Payam Javan: In a White House address on June 21, President Donald Trump declared a series of U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—a “spectacular success,” aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and curbing the threat posed by the “world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism.” The strikes, which involved B-2 stealth bombers deploying 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on the fortified Fordow site and Tomahawk missiles targeting Natanz and Isfahan, marked a U.S. escalation in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, initiated by Israeli strikes on June 13. Trump warned Iran against retaliation, threatening “far greater” attacks if hostilities continue.

The U.S. operation follows Israel’s surprise attack, which disrupted planned U.S.-Iran nuclear talks and prompted Iranian missile and drone strikes on Israel, causing casualties and damage. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization condemned the U.S. strikes as a violation of international law, vowing to persist with its nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s leadership, calling the strikes a historic pivot toward Middle East peace. While Trump claimed Iran’s key nuclear facilities were “completely obliterated,” the full extent of the damage remains unverified. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to provide further details on Sunday, as global tensions rise over potential Iranian reprisals.