Aerial view of the above-ground structures of the Natanz uranium enrichment complex, Iran. Photo: Handout/Maxar Technologies.
In a major escalation, US President Donald Trump announced in a social media post early Sunday that US forces carried out overnight airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” he posted on his social media, Truth, on Sunday, June 22. “All planes are now outside of Iranian airspace. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, #Fordow.”
The announcement follows reports in US media that the Pentagon was moving B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri toward the Persian Gulf.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) condemned the aggression on the country’s nuclear energy facilities.
The agency noted that the three nuclear sites operate under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), of which Iran is a signatory, and the US assault on them violated international law.
The AEOI also held responsible the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stating that the aggression was carried out “under the indifference—or rather the complicity—of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
The organization further declared that there is no radiological risk in the aftermath of the attacks.
The head of AEOI sent a formal letter to the IAEA, demanding an independent investigation into the US aggression.
According to Press TV sources, air defenses around the three underground nuclear sites were activated and the attack was successfully thwarted, except for minor exterior damage to the sites.
Trump’s statement came shortly after a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the ongoing Israeli military aggression against Iran and the question of US involvement.
Earlier, Trump had said that he would make a final decision on the matter “within two weeks.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US president had already given preliminary approval for military action but was waiting to see if Iran would accept Washington’s demand for zero uranium enrichment, which Iran rejected.
The direct US military action on nuclear sites on Iranian territory constitutes a violation of Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as a brazen violation of international laws and conventions.
Iran confirms Fordow evacuation ahead of US strikes
Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to the chairman of the Iranian parliament, stated that Iran had anticipated an attack on the Fordow nuclear facility and evacuated it in advance. As a result, the facility did not sustain any irreversible damage.
“From Iran’s point of view, nothing unsurprising happened. Iran has been expecting strikes on Fordow for several days. This nuclear facility was evacuated, no irreversible damage was sustained during today’s attack,” Mohammadi wrote in a post on X.
Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council member Mohsen Rezaei noted that Iran had already moved all enriched nuclear materials to a secure location ahead of the strikes. This step was reportedly part of Iran’s broader strategy to minimize damage in the event of an anticipated escalation.
Iran warns of “decisive response”
Following the US airstrikes on the nuclear facilities, senior Iranian lawmakers have raised the possibility of withdrawing from the NPT and closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation.
Esmail Kowsari, a prominent member of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament, affirmed that the country had already implemented protective measures to safeguard its nuclear infrastructure. He dismissed allegations of severe damage to Iran’s nuclear program, calling them “baseless claims”, and insisted that “Tehran has accurate intelligence disproving such assertions.”
Kowsari revealed that authorities are actively weighing a possible exit from the NPT. “We are reviewing the option of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he said, noting that the parliamentary committee would soon hold an emergency session to assess the American attack and formulate Iran’s official response.
Reiterating Iran’s commitment to rresistance, Kowsari warned that “our armed forces will certainly continue striking the Zionist entity,” adding, “US military bases across the region will not remain secure. Hitting them will be far easier than targeting the Israeli regime.”
In a related comment, Sara Fallahi, another member of the parliamentary committee, told Tasnim News that a forceful response is inevitable. “Iran will respond decisively,” she said, adding that retaliation could involve “a full withdrawal from the NPT and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee head, Abbas Golroo, reinforced that position in a statement posted on X, asserting that “Iran has the legal right to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) based on its Article 10, following US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.”
After the U.S. strikes three nuclear facilities (Fordo,Natanz, Isfahan), and according to Article X of NPT, the I.R.of IRAN has the legal right to withdraw from the treaty pic.twitter.com/UOQclDSBf6
— عباس گلرو (@GolrooAbbas) June 22, 2025
Article 10 of the NPT provides that any member state has “the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country.”
Iran had already warned Washington against getting involved in the Zionist entity’s war against Iran.
In a message on Wednesday, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said that the Iranian nation will “firmly stand against an imposed war.”
“Those with wisdom, who truly understand Iran, its people, and its long history, never speak to this nation with the language of threats. Iran will not yield,” he said in response to Trump’s war-mongering rhetoric against Iran. “The Americans must understand—any US military incursion will undoubtedly lead to irreversible consequences.”
The Israeli regime launched its aggression on Iran on June 13, with US backing. After more than a week, the US decided to finally make its participation official.
An official, speaking to Press TV, said that Iran is currently defending itself against the aggression of the Israeli regime and the United States while Trump seeks to create an illusion of victory.
According to the official, by joining the Israeli regime’s war against Iran, the US has effectively made itself a partner in the crime and exposed its interests in the region to Iranian retaliation.
“Trump’s calls for peace and a swift end to the war are signs of fear of Iran’s military power and amount to an admission of US failure,” the official noted.
(PressTV) with Orinoco Tribune content
