Washington/Tehran: The United States has bombed at least three locations in Iran, the country’s president Donald Trump confirmed early on Sunday (IST). He has warned Iran of further strikes, unless it makes peace with Israel.
“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,” Trump said.
“This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left,” he added.
Trump warned that the US could “go after those other targets with precision, speed, and skill,” which he said could be done “in a matter of minutes.”
Late on Saturday, Israel claimed that it killed two commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force, even as Iranian drones struck targets in Tel Aviv.
Officials have confirmed that B-2 Spirit stealth bombers of the United States Air Force dropped an unspecified number of 30,000-pound GBU 57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) ‘Bunker Buster’ bombs on suspected nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Iran, meanwhile, has condemned the strikes and said that its nuclear programme will continue.
According to IRNA, he Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, which oversees Iran’s nuclear technology, said the three key sites – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan – came under “savage assault” in the early hours of Sunday.
The agency described the strikes as a “blatant violation of international law, particularly the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT),” and accused the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), of “complicity.”
It urged the international community to support Iran and condemn the US strikes, and vowed to “never allow the progress of this national industry … to be halted.”