WASHINGTON — The US military dropped six “bunker buster” bombs on Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment plant Saturday night and hit two other key sites — with President Trump declaring the facility hidden nearly 300 feet beneath a mountain is “completely and totally obliterated.”
Trump announced the historic airstrikes days after Israel initiated extensive attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and military.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” Trump posted on Truth Social just before 8 p.m. Saturday — marking the first-ever US strike on Iranian territory.
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President Trump speaking in the White House after announcing his that the US has bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 21, 2025. Carlos Barria/Pool via AP
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The United States bombed three suspected nuclear sites in Iran. Rob Jejenich / NY Post Design
“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. 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.”
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The president addressed the nation at 10 p.m. Saturday, saying from the White House that “our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.”
“Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,” Trump said, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”
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President Trump in the White House’s “Situation Room” during the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The White House/ X
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Vice President JD Vance looking on in the Situation Room. The White House/ X
The president said that “for 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’ They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs — that was their specialty.
“We lost over 1,000 people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate.”
Read the latest on the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities: US strikes Iran live updates: Trump to address the nation on ‘very successful attack’ on three nuclear sites US has bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, Trump announces: ‘Now is the time for peace’ GOP leaders, Sen. John Fetterman commend Trump’s strikes on Iran: ‘The correct move’ Trump’s Iran attack catches world off-guard after fakeouts with B-2 flights and ‘two weeks’ timeframe
Trump said that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “worked as a team, like perhaps no team has ever worked before” to take out Iran’s nuclear program.
The commander in chief said time is of the essence for the Islamic republic — and warned of serious consequences if peace is not achieved.
“There are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal,” he said. “But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.”
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A map of Iran’s Fordow fuel enrichment plant — one of the three hit by US airstrikes. Merrill Sherman / NY Post Design
Trump told Fox News journalist Sean Hannity shortly after the strikes that B-2 bombers dropped six 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs on Fordow and that the Natanz and Esfahan facilities — both already severely damaged by Israel — were hit with 30 Tomahawk missiles launched by US submarines.
All three sites are located south of the Iranian capital and were key cogs in a nuclear program that the country’s anti-American clerical leaders brazenly claimed was for electricity generation rather than laying the groundwork to develop nuclear bombs.
The president spent days appearing to vacillate on joining Israel’s air campaign and claimed Thursday he would make a decision “within the next two weeks.”
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The US used “bunker buster” bombs to penetrate through to the underground facility. Merrill Sherman / NY Post Design
A source close to the White House said Trump decided Friday — just one day after unveiling his two-week timeframe — to strike Iran with “overwhelming force,” with the US deploying six nuke plant neutralizing B-2 bomber jets to be on standby for a strike.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that US strikes targeting the Islamic Republic would “result in irreparable damage for them” — though the precise plans for retribution by Tehran were not described.
Trump spoke with Netanyahu, whose air force has established near-complete control over Iran’s airspace, ahead of the strikes.
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Trump declared that Iran’s facilities have been “completely and totally obliterated” after the US strike. REUTERS
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USAF B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber drops a GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) aka bunker-buster bomb, during a training exercise in 2018. US Air Force
“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 in a video statement.
Trump’s act drew bipartisan praise and criticism — with supporters applauding the bold move to contain Iran’s power and opponents arguing that he lacked congressional authorization to start a war.
“The President made the right call, and did what he needed to do,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement.
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The New York Post’s front page for Sunday, June 22, 2025.
“Leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act.”
“This was the correct move by @POTUS,” tweeted Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), one of the first members of Congress to express a stance. “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities.”
But left-wing and libertarian members slammed the decision.
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Trump in the Situation Room with Chief of Staff Susie Wile and United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. The White House/ X
“This is not Constitutional,” tweeted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote: “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Trump had sought a deal with Iran to abandon its nuclear program and authorized his Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff to lead five rounds of high-level direct talks with Iranian leaders beginning in April — but Tehran balked at a deal, as well as Trump’s further demands for disarmament after Israel began its strikes on June 13.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio looking on from behind Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The White House/ X
Netanyahu initiated the war arguing that Iran was extremely close to developing nuclear weapons.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Friday that negotiations with the US wouldn’t happen “until Israeli aggression stops” and the country’s mission to the UN said that “[n]o Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House.”
Trump ran for president three times on an platform of opposing military entanglements in the Middle East — slamming George W. Bush for invading Iraq in 2003 and Barack Obama for intervening in Libya and Syria — and he insisted Friday that any attack on Iran would be limited.
“The last thing you want to do is ground force,” the president said one day before the bombing mission.
“Iran has no choice but to sue for peace at this point,” a source close to the Trump administration told The Post after the attack Saturday.
“They have no defensive military capability and no allies to help them — the Russians, Chinese and North Koreans have told them they’re on their own. Peace is the only option for Tehran and they haven’t faced a resolute leader from the US in 45 years.”
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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine making a good luck gesture during the strike. The White House/ X
The source said it was a “bold move by President Trump, just like he did against [ISIS leader Abu Bakr] Baghdadi [in 2019] and [Iranian Gen. Qasem] Soleimani [in 2020] in his first term.”
Israel began its attack on Iran last Friday by taking out its top nuclear scientists and military officials responsible for the country’s nuclear enrichment program.
As the two nations continued to trade deadly and destructive blows, Trump unleashed an open threat to Tehran to give up its nuclear program or else he’d seek a “real end” to the Iran-Israel conflict.
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe in the Situation Room during the Iranian strikes. The White House/ X
He also revealed that the US knows “exactly” where Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding out – but is letting him live “for now.”
Khamenei, at least publicly, balked at Trump’s demands that he concede defeat, with a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry warning that US involvement would trigger “all-out war in the region.”
“The US President threatens us,” Khamenei wrote on X. “With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats”
“It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender. What should the Iranian nation surrender to?” the ayatollah asked. “We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone.”
Asked about the ayatollah’s response, Trump responded: “I say good luck.”
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The president announced the strikes on Truth Social. TruthSocial/@realDonaldTrump
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Trump also reposted an account stating that ‘Fordow is gone’ TruthSocial/@realDonaldTrump
Unlike Israel, the US military has guided 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs that could more effectively collapse underground nuclear facilities – averting a potential incomplete demolition of sites by Israel, which has been dropping 2,000-pound bombs sourced from America.
“We’re the only ones that have the capability to do it, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it — at all,” Trump said about the possibility of the US taking out the site, adding that he’s “thinking about it.”
He remained open to possibly meeting with the Iranian delegation in DC, saying they reached out about coming to the White House, but noted that it’s difficult for them to leave given Tehran is under Israeli fire.
Trump also claimed Iranian officials blew through a 60-day deadline to strike a deal.
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The strikes were carried out using B-2 bombers. Mike Mareen – stock.adobe.com
The Israeli Air Force began conducting a new wave of airstrikes in western Iran later Wednesday, which was met with retaliatory missiles being launched from Tehran.
“The aircraft are striking operatives who are attempting to return and take munitions from the sites that were previously targeted,” said IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.
“Our message to them is clear: If you try to restore the terror capabilities in the area, you will be targeted.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently offered to mediate between Israel and Iran amid the escalating conflict — but Trump rejected the move.
Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, publicly warned of a “surprise.”
He suggested, without divulging any detail, that a potential attack on Iran would make Israel’s infamous Hezbollah pager detonation operation in Lebanon last year “look simple.”
“Let’s just say the world will understand how serious we are about stopping Iran’s capabilities — and not just in Gaza or southern Lebanon,” Leiter told Merit TV on Monday.
“We’ve pulled off a number of surprises. When the dust settles, you’re going to see some surprises on Thursday night and Friday, that will make the beeper operation almost seem simple.”
