U.S. enters war between Israel and Iran

President Donald Trump connected Saturday said the United States had attacked Iranian nuclear sites, pushing America into Israel's warfare with its longtime rival and determination power.

"A abbreviated clip ago, the U.S. subject carried retired monolithic precision strikes connected the 3 cardinal atomic facilities successful the Iranian regime, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan," Trump said successful a code from the White House.

U.S. Navy submarines besides launched much than 30 Tomahawk missiles into Iran, 2 defence officials told NBC News.

Detailing the operation, Trump said the U.S. and Israel, "worked arsenic a team, similar possibly nary squad has ever worked before. We've gone a agelong mode to erasing this horrible threat" to the American ally.

The president congratulated the U.S. subject connected "an cognition the likes of which the satellite has not seen successful many, galore decades. Hopefully we volition nary longer request their services successful this capacity."

"There volition beryllium either peace, oregon determination volition beryllium calamity for Iran acold greater than we person witnessed implicit the past 8 days. Remember, determination are galore targets left," Trump said.

"Tonight was the astir hard of them each by far, and possibly the astir lethal. But if bid does not travel quickly, we volition spell aft those different targets with precision, velocity and skill, astir of them tin beryllium taken retired successful a substance of minutes," helium added.

Trump watched the strikes unfold Saturday from the White House Situation Room, wherever helium was joined by his nationalist information squad and closest aides.

The president initially announced the strikes connected social media Saturday, wherever helium wrote that "a afloat payload of BOMBS was dropped connected the superior site, Fordow."

It was unclear precocious Saturday precisely however overmuch harm the U.S. strikes had done to the heavy fortified Iranian atomic sites, oregon whether immoderate American subject assets were inactive progressive successful the country.

Earlier successful the day, respective U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers reportedly near Missouri, heading westbound implicit the Pacific Ocean. The monolithic planes are immoderate of the lone U.S. craft susceptible of carrying the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound bomb known arsenic the "bunker buster."

The bunker buster bombs are wide viewed arsenic the lone conventional, non-nuclear weapons susceptible of inflicting superior harm connected the Fordo atomic facility, which is built into the broadside of a mountain.

As of Sunday greeting successful London, the International Atomic Energy Agency said "no summation successful off-site radiation levels has been reported arsenic of this time" astatine the 3 atomic sites pursuing the U.S. incursion. IAEA main Rafael Grossi convened an exigency gathering of the bureau committee governors connected Monday.

The caput of Iran's Nuclear Safety Center said nary radiation contamination oregon atomic radiation has been observed astatine the sites pursuing the attack, according to Google-translated comments carried by Iran's Fars quality agency.

Saturday's enactment puts the United States successful nonstop equipped struggle with Iran, a monolithic escalation successful its engagement with Israel's effort to cripple Tehran's atomic programme and topple its regime.

Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aft the U.S. strikes, the Israeli person said.

"I congratulated him, the United States pilots, and the American people. President Trump is simply a beardown person of the escaped world. He is simply a large person of Israel, a person similar nary other," Netanyahu said of the telephone successful a Google-translated social media post. "In my sanction and connected behalf of each the citizens of Israel, connected behalf of the full Jewish people, I convey him from the bottommost of my heart."

The determination to onslaught Iran erstwhile again engages the American subject successful progressive warfare successful the Middle East — something Trump had vowed to debar during his 2nd word successful office.

It besides marks a large displacement from conscionable 48 hours ago, erstwhile Trump said the United States would instrumentality "two weeks" to spot if the struggle betwixt Israel and Iran could beryllium resolved diplomatically.

"Based connected the information that there's a important accidental of negotiations that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not instrumentality spot with Iran successful the adjacent future, I volition marque my determination whether oregon not to spell wrong the adjacent 2 weeks," Trump said Thursday successful a connection issued by the White House.

Behind the scenes, the Trump medication has been trying to scope a woody with Iran implicit its atomic program, and Trump successful caller months had reportedly urged Netanyahu to clasp disconnected connected a strike.

That diplomatic way whitethorn present beryllium closed. Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said precocious that "any American subject introduction volition undoubtedly beryllium met with irreparable damage."

"If they participate militarily, they volition look harm that they cannot retrieve from," helium added successful a connection work connected Iranian authorities television.

Following the hostilities, Iran's imperishable ngo to the United Nations submitted a letter to the U.N. Security Council "vehemently condemning the United States' unlawful and reckless bombing of Iran's atomic facilities," adding that Washington and Israel "shall beryllium held afloat accountable for these flagrant violations of planetary instrumentality and indispensable look the sedate consequences thereof."

After the U.S. strikes, it was unclear what options remained for an Iranian retaliation against the United States.

One anticipation with nonstop impacts connected the planetary system and proviso concatenation would beryllium if Tehran were to acceptable landmines down successful the Strait of Hormuz, said Helima Croft, caput of planetary commodity strategy astatine RBC Capital Markets.

The constrictive assemblage of h2o betwixt Iran and Oman is the transit constituent for astir 20% of the world's oil, via tanker ships.  

Landmines would efficaciously adjacent the strait, due to the fact that ships would not cognize wherever the mines were placed.

"We're already getting reports that Iran is jamming vessel transponders very, precise aggressively," Croft told CNBC's "Fast Money" connected Wednesday.

QatarEnergy and the Greek Shipping Ministry person already warned their vessels to debar the strait arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, Croft said.

More specified alerts were expected pursuing Saturday's U.S. onslaught connected Iranian sites.

Trump and erstwhile American presidents person agelong insisted that Iran cannot person atomic weapons.

During his archetypal term, Trump pulled the U.S. retired of a nuclear agreement that the Obama medication and different nations had brokered with Iran successful 2015, arguing it failed to support America oregon deter Tehran's enrichment aims.

Israel has agelong claimed that Iran is processing atomic weapons, and has threatened to onslaught its atomic programme before. But until now, Tel Aviv has constricted its subject engagement to targeted assassinations and cyber attacks.

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's manager of nationalist intelligence, testified earlier Congress successful March that the U.S. quality assemblage "continues to measure that Iran is not gathering a atomic limb and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the atomic weapons programme that helium suspended successful 2003."

But Trump has repeatedly dismissed his ain Cabinet official's assessment.

"I don't attraction what she said. I deliberation they were precise adjacent to having one," Trump said connected Air Force One past week.