed it. He acted.

There is some bipartisan sentiment in Congress that Trump’s action was unconstitutional since he didn’t asks Congress’ permission, but Trump has strong support from GOP Congressional leaders.
Responsible Statecraft offers this excellent roundup of Congressional reaction to the bombing.

GOOGLE AI offers these reactions from Jewish groups:

World Jewish Congress (WJC): The World Jewish Congress views these strikes as a “meaningful step toward securing peace” and sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a “grave threat” to Western civilization and global security.

Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations: This organization described the strikes as “defensive” and necessary to prevent Iran from reaching a nuclear threshold.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington: They are closely following developments and emphasize their support for Israel’s right to self-defense in the face of a nuclear-armed Iran.

AIPAC: AIPAC has publicly thanked political figures who support the strikes, viewing them as an act of self-defense against Iran’s nuclear proliferation efforts.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL): The ADL views the attack as an act of self-defense, citing Iran’s history of violating nonproliferation commitments. They see a nuclear-armed Iran as a serious threat to Israel and the global community.

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ): The IFCJ has launched an emergency campaign to provide support to Israel, including installing bomb shelters and offering aid to victims of Iranian missile attacks.

GOOGLE AI also offers these perspectives:

Iranian Jewish Community: The Iranian Jewish community has condemned the strikes, calling them “savage Zionist aggression” and expressing support for the Iranian response. However, it’s important to note that these statements likely reflect the limited freedom of expression for minorities in Iran.

Jewish Organizations with Differing Views: Some Jewish organizations may not have signed the joint statement supporting the strikes due to various reasons, such as being apolitical or having different perspectives on the effectiveness of military action.

Focus on Diplomacy: Some individuals within the Jewish community believe that diplomacy, rather than military action, is a more effective way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.