Iranian nuclear sites sustained ‘extremely severe damage’ after US strikes, Pentagon says
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.
Three nuclear sites in Iran were targeted by US strikes
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.
A satellite image showing two clusters of holes at the Fordow nuclear site in Iran following US strikes on the facility. Pic: Maxar
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”.
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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.
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What is Operation ‘Midnight Hammer’?
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.”
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What next after the US strikes on Iran?
‘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.”
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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.
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PM: ‘My focus is on de-escalation’
‘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.
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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?”
It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.
A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.
A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.
The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.
Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids
This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.
Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP
Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.
“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.
The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents
They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.
“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.
An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents
In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
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In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids
Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.
The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired
She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.
“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”
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US troops accused of ‘political stunt’ after park raid
Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”
The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico
“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”
The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned
I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.
She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.
All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive
“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.
“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”
There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.
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Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.
“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”
The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.
The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.
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