Iranian nuclear sites sustained “extremely severe damage and destruction” in air strikes, the US has said – a stance mostly supported by the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

General Dan Caine, chairman of America’s joint chiefs of staff, told reporters that the destruction wrought by Operation Midnight Hammer will take “some time” to assess.

But he added that “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction”.

The sites are Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Fordow is a secretive nuclear facility buried about 80m below a mountain and one of two key uranium enrichment plants in Iran, along with Natanz.

Isfahan features a large nuclear technology centre and enriched uranium is also stored there, diplomats say.

At Fordow, satellite images taken after the attack show holes in the mountain in which the nuclear site was situated.

Follow latest: US bombers strike three Iranian nuclear sites

Images of Natanz, which is also suspected of having an underground facility, appear to show a new hole in a rocky area.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said the initial assessment was that “all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect”.

“Which means, especially in Fordow, which was the primary target here, we believe we achieved destruction of capabilities there,” he added.

America’s attack brings the US into direct involvement in the war between Israel and Iran, which started on 13 June. It prompted threats of reprisals from Tehran, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the facility at Natanz had been “completely destroyed”, while its underground halls “suffered a lot” because of cuts to electricity as the result of Israeli attacks.

He also told CNN that the Isfahan site had suffered “very significant damage”.

At Fordow, which is deep underground, he said it was difficult to know how much damage had been done.

Satellite images appear to show major damage at Isfahan.

Natanz was believed to have possibly already suffered extensive damage in Israel’s strikes earlier this week.

Fourteen bunker buster bombs were used in the attacks on Fordow and Natanz, and numerous Tomahawk cruise missiles were also used in the operation, which involved seven B-2 stealth bombers and was described by Donald Trump as “very successful”.

Read more:
What we know about Operation Midnight Hammer as US strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities

However, a senior Iranian source told the Reuters news agency that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow was moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the attacks.

Personnel numbers were said to have been cut, too.

The IAEA said there had been “no increase in off-site radiation levels” after the strikes.

Donald Trump said no further attacks were planned and he hoped diplomacy would take over.

Fears of a wider conflict

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that the US strikes “will have everlasting consequences”, adding that his country “reserves all options” to retaliate.

Mr Hegseth said the United States “does not seek war” but would “act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners, or our interests are threatened”.

Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon, and Mr Grossi said this month the IAEA had no proof of a “systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon”.

However, the IAEA said last month that Iran had amassed 408.6kg of uranium enriched up to 60% – a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Since the war broke out more than a week ago, Iranian authorities say more than 400 people have been killed since Israel’s bombardment began, mostly civilians.

Israel has taken out much of Iran’s military leadership with attacks targeting air defences and military bases.

Iran has been launching missiles back at Israel, and at least 24 people have been killed over the past nine days.

US Senator Chris Murphy, posting on X after the US strikes, said he and other senators received a classified briefing last week indicating that Iran did not pose an immediate threat through its nuclear programme.

“Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon,” Senator Murphy said. “The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.”

‘Consultations’ with Vladimir Putin

The Iranian foreign minister told journalists on Sunday morning that he was flying to Moscow to have “serious consultations” with Vladimir Putin.

He described Moscow as a “friend of Iran”, adding: “We always consult with each other.”

Read more:
We may see nothing more than rhetoric from Russia

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that “invaders must now await responses that will bring regret” after the US strikes.

Gulf states like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, all home to US military bases, are on high alert after the strikes, with Bahrain urging drivers to avoid main roads and Kuwait setting up shelters.

The UK has also further increased “force protection” measures for its military bases and personnel in the Middle East to their highest level.

Iran has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “maintain international peace and condemn the US strikes”, according to state media.

‘Bold decision’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the “bold decision” by Mr Trump, saying it would “change history”.

The IRGC said it had launched 40 missiles at Israel on Sunday morning, including its biggest ballistic missile, the Khorramshahr-4.

Iranian missiles hit sites in northern and central Israel, including in Haifa, Ness Ziona, Rishon LeZion and Tel Aviv.

The UK is preparing to fly British nationals out of Israel.

Read more:
Iran may not have lost its ability to make a nuclear bomb
Iran may decide that killing Americans is the best way to retaliate

Nuclear negotiations ‘blown up’

The UK’s prime minister called on Iran to “return to the negotiating table” and reach “a diplomatic solution to end this crisis”.

“Iran’s nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat,” said Sir Keir Starmer.

However, Mr Araghchi said the US and Israel had “blown up” negotiations and asked: “How can Iran return to something it never left, let alone blew up?”

Pakistan has said it would recommend Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.

Some analysts in Pakistan have suggested the move might persuade the US president to reconsider potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Pakistan has condemned Israel’s attack on Iran as a violation of international law and said it threatens regional stability.

Last month a surprise announcement by Mr Trump of a ceasefire brought an end to a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed states.

The US president has repeatedly boasted of averting a nuclear war and saving millions of lives, and has complained about not getting enough credit.

While Pakistan agrees US diplomatic intervention brought the fighting to an end, India has disputed that, saying it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries.

Read more:
Why intervention in Kashmir is a poisoned fruit

“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,” Pakistan said.

“This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker.”

Mr Trump has long craved the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming he should have been awarded it for a variety of reasons.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, the president gave a long list of conflicts he claimed he had resolved, including Pakistan and India and the Abraham accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do,” he added.

Read more from Sky News:
Thousands watch summer solstice sunrise at Stonehenge
Every baby in the UK to receive DNA testing
Air India warned by watchdog over pilot scheduling breaches

Pakistan’s announcement it would nominate Mr Trump comes in the same week as its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US president for lunch.

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released after 104 days in immigration detention in the US.

A judge ruled the Columbia University graduate student should be released on Friday.

He has become a symbol of Donald Trump’s crackdown on protests on university campuses after being arrested by the US immigration agency ICE on 8 March.

“Whether you are a US citizen, an immigrant or just a person on this land doesn’t mean that you are less of a human,” he said after being released from detention in Louisiana.

Israel-Iran live updates

Mr Khalil is a legal US resident and isn’t accused of breaking any laws during pro-Palestine protests, where he served as a spokesperson for student activists.

He is expected to head to New York to reunite with his wife, who is a US citizen, and his baby son, who was born while Mr Khalil was in detention.

“Justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue,” he said. “This shouldn’t have taken three months.”

The Trump administration is seeking to deport Khalil over his role in the protests.

However, Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be “highly, highly unusual” for the government to continue detaining a legal resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn’t been accused of any violence.

During an hour-long hearing conducted by phone, the New Jersey-based judge said the government had “clearly not met” the standards for detention.

The government is appealing Mr Khalil’s release, and an immigration judge, Judge Jamee Comans, has ordered the student to be “removed”.

“An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr Khalil should be released or detained,” wrote the Department of Homeland Security in a post on X.

Read more from Sky News:
US warplanes transit through UK amid Iran tensions
Putin says ‘Ukraine is ours’ and threatens nuclear strike

The US secretary of state Marco Rubio is pushing for Mr Khalil to be expelled from America because he says his continued presence could harm foreign policy.

The Trump administration argues that noncitizens who take part in pro-Palestinian protests should be deported, as it considers the protests to be antisemitic.

Civil rights groups, such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which is suing the administration, argue this conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to silence dissent.

Judge Farbiarz ruled the government can’t deport Mr Khalil on the basis that his presence could undermine foreign policy, but it can continue deportation over allegations that he lied on his green card application.

Mr Khalil disputes these allegations.

He had to surrender his passport but will get his green card back and be given official documents permitting limited travel within the country, including New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances and Washington to lobby Congress.

Judge Farbiarz’s decision comes after several other students targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri.