The Washington Post
Trump says key Iranian nuclear facilities ‘totally obliterated’ in U.S. strikes
Updated
June 22, 2025 at 3:31 a.m. EDT1 hour ago
Trump: Iran strike ‘spectacular success’
0:48
In an address to the nation, President Donald Trump, speaking from the White House on June 21, said U.S. warplanes had struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. (Video: The Washington Post)
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Key updates
Strikes on Iran involved B-2 bombers, fighter jets and numerous ‘bunker busters,’ U.S. official says
Iran’s atomic agency condemns U.S. strike, vows to continue nuclear program
U.S. warplanes strike three Iranian nuclear sites in sweeping attack
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These are the three Iranian nuclear sites targeted by the U.S.
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Dylan Moriarty
Live coverage contributors 37
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Andrew Jeong
Residential buildings suffered direct hits in the latest round of strikes on Israel, according to Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services. Firefighting teams are searching the areas for people who could be trapped.
2 hours ago
U.S. law enforcement agencies on high alert after strikes on Iran
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Andrew Jeong
Law enforcement agencies across the United States were on high alert after the U.S. carried out strikes on Iran, according to local leaders and police departments late Saturday.
In Washington, police said they were maintaining an increased presence at religious institutions across the city, although there were no known threats. The department was actively coordinating with local, state and federal agencies, it said.
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2 hours ago
Satellite imagery shows truck activity at nuclear site before strike
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Jonathan Baran
Cargo trucks positioned near an underground entrance to Iran's Fordow enrichment plant on June 19. (- and Maxar Technologies/AFP/Getty Images)
In the two days before the United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, satellite imagery shows “unusual truck and vehicular activity” at the Fordow fuel enrichment facility, according to a senior analyst at the satellite firm Maxar.
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2:08 a.m. EDT
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Niha Masih
The Israeli air force has begun striking military targets in western Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Sunday morning. Earlier in the day, the IDF said, Israeli forces struck missile launchers and Iranian troops involved in launching attacks toward Israel.
2:05 a.m. EDT
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Mohamad El Chamaa
Iran’s National Center for Nuclear Safety said no signs of contamination were detected after it conducted inspections in areas surrounding the nuclear facilities hit in U.S. strikes, according to Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on X that “no increase in off-site radiation levels” had been reported from the three sites.
Israel-Iran conflict
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Israel-Iran live updates: Trump warns Iran not to retaliate after U.S. strikes nuclear sites
1 hour ago
With fateful decision, Trump gambles his presidency on war
3 hours ago
U.S. warplanes strike three Iranian nuclear sites in sweeping attack
Earlier today
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1:36 a.m. EDT
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Andrew Jeong
Iran’s United Nations mission demanded an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council “without delay” to address the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, in a letter addressed to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and the council’s chair. Iran condemned the strikes and said Washington must be held fully accountable.
1:22 a.m. EDT
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Andrew Jeong
The Israel Defense Forces said it had detected a second wave of missiles fired from Iran. Air defense systems are “identifying and intercepting threats,” it said. The IDF later issued the all-clear for “several areas,” adding that search and rescue forces are operating in locations where there were reports of fallen projectiles.
1:14 a.m. EDT
U.S. attacks will have ‘everlasting consequences,’ Iran’s top diplomat warns
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Mohamad El Chamaa
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites are “outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,” in an X post that called the attack a violation of international law, the United Nations Charter and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior,” he said, adding that Iran “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”
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12:57 a.m. EDT
Where is Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s intelligence chief?
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Warren Strobel
After President Donald Trump launched the first significant U.S. military strike on Iranian soil since the 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, the White House released photos of the president and his top advisers conferring in the Situation Room. Notably absent from the lineup was Trump’s intelligence czar, Tulsi Gabbard, who has been on the outs with her boss lately.
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12:57 a.m. EDT
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Andrew Jeong
Sen. Jack Reed (Rhode Island), the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, described the U.S. airstrikes on Iran as a massive gamble and said the United States must prepare for Iranian retaliation. “Congress needs to be briefed in a classified setting,” Reed added, before urging the Trump administration to pursue restraint. “It’s easier to start wars than end them.”
12:47 a.m. EDT
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Andrew Jeong
The Israel Defense Forces said it had detected missiles launched from Iran headed to Israel, and urged the public to seek shelter. “Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” it said.
12:46 a.m. EDT
Strikes on Iran involved B-2 bombers, fighter jets and numerous ‘bunker busters,’ U.S. official says
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Dan Lamothe
A U.S. official familiar with the American military operation in Iran said it included B-2 bombers, as widely anticipated, but also other aircraft such as fighter jets. Numerous 30,000-pound, bunker-busting bombs known in the Air Force as Massive Ordnance Penetrators were dropped, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
12:09 a.m. EDT
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Niha Masih
Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked President Donald Trump after the United States conducted strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “This critical operation serves the security interests of the entire free world,” Herzog wrote on X. “I hope it leads to a better future in the Middle East — and that it also helps bring about the urgent release of our hostages held in Gaza.”
12:00 a.m. EDT
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Hari Raj
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States “must not rush into war with Iran” in a statement that also called on President Donald Trump to “de-escalate tensions with Iran and immediately brief Congress.”
“American service members — with 40,000 U.S. troops in the Middle East alone — our diplomats, their families and our citizens will undoubtedly assume more risk with today’s developments,” Shaheen said.
11:56 p.m. EDT
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Mohamad El Chamaa
Yemen’s Houthis condemned the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, calling the operation “a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to regional and international security and peace.” Before the strikes, the militant group said in a statement that it would target American ships in the Red Sea if “the U.S. gets involved in an attack and aggression against Iran.”
11:24 p.m. EDT
Israeli authorities announce restrictions for civilians
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Lior Soroka and Niha Masih
Authorities in Israel have brought back restrictions for civilians after the United States announced that it had struck three nuclear facilities in Iran, marking a major escalation in the conflict and setting the region on edge. Workplaces and schools will remain closed, the Home Front Command of the Israel Defense Forces announced in a statement, with all activities limited to essential services until Monday morning. The Israel Airports Authority also announced that Israeli airspace was closed.
11:15 p.m. EDT
Iran’s atomic agency condemns U.S. strike, vows to continue nuclear program
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Andrew Jeong
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization on Sunday described the U.S. strikes on nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan as an act of “lawlessness based on the rules of the jungle” in a defiant statement that vowed the Iranian nuclear program would continue.
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11:15 p.m. EDT
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Niha Masih
In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump warned Iran that any retaliation against the United States for the strikes “WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT.”
10:42 p.m. EDT
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Niha Masih
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities “will change history.” Praising President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said the United States “acted with a lot of strength.” He added that Trump’s leadership “can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace.”
10:37 p.m. EDT
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Theodoric Meyer
The Trump administration told Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) about the U.S. strike on Iran ahead of the announcement — but it was “a perfunctory notification without any details,” according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private call.
10:36 p.m. EDT
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Erin Cunningham
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said late Saturday that he was “gravely alarmed” by the U.S. attack on Iran, calling it “a dangerous escalation” and “a direct threat to international peace and security.”
“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region and the world,” he said.
10:22 p.m. EDT
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Amy B Wang
President Donald Trump’s public remarks about the Iran strikes were brief, clocking in at about 3½ minutes. He was joined by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, all of whom nodded at various points during Trump’s remarks but did not speak.
10:21 p.m. EDT
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Mariana Alfaro
President Donald Trump delivers his address to the nation. (Carlos Barria/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Closing his remarks, Trump thanked God.
“We love you, God, and we love our great military,” he said. “Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel, and God bless America.”
10:18 p.m. EDT
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Cat Zakrzewski
President Donald Trump blamed Iran for hundreds of thousands of deaths throughout the Middle East and the world.
“For 40 years Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America, death to Israel,’ ” Trump said.
He singled out Qasem Soleimani, the military leader who was killed in a drone strike that Trump ordered in 2020.
10:13 p.m. EDT
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Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Trump said that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would hold a news conference at the Pentagon at 8 a.m. on Sunday to provide more information on the attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
10:12 p.m. EDT
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Mariana Alfaro
Trump said there will “be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran” if an agreement is not reached.
“There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close,” he said in his public address.
10:10 p.m. EDT
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Amy B Wang
President Donald Trump called Iran “a bully of the Middle East” and said the country must now make peace. “If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier,” Trump warned.
10:10 p.m. EDT
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Cat Zakrzewski
Trump warned Iran that there “are many targets left.”
“Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal,” Trump said. “But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.”
10:09 p.m. EDT
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Mariana Alfaro
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to deliver an address to the nation at the White House on Saturday night. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
President Donald Trump is now speaking from the White House, surrounded by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump said his objective was “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity” to stop “the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.”
“Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,” he said. “Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
10:05 p.m. EDT
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Lior Soroka
Israel was informed in advance about the U.S. strikes on Iran, a person with knowledge of the Israeli cabinet discussions told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
10:02 p.m. EDT
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Amy B Wang
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), among the far-right conservatives who had urged President Donald Trump not to get further involved militarily in the war between Israel and Iran, did not explicitly say whether she supported or denounced the strikes Saturday night.
“Let us join together and pray for the safety of our U.S. troops and Americans in the Middle East,” Greene wrote on X. “Let us pray that we are not attacked by terrorists on our homeland. … Let us pray for peace.”
10:01 p.m. EDT
What to know about the Iranian nuclear sites attacked by the U.S.
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Joshua Yang
Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, the three Iranian nuclear sites attacked by the United States, are critical to Tehran’s nuclear program. Here is what to know about them.
Fordow fuel enrichment plant
Fordow is one of two Iranian facilities that enrich uranium gas using centrifuges, producing the uranium fuel to power civilian nuclear reactors — and without which Iran cannot build nuclear weapons.
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10:00 p.m. EDT
Members of Congress react to Trump’s strikes on Iran
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Niha Masih and Mariana Alfaro
Several members of Congress on both sides of the aisle criticized the Trump administration for carrying out strikes on Iran without congressional authorization.
Only Congress can declare war on a foreign nation, according to Article I Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution, although the president controls the armed forces and is commander in chief.
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9:41 p.m. EDT
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Washington Post staff
The Washington Post texted more than 1,000 people Wednesday to ask about the possibility of President Donald Trump launching U.S. airstrikes against Iran. The poll found Americans opposing U.S. airstrikes against Iran by a 20 percentage-point margin — 45 percent to 25 percent — with a sizable 30 percent saying they are unsure.
9:34 p.m. EDT
U.S. warplanes strike three Iranian nuclear sites in sweeping attack
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Dan Lamothe, Evan Hill and Warren Strobel
An Air Force B-2 stealth bomber, center, is flanked by fighter jets in a military demonstration in 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
The U.S. military carried out sweeping strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump said late Saturday, marking a major escalation for his administration that tethers the United States directly to a conflict with no clear outcome or end in sight.
The president said in a social media post that U.S. warplanes had carried out a “very successful attack” on three sites, including the subterranean Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, a key target.
This is an excerpt from a full story.
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9:21 p.m. EDT
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Theodoric Meyer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) was also briefed ahead of time, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.
“The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing ‘death to America’ and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace,” Thune said later in a statement. “As we take action tonight to ensure a nuclear weapon remains out of reach for Iran, I stand with President Trump and pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.”
9:18 p.m. EDT
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Marianna Sotomayor
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) was notified about the strike on Iran before President Donald Trump publicly announced the bombardment on Truth Social, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.
8:56 p.m. EDT
Here are key U.S. bases and deployments in the Middle East
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Joshua Yang
If the United States attacks Iran, Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned before Saturday’s strike, “all U.S. bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them.”
Tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed across Iraq, Syria, the gulf states and elsewhere.
8:49 p.m. EDT
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Mariana Alfaro
While many congressional Republicans have voiced support for President Donald Trump’s actions, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), who has stridently spoken out against U.S. involvement in a war in Iran, said in an X post that Trump’s actions Saturday are “unconstitutional.”
8:48 p.m. EDT
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Mustafa Salim
Iraqi security forces were seen deploying outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad around 3 a.m. local time. An official with Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press, confirmed the deployments. Iraq’s government is concerned that pro-Iran militias will carry out attacks.
8:47 p.m. EDT
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Marianna Sotomayor
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), an ally of President Donald Trump, was briefed ahead of the strike in Iran, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Johnson later posted on X his support for the move. “The military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says. The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement,” he wrote Saturday night.
8:27 p.m. EDT
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Niha Masih
President Donald Trump will address the nation at 10 p.m. Eastern time from the White House about the U.S. military operation in Iran. In a post on Truth Social, he described the operation as “very successful” and as a “historic moment” for the world. Iran must now agree to end the war, Trump said.
2:45 p.m. EDT
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Lior Soroka and Alon Rom
Israeli fighter jets struck three Iranian F-14 fighter jets in a Saturday evening attack, an Israeli military spokesman said. The attack involved 60 Israeli fighter jets, said Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the spokesman.
“The Iranian regime’s missile launch capabilities are merely a fraction of what they were at the outset of the operation,” Defrin added.
2:22 p.m. EDT
The B-2 bomber is the only Air Force aircraft that can deploy the Massive Ordnance Penetrator
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Alex Horton
How MOP bombs work
1.
GBU-57 bombs are dropped from high altitudes.
B-2 bomber
2.
An internal guidance system steers the bomb toward its target.
3.
The bomb uses kinetic energy to penetrate through concrete,
rock and earth.
Above ground
Up to 200 feet
4.
The bomb can penetrate up to 200 feet underground. A fuse then
detonates a warhead, causing an explosion.
ğote: Diagram is conceptual, not to scale.
Underground target
5.
Additional bombs can be dropped on thesame target, allowing
subsequent munitions to penetrate deeper.
AARON STECKELBERG/THE WASHINGTON POST
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. The answer depends on the attackers’ mission: Is the objective to annihilate the facility entirely, or merely to seal up the shaft entrances to make getting in and out difficult?
This is an excerpt from a full story.
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2:03 p.m. EDT
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Alon Rom and Mikhail Klimentov
More than 450 missiles have been fired toward Israel since the conflict between Israel and Iran began, according to the latest figures from Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate. Approximately 400 unmanned aerial vehicles crossed into Israel in that same time.
In that period, 24 people were killed in Israel, and nearly 1,300 were injured. The conflict began with an Israeli attack on Iranian scientists and military officials and infrastructure June 13.
1:51 p.m. EDT
Flight data and audio recordings give details of B-2 mission
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Evan Hill
Between 10:09 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Central time on Friday night, eight KC-135 Stratotankers — aircraft used for in-flight refueling and heavy equipment lifting — were visible on flight tracking websites taking off from Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma. They were all heading on an identical path that would put them in line to refuel aircraft taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, some 420 miles to the northeast.
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1:28 p.m. EDT
Alleged killing of Iranian liaison won’t impact Hamas in short term, analysts say
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Claire Parker
CAIRO — Israeli officials have described their alleged assassination Saturday of Saeed Izadi — who oversaw Iran’s military coordination with and support for Hamas — as a major victory in Israel’s multifront war against Iran and its proxies.
But analysts say the killing of the key Quds Force commander, if confirmed, is unlikely to affect Hamas’s fighting capabilities or disrupt its relations with Iran.
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1:20 p.m. EDT
B-2 bombers flying across Pacific as Trump deliberates strikes on Iran
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Dan Lamothe
A B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber flanked by four F-35 fighters during a flyover of military aircraft down New York's Hudson River in 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
Multiple B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were making their way west over the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, according to a U.S. official familiar with the issue — a likely show of force as President Donald Trump deliberates potential strikes on a key nuclear facility in Iran.
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12:10 p.m. EDT
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Mikhail Klimentov
The State Department will begin helping Americans leave Israel or the West Bank, said Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, on social media.
Huckabee pointed citizens and lawful permanent residents toward a State Department announcement, issued Saturday, urging people to leave.
“Do not wait for U.S. government assistance to depart,” reads the State Department notice. “U.S. citizens who are able to depart on their own should do so.”
11:39 a.m. EDT
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Mikhail Klimentov
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said Saturday that Israel’s strike on Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site posed no risk to the broader populace with regard to dangerous radioactive material.
“We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” Director General Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.
The IAEA said the site “made the machines used to enrich uranium,” and was previously subject to agency monitoring and inspection.
11:18 a.m. EDT
Israel claims to have killed key figure behind weapon transfers from Iran to proxies
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Claire Parker and Alon Rom
CAIRO — Israeli officials claim to have killed Behnam Shahriyari, who they said led Tehran’s efforts to transfer weapons from Iran to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned militant groups across the Middle East. Iran has not confirmed Shahriyari’s death.
Acting on “precise intelligence,” the Israeli air force struck Shahriyari’s car overnight as it was traveling in western Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said in statement Saturday.
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10:50 a.m. EDT
Israel has delayed Iran’s capacity for nuclear bomb by years, Israeli foreign minister says
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Victoria Bisset
Israel assesses that its campaign in Iran has “already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in an interview with a German newspaper.
Saar was asked on Bild’s Ronzheimer podcast about Israel’s ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. “What we did until now was already very significant,” Saar replied.
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9:41 a.m. EDT
Israel claims to have killed a key figure in Oct. 7 planning in Iran
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Claire Parker and Alon Rom
CAIRO — Israeli officials claimed to have killed Saeed Izadi — whom the military called “the driving force behind the Iran-Hamas axis” — in an attack on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom on Saturday.
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9:19 a.m. EDT
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Victoria Bisset
Internet connectivity has “again collapsed” in Iran, according to internet connectivity monitor NetBlocks, “following a brief period when residents could exchange messages with the outside world.
9:10 a.m. EDT
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Victoria Bisset
Israel’s strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people and wounded 3,056, Hossein Kermanpour, the head of public relations at Iran’s Health Ministry said Saturday on X. Kermanpour added that the “majority of casualties and the injured have been civilians,” without providing breakdowns of civilian and military deaths. Fifty-four women and children, and five health care workers, were among the dead, he said.
9:00 a.m. EDT
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Sara Sorcher
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that he would “accelerate the negotiations” with European partners and Iran, a day after foreign ministers met in Geneva. “I am convinced that a path exists to end war and avoid even greater dangers,” he said after a call with Iran’s president.
8:24 a.m. EDT
What to know on ninth day of Israel-Iran conflict
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Victoria Bisset
Here’s the latest:
Israel struck Iran’s nuclear site in Isfahan, targeting two centrifuge production sites — the second attack on the facility, according to an Israeli military official who briefed reporters about operations under the condition of anonymity. Iranian state media, citing a local official, said the attack caused damage to the site but there was no contamination and no reports of casualties. Israel’s military also said it killed three senior commanders in targeted attacks in Iran, the official said.
Israel’s military said Saturday that it was targeting military infrastructure in southwestern Iran, without providing further details. Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported that explosions had been heard in Ahvaz and the port of Mahshahr, both in the southwest of the country, while the state broadcaster said air defenses had been activated in both locations.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched a “large number” of drones and missiles toward central Israel, according to a statement shared by Iran’s state broadcaster early Saturday. Israel’s ambulance service, Magen David Adom, said residents were evacuated from a building in central Israel after a fire was reported on a roof after sirens sounded across the country.
8:11 a.m. EDT
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Victoria Bisset
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR called for “urgent de-escalation,” warning that the “intensity of the attacks is already triggering population movements” in Iran and Israel. The agency said in a statement that violence has prompted some people to flee from Tehran and other areas of Iran to neighboring countries, while some in Israel have sought shelter elsewhere in the country or abroad. “We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said.
8:01 a.m. EDT
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Alon Rom
An Israeli military official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, estimates that about half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers have been destroyed in its campaign. The Israeli Air Force, in a later statement, said it hit storage and launch sites in over 1,000 strike sorties, “disrupting Iran’s ability to fire barrages from western Iran and pushing them eastward and southward” and drones to destroy dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers.
7:31 a.m. EDT
Israel’s foreign minister says regime change in Iran not objective ‘for now’
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Victoria Bisset
Israel’s security cabinet has “not defined regime change as an objective in this war, at least until now,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper.
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7:03 a.m. EDT
Iranians in the U.S. worry over Israel conflict — and Iran’s future
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Gaya Gupta and Daniel Wu
As Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes and President Donald Trump mulls whether the United States should join the fight, Iranians living in the U.S. are anxious about loved ones still in the country — and about Iran’s future. More than 400,000 people of Iranian descent live in the United States. Many left Iran to escape the current regime, which took control in the 1979 revolution, and remain deeply critical of the country’s leadership. But some worry that the conflict will only hurt innocent Iranian civilians and further destabilize the country, while others support Israel’s effort to topple Iran’s supreme leader and believe the U.S. should get involved.
This is an excerpt from a full story.
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6:37 a.m. EDT
U.S. ambassador to Israel: ‘Great’ challenges evacuating citizens
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Sara Sorcher
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, urged American citizens wishing to evacuate to request help through a State Department website, saying “the challenges are great” given airspace is mostly closed. Once on the list, people will see potential options to leave, including by cruise ship or flights, including some operated by the government. “If given an option, TAKE IT,” Huckabee said on X. “If you turn down evac offer, it will be offered to next person on list.”
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6:04 a.m. EDT
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Victoria Bisset
As Trump considers U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that such a move would be “very, very dangerous for everyone.” Any American military involvement, he said, “would be very unfortunate.”
5:14 a.m. EDT
Iranians rattled by Israeli strikes as cash runs short and fear spikes
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Susannah George
A firefighter speaks to colleagues at the scene of an explosion in a residential compound in northern Tehran on June 13. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
DUBAI — A week of Israeli strikes has upended the lives of Iranians, battering vital infrastructure like fuel depots, airports and public buildings, and shaking the population’s confidence that it could remain insulated from conflicts in the wider Middle East.
This is an excerpt from a full story.
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4:46 a.m. EDT
Six key events that shaped the Middle East since Oct. 7, 2023
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Victoria Bisset
Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 was meticulously planned and devastating in nature. But few could have foreseen how the impact of the attacks would be felt across the region, from wars in Gaza and Lebanon to a rapidly escalating conflict with Iran that President Donald Trump is contemplating joining. Here are six key events that have shaped the Middle East over the past 20 months.
This is an excerpt from a full story.
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4:14 a.m. EDT
Europeans press Iran on nuclear curbs, but Geneva talks yield no breakthrough
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Ellen Francis and Claire Parker
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot (center) with his British counterpart David Lammy (left) and German counterpart Johann Wadephul (right), and E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (center-left), make a statement following their meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva on Friday. (Sedat Suna/Getty Images)
GENEVA — European foreign ministers pressed their Iranian counterpart Friday for curbs to Tehran’s nuclear program, but the high-stakes meeting in Geneva yielded no quick off-ramp from the conflict in which President Donald Trump is threatening to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. Hours of talks at a luxury hotel ended without a breakthrough, officials said, even as all the ministers came out declaring their readiness to keep talking. The clock is ticking, though: Trump has set a two-week deadline to decide whether the United States will join Israel in the military campaign it launched last week vowing to cripple Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump on Friday said that “two weeks would be the maximum.”
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3:42 a.m. EDT
Hundreds of U.S. citizens have fled Iran amid Israeli strikes
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Adam Taylor, Angie Orellana Hernandez and Hannah Natanson
Demonstrators in Tehran set fire to U.S. and Israeli flags on Friday. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Hundreds of U.S. citizens have left Iran through its land borders since the start of Israel’s deadly assault on the country last week, according to a State Department cable circulated to diplomats Friday and obtained by The Washington Post.
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3:16 a.m. EDT
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Kelsey Ables
An Israeli strike on Qom, in north-central Iran, hit the fourth floor of a building early Saturday, killing a 16-year-old and injuring two others who were transferred to medical centers, a spokesperson for the Qom provincial government said in a statement shared by IRNA, Iran’s official news agency. The incident is under investigation, the spokesperson said.
3:01 a.m. EDT
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Frances Vinall
Iran targeted military sites and operational support centers in overnight strikes toward central Israel and the area of Ben Gurion Airport, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement published by Iranian state media. There was no reported damage to the airport before the statement’s release. Iran used Shahed-136 drones and solid and liquid-fueled missiles, the statement said.
2:44 a.m. EDT
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Kelsey Ables
Israeli strikes targeted a nuclear site in Isfahan, Iran, a city about 205 miles south of Tehran, early this morning, the deputy governor of Isfahan said in a statement that was shared by Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency. There have been no reports of hazardous material leaks, the statement said, though it urged the public not to gather near incident sites.
2:40 a.m. EDT
Gabbard walks back comment that Iran had halted nuclear weapons program
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Frances Vinall
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Friday on social media that she had been taken out of context by the “dishonest media” when it was reported that she said U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Iran, despite its uranium enrichment work, had not restarted a nuclear weapons program it halted in 2003.
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2:29 a.m. EDT
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Frances Vinall
The Israel Defense Forces early Saturday said it had killed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force commander in its Friday strikes. The IDF said the leader of the IRGC’s second unmanned aerial vehicle brigade was involved in drone attacks on Israel from southwestern Iran.
2:12 a.m. EDT
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Lior Sokora and Kelsey Ables
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said early Saturday that Saeed Izadi, the commander of the Palestine Corps in Iran’s Quds Force, was killed by a strike on an apartment in Qom, Iran. Izadi “funded and armed Hamas” ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Katz said, calling the strike a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force.” The Washington Post could not independently verify the claim.
2:06 a.m. EDT
Arab League condemns Israel’s actions in Iran, calls for negotiations
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Kelsey Ables
The Council of the Arab League issued a statement condemning Israel’s actions in Iran as “a clear violation of international law and a threat to the security of the region” and calling for a return to negotiations, after a meeting in Istanbul on Friday. “The only way to resolve crises in the region is through diplomacy and dialogue,” said the statement, which was shared by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry on social media.
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2:05 a.m. EDT
From ‘evacuate Tehran’ to ‘two weeks’: Behind Trump’s shift on Iran
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Natalie Allison
President Donald Trump makes his way to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
Four days after President Donald Trump abruptly left a summit of global leaders in Canada, calling on civilians to “evacuate Tehran” and stoking global talk of war, the president on Friday said he still wanted more time to decide.
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Israel-Iran conflict
The latest: Follow the latest on the Israel-Iran conflict as both nations continue trading strikes. The U.S. military carried out sweeping strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump said late Saturday. Meanwhile, European diplomats have begun talks with Iran to try to restrict the Iranian nuclear program.
What’s happening? Israel launched a military attack on Iran on June 13 targeting the nation’s nuclear enrichment program and killing several senior leaders. Iran retaliated with strikes of its own, and the two countries have been trading attacks since.
U.S. involvement: On Saturday, Trump said U.S. warplanes carried out strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran. Earlier in the week, he signed a statement with other Group of Seven leaders backing Israel and criticizing Iran.
Israel-Iran conflict
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By Dan Lamothe, Niha Masih, Andrew Jeong, Frances Vinall, Victoria Bisset, Dylan Moriarty, Jonathan Baran, Mohamad El Chamaa, Warren P. Strobel, Hari Raj, Lior Soroka, Theodoric Meyer, Erin Cunningham, Amy B Wang, Mariana Alfaro, Cat Zakrzewski, Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Joshua Yang, Washington Post staff, Evan Hill, Marianna Sotomayor, Mustafa Salim, Alon Rom, Alex Horton, Mikhail Klimentov, Claire Parker, Sara Sorcher, Gaya Gupta, Daniel Wu, Susannah George, Ellen Francis, Adam Taylor, Angie Orellana Hernandez, Hannah Natanson, Kelsey Ables, Lior Sokora and Natalie Allison
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