President Donald Trump announced Saturday evening that the U.S. had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, and that he would be addressing the nation at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. He called on Iran to seek peace.
On Thursday, the White House said that Trump had decided to give Iran another two weeks to negotiate, in which he expected Iran to agree to give up its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for an end to the war.
The U.S. had not been directly involved in Israel’s war effort until Saturday, but had sold arms to Israel, had likely shared intelligence with Israel, and had moved strategic naval and air assets closer to the Middle East.
Iran’s response had been defiant, refusing to discuss the future of its nuclear program while under attack.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) applauded Trump’s decision, noting that it also sent a message:
The chairs of the Senate and House intelligence committees also weighed in in support of Trump’s decision:
Trump called Israeli journalist Barak Ravid to tell him that Israel was much safer because of the attack:
Reactions from Israel were positive, with many Israelis still asleep at the time the attack was announced (3:00 a.m. local time). There had been no immediate reports about the results of the airstrikes.
One Israeli-American who spoke to Israel’s Army Radio from the United States exclaimed: “Thank God we voted for Donald Trump!” He said there had been no real split among Trump supporters about the war.
Polling data provided exclusively to Breitbart News from Rasmussen Reports showed that a plurality of Americans favored an air or naval attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, but not the use of ground troops in the war.
Though the same polling data showed that Democrats opposed Israel’s attack on Iran, and U.S. involvement, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a strong supporter of Israel, shared his support for Trump’s decision to attack:
Update 9:15 p.m. ET: Unconfirmed reports suggested that the U.S. had used as many as 30 “bunker buster” bombs — that is, GBU-57 bombs. The Washington Post described these:
Iran’s hardened, underground nuclear sites are impervious to most conventional weapons, except perhaps the U.S.-made, 30,000-pound, deep-penetrating bomb. B-2 bombers can carry two of these bombs at a time — the GBU-57s, better known as “bunker busters” or Massive Ordnance Penetrators. The question is whether the reinforcement and heavy rock at Fordow, Iran’s most deeply buried nuclear enrichment site, can withstand the hits.
Reports on social media indicated a mix of shock and defiance from the Iranian regime and its supporters.
Update 9:20 p.m. ET: Fox News reported that six “bunker buster” bombs were used at Fordow, while Tomahawk missiles were used to target Natanz and Isfahan (two sites that were already attacked by Israel).
Iranian state television has threatened U.S. military bases in the Middle East, which were already on alert:
The Israeli government ordered citizens to observe a higher level of alert in case of reprisals from Iran.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement:
With the approval of the Minister of Defense Israel Katz, and following the situational assessment, it was determined that as of today (Sunday), at 03:45am, immediate changes will be made to the Home Front Command instructions. As part of the changes, it was decided to shift all areas of the country from Partial and Limited Activity to Essential Activity. The instructions include: a prohibition on educational activities, gatherings, and workplaces, except for essential sectors.
Israel has spent more than a week degrading Iran’s ballistic missile launching capability, while withstanding 450 missiles. Most were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses, but the missiles have caused 24 deaths and nearly 1,300 injuries thus far in Israel.
Update 9:25 p.m. ET: President Trump has been talking to more media outlets, calling the attack an “amazing success.”
Some opponents of the president are already protesting the attack:
Bloomberg News reported that Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after the attack.
Update 9:30 p.m. ET: CNN reports that the U.S. notified Israel shortly before launching the attack.
Sen. Cotton told Sean Hannity on Fox News that Iran had to seek peace, and should avoid targeting Americans, or else lose its oil fields and other key economic assets. “The ball is in their court,” he added.
Update 9:45 p.m. ET: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) opposed the attack on Iran:
Other Democrats also condemned the attack:
On Fox News, conservative radio host Mark Levin defended the president’s actions from anti-war critics: “Donald Trump just prevented World War III by using the United States military to stop it!” Levin said.
Update 9:55 p.m. ET: Unconfirmed video has emerged purporting to show the blast at Fordow:
Israeli Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video thanking President Trump for his courage:
Update 10:05 p.m. ET: President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, pronounced the mission a “spectacular success.”
Trump added that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated.” He added: “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace.” He recounted the thousands of Americans whom Iran had killed and maimed over the decades “as a direct result of the hate” of the Iranian regime and its leaders.
The president also thanked Netanyahu: “We worked as a team, like perhaps no team has ever worked before.” He thanked the Israeli military and “the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight.” Trump added that the region might soon be able to look toward a future of peace and prosperity.
He closed by saying that he wanted to thank God in particular: “I just want to say, we love you, God, and we love our great military — protect them. God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel, and God bless America.”
Update 10:30 p.m. ET: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the self-styled “guardian” of Israel in Congress until his party abandoned him on the issue, has failed to react Iran attack after nearly two hours.
Update 10:45 p.m. ET: President Trump has warned Iran against any potential retaliation attacks:
Update 11:20 p.m. ET: The White House released photos of the president from the Situation Room:
Update 10:40 p.m. ET: Iran has responded to the attack by vowing to continue its nuclear program:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) broke his silence and came out against the attack on Iran:
Schumer had formerly styled himself as the so-called “guardian” of Israel in Congress, before abandoning it.
Update 12:25 a.m. ET: Hamas, the Palestinian terror organization armed and funded by Iran, has condemned the U.S. attack on its patron. Isaac Herzog, Israel’s ceremonial president, has praised it: “In the pages of human history, this is a moment when the principles of liberty, responsibility, and security have triumphed.”
Update 12:45 a.m. ET: Sirens are sounding all over northern and central Israel as Iran fires drones and ballistic missiles at Israel. Earlier Saturday, a drone hit a civilian home near the Jordanian border — the first such successful drone strike of the war, since most Iranian drones had been intercepted by Israel thus far.
Update 1:00 a.m. ET: Initial reports indicate that one missile may have hit central Haifa, and another may have fallen south of Tel Aviv. Two to three people were reported injured by the former and none by the latter.
A second wave of missile launches against Israel from Iran was announced shortly after the top of the hour.
Update 1:30 a.m. ET: Early reports indicate that some 27 missiles were launched, causing 11 injuries.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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