Trump’s Iran nuclear site strikes: risky bet on ‘peace’ or a recipe for wider war?
It remained to be seen whether the attacks mark the totality of direct US involvement in the conflict or the opening salvo of a larger campaign
Trump announced the strikes on three Iranian enrichment facilities – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – and said that a “full payload of BOMBS was dropped” on Fordow.
“All planes are safely on their way home,” Trump added in his post. “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!”
It remained to be seen whether the attacks mark the totality of direct American involvement in strikes against Iran or the opening salvo of a larger campaign.
The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
The strikes are a perilous decision for the US, as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault. The stakes are also high for Trump personally – he won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.