Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”

FILE PHOTO ©  Gary Hershorn / Getty Images

The US aerial strikes on Iran “obliterated” the country’s “nuclear ambitions,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has claimed, adding that the operation itself “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned the attacks, calling for a diplomatic solution. “The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are presented, is a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions, which has previously unequivocally classified such actions as unacceptable.”

President Trump announced the first US strikes in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night, local time in Washington. “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump wrote, adding that other targets included Natanz and Esfahan.

In the same post and several follow-up messages, the US leader urged Tehran not to retaliate and to engage in talks, claiming it was now “time for peace.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has condemned the US airstrikes as a violation of all international treaties, stating that “Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people.”

Tehran has previously warned Washington and other third parties against joining the conflict, threatening to target any hostile assets and weapons shipments bound for Israel. A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis has also warned that if the US becomes involved, the group “will target its warships in the Red Sea.”

READ MORE: ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT AS IT UNFOLDED OVER THE PAST WEEK

Israel launched its Operation Rising Lion as a “preemptive” strike, supposedly aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Tehran, which has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, called the attack an act of war and has responded with missile and drone strikes of its own.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 430 Iranians and injured more than 3,500 civilians so far, according to Iran’s Health Ministry. Israeli officials have reported 25 deaths and over 2,500 injuries.

22 June 2025

14:54 GMT

The US is ready to return to negotiations with Iran as early as tomorrow, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated.

14:15 GMT

The US has no interest in starting a ground operation in Iran, J.D. Vance has said. “The president's been very clear... We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground.”

Vance went on to remind that Donald Trump has instead been “one of the fiercest critics of 25 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East,” claiming it was the reason for “a very precise, a very surgical strike.”

 

 

14:08 GMT

Iran’s Press TV has reported that the country’s parliament has just voted that the Strait of Hormuz must be closed. The decision to potentially close the narrow stretch of water, through which about 20 percent of global oil and gas exports flow, has not been finalized yet.

14:07 GMT

US Vice President J.D. Vance has said that Washington is not at war with Iran but with Tehran’s nuclear weapons program. He also refused to confirm that the country’s nuclear sites had been completely destroyed.

13:43 GMT

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine has revealed the name of the operation targeting nuclear facilities in Iran — “Midnight Hammer”.

 

 

13:42 GMT

The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned the attacks, calling for a diplomatic solution. “The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are presented, is a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions, which has previously unequivocally classified such actions as unacceptable.”

“It is particularly alarming that the strikes were carried out by a country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.”

12:51 GMT

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that the overnight attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan were carried out to “destroy or severely degrade Iran’s nuclear program.” The official claimed they were an “incredible and overwhelming success.”

Hegseth also noted that the “operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

 

12:40 GMT

China’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the “US attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the IAEA,” characterizing it as a serious violation of the “principles of the UN Charter and international law.” Beijing argued that Washington’s latest actions have further “exacerbated tensions in the Middle East.”

The ministry urged all parties involved in the conflict, “Israel in particular,” to “reach a ceasefire as soon as possible.”

In the wake of the US bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities, Russia, Chile, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan and Venezuela have issued similar condemnations of Washington's attack.

12:21 GMT

The US has “betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal and lawbreaking Israeli regime to impose a war of aggression on the Iranian nation,” the Foreign Ministry in Tehran has stated. Iranian diplomats went on to accuse Washington of launching a “dangerous war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Actions by the US have proved that the permanent member of the UN Security Council “is beholden to no principle or morality,” the ministry charged. The statement emphasized the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear facilities that were attacked by the US overnight.

Tehran further warned of “dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications” resulting from what it described as a “grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the international law.”

©  Iran Red Crescent

“We urge the UN Security Council to convene an emergency session to unequivocally condemn” the US attack on Iran, the ministry added.

 

 

12:04 GMT

The overnight US bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities did not affect the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Aleksey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has stated, as quoted by TASS.

“The situation on the nuclear power plant’s grounds remains clam,” he said, adding that Rosatom is continuously monitoring the developments in Iran and is ready to swiftly evacuate Russian personnel from the facility, if necessary.

Likhachev condemned attacks on nuclear facilities and called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to also take a “principled position” on the American strikes.

Rosatom helped to complete and launch the nuclear power plant in the early 2000’s; its personnel are currently assisting in the construction of two more units there.

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