U.S. enters war with Iran, bombing key nuclear sites

The United States has entered Israel’s war against Iran.

American warplanes dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced, bringing the U.S. military directly into the war after days of uncertainty about whether he would intervene.

“All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he said in a post on social media, adding that a “full payload” of bombs had been dropped on Fordo, the heavily fortified underground facility in Iran that is critical to its nuclear program. “All planes are safely on their way home.”

The three sites that Trump said were hit Saturday night included Iran’s two major uranium enrichment centers: the mountain facility at Fordo and a larger enrichment plant at Natanz, which Israel struck several days ago with smaller weapons. The third site, near the ancient city of Isfahan, is where Iran is believed to keep its near-bomb-grade enriched uranium, which inspectors saw just two weeks ago.

After a week of mixed signals, Trump, who has long vowed to steer America clear of overseas “forever wars,” authorized U.S. forces to strike Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear installation, deep underground. The goal, U.S. and Israeli officials have said, is to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the information, said that multiple B-2 bombers carried out the strikes.

Three senior Iranian officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said that they believed U.S. forces had bombed Fordo and Natanz around 2.30 a.m. in Iran.

For days, Trump had been weighing whether to provide Israel the powerful munitions needed to destroy the facility at Fordo. Only American bombs known as bunker busters are believed up to the job, and only American aircraft can deliver them.

Israel and Iran, sworn enemies for decades, have been exchanging attacks since June 13, when the Israelis launched a surprise assault that targeted Iranian infrastructure, including nuclear installations, and military leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation had no choice but to act if it wanted to stave off a nuclear “holocaust.”

Iran responded with missile barrages of its own, as well as offers to resume negotiations over its nuclear development program.

Just days ago, the Trump administration appeared intent on distancing itself from the conflict. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared.

But Trump, when he was not urging peace talks, began sounding increasingly belligerent.

On Tuesday, he went so far as to make a direct threat against Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that “we know exactly where” he is and calling him “an easy target.” He said, “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now.” But he warned, “Our patience is growing thin.”

Trump called for Iran’s “complete surrender.”

In what was considered a sign that the U.S. government was nearing a decision, Trump cut short his attendance Monday at the Group of 7 summit in Alberta, Canada, and flew back to Washington — surprising U.S. allies assembled for the meetings.

“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Here is what else to know:

— What’s next? Now that Trump has sent American bombers to help Israel destroy a uranium enrichment facility in Iran, it will most likely initiate a more dangerous phase in the war.

— Saturday strikes: Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against missile sites, a nuclear facility and munitions storage sites in Iran, while Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and launched drones into Israel.

— Commanders killed: Israel’s military said it killed Mohammed Said Izadi, Behnam Shahriyari and Aminpour Joudaki, commanders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Izadi and Shahriyari were both senior officials in the Quds Force, which oversees and supports proxy militias around the Middle East, according to Israel’s Defense Ministry. The deaths were not immediately confirmed by Iran.

— Evacuations: The U.S. State Department has begun evacuating Americans from Israel, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said. In a post on social media, he encouraged Americans in Israel and the West Bank to fill out a form requesting evacuation, which could be by cruise ship, commercial flight, charter flight or a flight operated by the U.S. government.Yoda