Following the United States’ airstrikes on three major Iranian nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump warned Tehran on Saturday night that any retaliation would be met with overwhelming force, declaring, “There will be either peace or tragedy for Iran.”
In his first official address since the military operation, Trump delivered a stern message from the White House, flanked by top members of his administration — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we’ve witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump said.
“If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed, and skill.”
Trump confirmed that Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — Iran’s core uranium enrichment sites — had been “completely and totally obliterated.”
According to CNN, citing a US official, the operation involved:
- Six B-2 stealth bombers, dropping a dozen ‘bunker buster’ bombs on Fordow.
- 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from US Navy submarines targeting Natanz and Isfahan.
- Additional bunker busters dropped on Natanz by a B-2 aircraft.
The strikes, designed to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities, come as the conflict between Israel and Iran entered its ninth day. The US has now openly aligned militarily with Israel, escalating regional tensions further.
In his address, Trump thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before.”
He also praised both Israeli and American forces for their precision and execution: “I want to congratulate great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight… an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.”
Following the address, Trump returned to Truth Social to reiterate his position: “This cannot continue… There are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult, and perhaps the most lethal.”
The strike comes just two days after Trump announced a two-week window for diplomacy, a signal that the situation deteriorated more rapidly than anticipated.
Iran had been the focus of international attention following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion on June 13, which triggered Iran’s retaliatory Operation True Promise 3, led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
While Trump emphasized “hope for peace”, his warning suggests that the US remains prepared to escalate militarily if Iran chooses to retaliate. The world now watches closely as Tehran weighs its response.