Trump confirms US has carried out a ‘very successful’ attack on Iran
The US has carried out strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, Donald Trump has confirmed.
Trump said the US completed a “very successful” attack on three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” the US president said in a message posted to Truth Social.
President Donald Trump has confirmed the US has carried out an attack on Iran. (Bloomberg)
“All planes are safely on their way home. 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! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Trump had been weighing his country’s military involvement over the past week as concerns spiked over potential strikes on Iranian nuclear reactors.
This marks the first time the US has become militarily involved Iran-Israel conflict.
Donald Trump’s confirmation of the attack was posted to Truth Social. (Truth Social)
It comes after multiple US aerial refueling tankers were spotted on commercial flight trackers flying flight patterns consistent with escorting aircraft from the central US to the Pacific.
Trump self-imposed a two-week delay to decide whether to strike Iran.
Some of Israel’s most senior officials had openly pushed for US involvement, arguing that American military involvement can shorten the conflict and allow Israel to achieve its goal of removing what it has long perceived as an existential threat of a nuclear Iran armed with ballistic missiles.
Trump is set to deliver a speech to the nation at 12pm AEDT in Washington DC.
The president said in a second post to social media that “IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR”.
Iranian officials are yet to respond however Iran earlier pledged to retaliate if the US joined the conflict.
“I think that it would be very, very dangerous for everyone,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Istanbul, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Latest updates
The second week of the Israel-Iran started with a renewed round of strikes targeting an Iranian nuclear research facility near Isfahan.
Talks in Geneva on Friday between European foreign ministers and Iran’s top diplomat failed to produce a breakthrough.
This picture released on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, by the Iranian armed forces claims to show an Israeli drone after being targeted in the central city of Isfahan area, Iran. (AP)
Still, European officials expressed hope for future negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue but stressed Tehran wasn’t interested in negotiating while Israel continued attacking.
Here is the latest:
Egypt rejects Israeli campaign against Iran and calls for negotiated solution
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has expressed his government’s “complete rejection” of Israel’s campaign against Iran, calling for a negotiated solution to the conflict.
El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Saturday with Iranian President Masoud Pezezhkin, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
The statement said el-Sissi voiced Egypt’s “complete rejection of the ongoing Israeli escalation against Iran,” as a threat to the Middle East’s security and stability.
The Egyptian leader called for an immediate ceasefire to resume negotiations with the aim of reaching a “sustainable, peaceful solution to this crisis.”
Aerial refueling tankers spotted on flight paths consistent with escorting aircraft from US
Multiple US aerial refueling tankers were spotted on commercial flight trackers flying flight patterns consistent with escorting aircraft from the central US to the Pacific.
B-2 bombers, which are the only aircraft that carry the large bunker buster bombs, are based at an Air Force base in Missouri. It was not clear whether the aircraft being escorted early Saturday were prepared for an operation or merely moving to airbases closer to Iran as a show of force.
The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment on the flights.
A B-2 Spirit Bomber is seen in Nevada on January 23. (Carlos Barria/Reuters/FILE via CNN Newsource)
Israel says it and Cyprus foiled a planned attack on Israeli citizens
Israel’s foreign minister says Israeli security services have helped Cypriot authorities foil a planned attack against Israeli citizens on the east Mediterranean island nation.
Minister Gideon Saar posted on X Saturday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was behind the plot. He thanked Cyprus for its “swift and effective actions” and accused Iran of “deliberately targeting Israeli civilians both in Israel and abroad.”
Cyprus police said Saturday they arrested a man on suspicion of terrorism and espionage. A court Saturday ordered the man, who wasn’t identified, held in police custody for eight days until investigators can complete their probe. Cypriot authorities said they wouldn’t comment further on the man’s arrest for “national security reasons.”
A British Foreign Office spokesman said that UK authorities are in contact with the Cypriot government “regarding the arrest of a British man.”
An Israeli flag is hung outside a damaged apartment two days after it was struck by a missile launched from Iran, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP)
Germany closes Tehran embassy and withdraws staff from Iran
The German embassy in Tehran has been closed until further notice “due to the current crisis situation,” the diplomatic representation wrote on its website.
“Please do not come to the embassy or the consulate building. Appointments that have already been arranged have been canceled,” the embassy said.
Due to the war between Israel and Iran, the German Foreign Ministry said Saturday it has withdrawn all of its embassy staff in Tehran and brought them out of the country.
The embassy is still reachable online for Germans remaining in Iran.
On its website, the embassy gives advice on the different possibilities to leave by land via Armenia or Turkey. According to the German Foreign Ministry, there are still about 1000 German citizens in Iran.
US begins repatriation flights from Israel
The US ambassador to Israel says the United States has begun “assisted departure flights” from Israel, the first time such flights have been offered there since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee announced the flights in a social media post as the war between Israel and Iran enters its second week.
He says US citizens and lawful permanent residents can complete an online form for updates.
The US has also told its citizens in Iran who wish to leave to go via Azerbaijan, Armenia or Turkey if they feel it’s safe.
Nasrallah’s bodyguard killed in Israeli airstrike on Iran, Hezbollah says
The head of security to the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while in Iran, a Hezbollah official said Saturday.
Abu Ali Khalil, better known as Abu Ali Jawad, was killed after he went to Iran from neighboring Iraq, the official said.
For many years, Abu Ali was seen behind Nasrallah during most of his public appearances.
After Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstike in a Beirut suburb in September, his bodyguard was put in charge of his tomb in Beirut.
The Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the airstrike that killed Abu Ali occurred earlier Saturday.
Erdogan offers to mediate Iran-US talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for technical and leadership-level talks between Iran and the United States to resolve tensions, during a meeting with Iran’s top diplomat.
A statement from Erdogan office said the Turkish president also told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday that Turkey was ready to take on the role of facilitator.
Erdogan said that the region cannot tolerate another war and said Israel must be “stopped immediately.”
Araghchi was in Turkey to attend a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Israeli air defence system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, June 21, 2025. m (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israel’s military said on Saturday it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks, while emphasising it was preparing for the possibility that the war could turn into a lengthy campaign.
Early Saturday (Saturday night AEST), smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where a local official said Israel had attacked the nuclear research facility in two waves.
The target was two centrifuge production sites, and the attacks came on top of strikes on other centrifuge production sites elsewhere in recent days, according to an Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines to brief reporters.
Prepare for ‘lengthy’ campain: Israel
Israeli air defence system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, June 21, 2025. m (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
It was the second attack on Isfahan, which was hit in the first 24 hours of the war as part of Israel’s goal to destroy the Iranian nuclear program.
Akbar Salehi, Isfahan province’s deputy governor for security affairs, confirmed the Israeli strikes had caused damage to the facility but said there had been no human casualties.
Iran launched a new wave of drones and missiles at Israel but there were no immediate reports of significant damage, and the Israeli official called it a “small barrage” that was largely intercepted by Israel’s defenses.
The official said part of the reason that Iran’s overnight attack had been relatively small was that the military had been targeting its launchers, and estimates it has now taken out more than 50 per cent of them.
“We’ve been able to take out a large amount of their launchers, creating a bottleneck — we’re making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,” he said.
“Having said all that, I want to say the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities.”
Parnia Rahmanian, 13, lies unconscious in a hospital bed following Israeli strike that targeted her neighbourhood, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said Saturday an Iranian drone hit a two-story building in northern Israel, but there were no casualties.
Later, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the army had been told by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to be prepared for a “prolonged campaign” to destroy its targets, including nuclear sites, enrichment facilities and missile infrastructure.
“We are deepening our strikes night after night and we have amazing achievements,” he said.
“We will continue until the threat is removed.”
Talks in Switzerland fail to produce a breakthrough
Talks in Geneva on Friday failed to produce a breakthrough.
European officials expressed hope for future discussions, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi listens to speeches as he attends the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
“Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,” he told reporters.
No date was set for the next round of talks.
Iran warns against US military involvement
As Trump weighed active US military involvement in the conflict, Araghchi said on Saturday it “would be very unfortunate.”
“I think that it would be very, very dangerous for everyone,” he said in Istanbul, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel’s multitiered air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters upon arriving at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey on Friday, June 20. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel’s military operation in Iran would continue “for as long as it takes” to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran’s nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles.
But Netanyahu’s goal could be out of reach without US help. Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran’s underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs.
Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel’s air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks.
Israel continues targeted attacks on Iranian military commanders
In Israel’s opening attack, it killed three of Iran’s top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
The targeted killings of senior commanders continued, with Israel’s defense minister saying Saturday that the military had killed a commander in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza.
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) (AP)
Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the Iranian Quds Force, an elite arm of the Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran, and that he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom.
Iranian officials did not immediately confirm the death, but the Qom governor’s office did say there had been an attack on a four-story apartment building and local media reported two people had been killed.
Israel also said it had killed the commander of the Quds Force’s weapons transfer unit, who it said was responsible for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed in his car while traveling in western Iran, the military said.
A commander of Iran’s drone force was also killed overnight, the Israeli official who briefed reporters said.
Iran threatens head of UN nuclear watchdog
On Friday, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council against attacks on Iran’s nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.
“I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” said Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.”
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Israel has not targeted Iran’s nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country’s Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital.
Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief.
But after Trump pulled the US unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 per cent — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60 %. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it.
Leaders in Iran have blamed Grossi’s statements about the status of Iran’s nuclear program for prompting Israel’s attack.
On Saturday, a senior adviser for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, Ali Larijani, said in a brief social media post without elaboration that Iran would make Grossi “pay” once the war with Israel is over.
