U.S. Enters Israel–Iran Conflict With Airstrikes on Nuclear Sites
On June 22, 2025, the United States intensified the Israel–Iran conflict by launching direct military strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites, a dramatic turnaround in the years of low-profile tensions in the region. President Donald Trump ordered the strikes against Iranian sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, as part of an expanded effort to shut down what he described as Iran’s “nuclear weapons infrastructure.” The bombs left holes in Iran’s nuclear program, tearing down most of its offensive weapons. Pentagon officials have characterized the damage to the sites at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan as “severe.”
This was a response to over a week of intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran, beginning with a covert Israeli attack on June 13. This operation, which included drone sabotage and precision bombing, was meant to dampen Iran’s missiles and nuclear program. Following Iran’s retaliatory missile attacks on Israeli cities and American military installations in the region, Washington responded with a force of compelling scale.
Speaking to the nation at the White House, President Trump declared the operation a “decisive strike” meant to keep Iran from becoming nuclear. U.S. B-2 bombers released penetrating bombs on hidden enrichment sites and cruise missiles struck targeted uranium processing and research centers, reports said. Trump told Iran that the strikes were precise and irreversible, and warned that any subsequent attacks would be met with “even more severe consequences.”
Iran retaliated the attack with a measured counterpunch in turn, but the Israeli advanced missile defense systems intercepted most of the attacks. There were a few missiles fired at U.S. bases and regional allies, but most were intercepted, and there were no reported casualties immediately. Iranian leaders threatened further reprisals if the U.S. or Israel escalated hostility once more. The Iranian parliament also sanctioned a resolution to close the Strait of Hormuz, from which flows a significant proportion of the world’s oil.
The raids had provoked global outrage. Protesters in more than a dozen U.S. cities demonstrated on Sunday against the Trump administration’s airstrikes on Iran. Although the U.S. government had presented the operation as a limited military strike, analysts were quick to challenge its legality and consequences. Domestically, President Trump was once more in the dock for doing an end run around Congress, in violation of the War Powers Resolution. Democratic legislators criticised the move, with Trump’s Republican allies comprehensively supporting the move, citing it as an exercise of authority over Tehran.
Even while the military activities were taking place, diplomatic efforts accelerated. Late on June 22, Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached with Iranian intermediaries through Qatari mediation. The ceasefire, administration officials explained, would go in stages, with Israel regulating its own attacks first and then Iran expected to cease its own retaliatory actions. Although Iran’s foreign ministry claimed no written agreement had been signed, it signaled its readiness to cease attacks if the first Israeli attacks ceased.
Trump’s framing of the strikes as part of a grand campaign to unseat Iran’s current regime added additional volatility. In a comment laced with political undertones, he stated that “If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” For critics, this was an obvious endorsement of regime change, which might further heat up tensions and complicate diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear situation remains unresolved. No truces have been made. International monitors believe Iran had stockpiled enough uranium for one weapon before the bombings, and no one knows how much, if any, of that was destroyed.
How long the truce holds is yet to be seen, but for now at least, both sides appear to be stepping back from the brink. Flights were restored to the area, and airspace limitations were relaxed. But the harm to nuclear equipment, regional stability, and diplomatic norms could be lasting.
What began as a private war between two countries has now engaged a superpower with unforeseeable consequences. Although the missiles may have stopped shortly, the political fallout is only just beginning.