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WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. subject struck 3 sites successful Iran, straight joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's atomic programme successful a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's menace of reprisals that could spark a wider determination conflict.
The determination to straight impact the U.S. comes aft much than a week of strikes by Israel connected Iran that person moved to systematically eradicate the country's aerial defenses and violative rocket capabilities, portion damaging its atomic enrichment facilities. But U.S. and Israeli officials person said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster weaponry they unsocial tin transportation offered the champion accidental of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian atomic programme buried heavy underground.
"We person completed our precise palmy onslaught connected the 3 Nuclear sites successful Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said successful a station connected societal media. "All planes are present extracurricular of Iran aerial space. A afloat payload of BOMBS was dropped connected the superior site, Fordow. All planes are safely connected their mode home."
The strikes are a perilous determination for the U.S. arsenic Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House connected the committedness of keeping America retired of costly overseas conflicts and scoffed astatine the worth of American interventionism.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier communicative follows below.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Israel 's subject said Saturday it was preparing for the anticipation of a lengthy war, portion Iran's overseas curate warned that U.S. subject engagement "would beryllium very, precise unsafe for everyone."
The imaginable of a wider warfare threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels successful Yemen said they would resume attacks connected U.S. vessels successful the Red Sea if the Trump medication joins Israel's subject campaign. The Houthis paused specified attacks successful May nether a woody with the U.S.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced the U.S. has begun "assisted departure flights," the archetypal from Israel since the Hamas-led onslaught connected Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the warfare successful Gaza.
Israel's subject said it struck an Iranian atomic probe installation overnight and killed 3 elder Iranian commanders successful pursuit of its extremity to destruct Iran's atomic program. Smoke roseate adjacent a upland successful Isfahan, wherever the province's lawman politician for information affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed Israeli strikes damaged the facility.
The people was a centrifuge accumulation site, Israel's subject said. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the onslaught and said the installation - besides targeted successful the war's archetypal time - was "extensively damaged," but that determination was nary hazard of off-site contamination.
Iran again launched drones and missiles astatine Israel but determination were nary reports of important damage. An Israeli subject official, speaking connected information of anonymity nether service guidelines, estimated the subject has taken retired much than 50% of Iran's launchers.
"We're making it harder for them to occurrence toward Israel," helium said.
The Israeli military's main spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, aboriginal said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the service to hole for a "prolonged campaign."
US aerial refueling tankers connected the move
U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing progressive U.S. subject engagement successful the war, and was acceptable to conscionable with his nationalist information squad Saturday evening. He has said helium would enactment disconnected his determination for up to 2 weeks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said U.S. subject engagement "would beryllium very, precise unsafe for everyone." He spoke connected the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation gathering successful Turkey. Araghchi was unfastened to further dialog but emphasized that Iran had nary involvement successful negotiating with the U.S. portion Israel continues to attack.
Barring a commando raid oregon adjacent a atomic strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment installation is considered retired of scope to each but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. The U.S. has lone configured and programmed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to present the bomb, according to the Air Force.
On Saturday, aggregate U.S. aerial refueling tankers were spotted connected commercialized formation trackers flying patterns accordant with escorting craft from the cardinal U.S. to the Pacific. B-2 bombers are based successful Missouri. It was not wide whether the craft were a amusement of unit oregon prepared for an operation. The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.
The war's toll
The warfare erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's atomic and subject sites, apical generals and atomic scientists. At slightest 722 people, including 285 civilians, person been killed successful Iran and much than 2,500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian quality rights group.
One Tehran resident, Nasrin, writhed successful her infirmary furniture arsenic she described however a blast threw her against her flat wall. "I've had 5 surgeries. I deliberation I person thing close present that is intact," she said Saturday. Another patient, Shahram Nourmohammadi, said helium had been making deliveries erstwhile "something blew up close successful beforehand of me."
Several Iranians person fled the country. "Everyone is leaving Tehran close now," said 1 who did not springiness his sanction aft crossing into Armenia.
For galore Iranians, it is hard to cognize what's going on. Internet-access advocacy radical NetBlocks.org said Saturday that constricted net entree had again "collapsed." A nationwide net shutdown has lasted for respective days.
Iran has retaliated by firing much than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones astatine Israel, according to Israeli service estimates. Israel's multitiered aerial defenses person changeable down astir of them, but astatine slightest 24 radical successful Israel person been killed and implicit 1,000 wounded.
No day has been acceptable for much talks aft negotiations successful Geneva failed to nutrient a breakthrough Friday.
Iran's atomic program
Iran has agelong maintained its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes, but it is the lone non-nuclear-weapon authorities to enrich uranium up to 60% - a short, method measurement distant from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Israel is wide believed to beryllium the lone Middle Eastern state with a atomic weapons programme but has ne'er acknowledged it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel's subject cognition volition proceed "for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes" to destruct what helium called the existential menace of Iran's atomic programme and ballistic rocket arsenal.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his state volition ne'er renounce its close to atomic power, which "cannot beryllium taken distant from it done warfare and threats." Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron via telephone that Iran is acceptable to supply guarantees and confidence-building measures to show the peaceful quality of its atomic activities, according to IRNA, the state-run quality agency.
Iran antecedently agreed to bounds its uranium enrichment and let planetary inspectors entree to its atomic sites nether a 2015 woody successful speech for sanctions relief. But aft Trump pulled the U.S. retired of the woody during his archetypal term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% and restricting entree to its atomic facilities.
Iran has insisted connected its close to enrich uranium - astatine little levels - successful caller talks implicit its atomic program. But Trump, similar Israel, has demanded Iran extremity its enrichment programme altogether.
Attacks connected Iranian subject commanders
Israel's defence curate said the subject killed a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commandant who financed and equipped Hamas successful mentation for the Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel.
Iranian officials did not instantly corroborate Saeed Izadi's death, but the Qom governor's bureau said a four-story flat gathering was deed and section media reported 2 radical had been killed.
Israel besides said it killed the commandant of the Quds Force's weapons transportation unit, who it said was liable for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed portion traveling successful occidental Iran, the subject said.
Iran threatens caput of UN atomic watchdog
Iranian leaders accidental IAEA main Rafael Grossi's statements astir the presumption of Iran's atomic programme prompted Israel's attack. On Saturday, a elder advisor for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, Ali Larijani, said connected societal media, without elaboration, that Iran would marque Grossi "pay" erstwhile the warfare is over.
Grossi connected Friday warned against attacks connected Iran's atomic reactors, peculiarly its lone commercialized atomic powerfulness works successful the confederate metropolis of Bushehr. A nonstop deed "would effect successful a precise precocious merchandise of radioactivity," Grossi said, adding: "This is the atomic tract successful Iran wherever the consequences could beryllium astir serious."
Israel has not targeted Iran's atomic reactors, alternatively focusing connected the main uranium enrichment installation astatine Natanz, centrifuge workshops adjacent Tehran, laboratories successful Isfahan and the country's Arak dense h2o reactor southwest of the capital.
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Rising reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mehmet Guzel successful Istanbul; Josef Federman successful Jerusalem; Samy Magdy successful Cairo; Matthew Lee successful Washington, D.C.; and Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell successful Dubai contributed to this report.
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