Tehran has accused Washington of a “grave violation” of international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after the US military joined Israeli forces in their week-long airstrike campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites.
President Trump announced the first US strikes in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night. “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump wrote, adding that other targets included Natanz and Esfahan.
In the same post and several follow-up messages, the US leader urged Tehran not to retaliate and to engage in talks, claiming it was now “time for peace.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi condemned the US airstrikes as a violation of all international treaties, stating that “Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people.”
Tehran has previously warned Washington and other third parties against joining the conflict, threatening to target any hostile assets and weapons shipments bound for Israel. A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis has also warned that if the US becomes involved, the group “will target its warships in the Red Sea.”
Meanwhile, several Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized President Trump’s decision to strike Iran, with some calling the move illegal and grounds for impeachment.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Trump has “impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,” calling the strikes “absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar described the operation as “a dangerous and reckless escalation of an already volatile conflict” and called for “this madness” to end before more lives are lost.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari labeled the action “illegal” and said she would push for an emergency session of Congress to vote on the War Powers Resolution.
The strikes on Iranian nuclear sites marked the first-ever combat use of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bomb, The New York Times reports. According to the US Air Force, the MOP is designed to destroy targets hidden in heavily fortified facilities and can only be deployed by the B‑2 Spirit stealth bomber.
Iran’s Center for the National Nuclear Safety System has announced that emergency inspections had been conducted at all three sites targeted by the US overnight, assuring the public that no radioactive contamination or leaks has been detected.
“Following the criminal American attack on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites, which is contrary to international laws, including the NPT Treaty and other international regulations related to nuclear safety and security; the center immediately conducted the necessary investigations regarding the possibility of the spread of nuclear contamination around the aforementioned sites,” the center said.
“Considering the measures taken and the previous planning, as well as the information recorded by the radioactive material detection systems, no signs of contamination have been recorded. Therefore, there is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites,” it added.
