The Albany Gazette - Trump says US bombs Iran nuclear sites, joining Israeli campaign

Trump said a "full payload of BOMBS" was dropped on the underground facility at Fordo and he was set to address the nation at 10:00 pm on Saturday Washington time (0200 GMT Sunday) following his surprise announcement of the strikes.

The fresh US military entanglement in the Middle East comes despite Trump's promises to avoid another of his country's "forever wars" in the region. Iran had vowed to retaliate against US forces in the region if Washington got involved.

"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow."

Trump added that "all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors."

Iranian media confirmed that part of the Fordo plant as well as the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were attacked.

Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attacks, while the United States also gave key ally Israel a "heads up" before the strikes, a senior White House official told AFP.

In a second post announcing his address to the nation from the White House, Trump said that "IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR."

He described it as a "historic" moment for the United States, Israel and the world.

Earlier Saturday there were reports that US B-2 bombers -- which carry so-called "bunker buster" bombs -- were headed out of the United States across the Pacific.

Trump did not say what kind of US planes or munitions were involved.

- 'More devastating' -

Trump said on Thursday that he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join Israel's campaign -- but the decision came far sooner.

The US president had also stepped up his rhetoric against Iran in recent days, repeating his insistence that it could never have a nuclear weapon.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday of a "more devastating" retaliation should Israel's nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear program "under any circumstances."

Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

On Saturday, Israel said it had attacked Isfahan for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit.

Later Saturday Iran's Mehr news agency said Israel had hit the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard meanwhile announced early Sunday that "suicide drones" had been launched against "strategic targets" across Israel.

Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and on Saturday Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program "cannot be taken away... by threats or war."

- 'Continued aggression' -

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said "we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances," he added, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.

Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany had met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war.

Iran's Huthi allies in Yemen on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Friday that, based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people had been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.

Iran's health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed in the Israeli strikes.

Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.

Leading US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said Trump risked US "entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East," while the Israeli army has raised its alert level, permitting only essential activities until further notice.

(O.Robinson--TAG)