DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Israel launches attack on Iran

Just got home and it popped up on breaking news. First attack was 8:05 pm

Israel is said to be going after nuclear targets.

And oil is up almost 5 bucks a barrel already

Thanks for posting, P

I hope they took Iran nukes out. The leadership in that country is way too unstable for nukes.

No doubt.

I agree as well. When Khamenei dies, I don't predict a smooth transition.

I hope the young people there grow up and work counter to what their grandparents did.

Iran doesn't have nukes. This was a strike to prevent them from developing them. They are getting closer to developing nukes with higher uranium enrichment so this was and is an attempt to stop them. Dear Lord man.

Israel Strikes Iran—U.S. Moves Military Resources In Middle East (Live Updates)

ByAntonio Pequeño IV, Forbes Staff andSiladitya Ray, Forbes Staff.

Follow Authors
Jun 13, 2025, 10:17am EDTJun 13, 2025, 10:17am EDT
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoni...y-resources-in-middle-east-live-updates/

The United States moved multiple missile destroyers closer to the Middle East to be ready for possible use, the Associated Press reported, one day after Israel launched major military strikes against Iran and killed several top military officials and nuclear scientists.

Timeline
June 13, 9:30 a.m. EDTThe United States is moving military resources, including multiple missile destroyers, toward the eastern Mediterranean Sea so they can be available for use, multiple U.S. officials told the Associated Press, who also said President Donald Trump is meeting with the National Security Council to discuss the situation.

9:00 a.m. EDTTrump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal he was aware of the strikes on Iran ahead of time, stating when asked whether the United States was given a heads-up on the attack: “Heads-up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what's going on,” adding he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and plans to speak with him again Friday.

6:30 a.m. EDTTrump said on Truth Social he gave “Iran chance after chance to make a deal…but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done.”

Trump touted the lethality of U.S. weapons systems and appeared to signal Israel will be receiving more of them, saying: “the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it.”

The president appeared to blame Iranian hardliners for stalling the deal, and said: “They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse,” before he suggested that further attacks will be “more brutal.”

Trump then urged Iran to “make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”

June 13, 5 a.m. EDTGlobal crude oil prices jumped sharply while U.S. stock futures fell early on Friday with the global benchmark Brent Crude Futures index briefly touching $78 per barrel before settling at $74.40—up more than 7% from the previous day.

The U.S.’s West Texas Intermediate benchmark also surged by more than 7.5% to nearly $73.20 a barrel.

2:30 a.m. EDTThe Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement where they appeared to dismiss Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments about Israel acting unilaterally, without U.S. support.

The statement said, “the acts of aggression against Iran could not have been carried out without the coordination and approval of the United States.”

The foreign ministry also appeared to threaten retaliation against the U.S. saying: “the US government, as the primary patron of this regime, will also bear responsibility for the dangerous repercussions of the Zionist regime’s reckless actions.”

1.40 a.m. EDTIn an announcement on state television, Iranian officials said they will will not participate in Sunday’s nuclear talks with the U.S., which was scheduled to take place in Oman.

Citing unnamed sources, the New York Times reported a short while ago that President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was still planning on attending Sundays’ talks and the president also told Fox News’ Bret Baier that: “We’ll hopefully get back to the negotiating table.”

1.30 a.m. EDTIranian authorities have informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that its “Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has not been targeted and that no increase in radiation levels has been observed at the Natanz site,” the agency’s chief said.

1.20 a.m. EDTFox News anchor Bret Baier said he spoken with President Donald Trump who told him he “was aware of Israel's action before it happened,” and reiterated his stance that “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb.”

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Trump told Netanyahu on Monday to not bomb Iran as he wanted see the ongoing talks progressed before using military options.

1.15 a.m. EDTIsraeli military officials said Iran has launched around 100 drones at Israel in the last few hours, in the first wave of counter attacks.

The officials said the IDF is working to shoot down the drones, which will to take several hours to reach Israel.

1.10 a.m. EDTThe Israeli Defense Forces corroborated Iranian news reports that Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces was also killed in the strikes, along with the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami.

The IDF claimed that the strikes were carried out by more than 200 fighter jets, targeting various sites across Iran.

12.20 a.m. EDTIn a televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes on Iran had been “very successful” and added: “We struck the senior command, we struck senior scientists that advance development of nuclear weapons, we struck nuclear installations.”

Netanyahu, however, urged Israelis to brace for retaliation by Iran, noting that they may have to spend “far longer periods in bomb shelters than we were accustomed to until now.”

June 12, 11.45 p.m. EDTIn a statement issued to state media, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei decried the strikes, calling them “evil,” and warned that Israel “should expect a severe punishment...as the powerful hand of the Islamic Republic will not let them go.”

Khamenei also hailed the nuclear scientists and military officials killed in the attacks, calling them “martyrs.”

Khamenei's statement did not mention the U.S. and said the successors and colleagues of the scientists and military leaders killed in the attack will take over their roles.

11.20 p.m. EDTAn Iranian military spokesperson, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, told the country’s media that the overnight strikes damaged residential buildings and claimed that the Israeli attack had been “carried out with U.S. support,” even as Washington has denied involvement.

Shekarchi added that the Israeli strikes will be met with a “heavy response,” although he did not say if U.S. interests or forces in the region will be targeted.

11 p.m. EDTThe IAEA’s Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that Iran’s Natanz nuclear sites was targeted by the Israeli strikes and said: “The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country.”

10:30 p.m. EDTIranian state media said the commander in chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hossein Salami, was killed in the Israeli strikes, along with Gen. Gholamali Rashid, the deputy chief of staff of the Iranian military.

State media reports added that two prominent nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed in the strikes.

10 p.m. EDTSirens blared across Israel on Thursday night as the country’s defense minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency in the country saying: “Following the State of Israel's preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the state of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future.”

9:15 p.m. EDTSecretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement the U.S. is not involved in the strikes and urged Iran to not target U.S. interests or personnel.

9 p.m. EDTIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had launched strikes to target Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility and its nuclear scientists, claiming that the Iranian nuclear program posed “a danger to Israel’s very survival.”

Netanyahu also claimed the attacks were meant to stop Iran “buying for time” in its ongoing nuclear talks with the United States, while praising President Donald Trump’s “leadership.”

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

How Have U.s. Government Officials Reacted To The Strikes?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Israel had taken “unilateral action against Iran,” and the U.S. was not involved in the strikes. He said: “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.” Rubio then said all necessary steps were being taken to protect U.S. forces in the region and added: “Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.” Earlier on Thursday, President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. remained committed to a “Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue,” adding that “My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon.”

How Have U.s. Lawmakers Reacted To The Israeli Strikes?
In a post on X, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote: “Israel IS right—and has a right—to defend itself!” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., criticized the strikes saying: “Israel's attack on Iran, clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Iran, risks a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America and is further evidence of how little respect world powers - including our own allies - have for President Trump.” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. also called out the attacks, saying: “"Israel's alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence. These strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces.”


Key Background
The attack comes a day after several U.S. embassies in the Middle East were evacuated over “heightened security risks” in the region. President Donald Trump, who has opposed immediate military action against Iran in hopes a nuclear deal could be reached, said Thursday afternoon, prior to the strike, “it looks like something could very well happen” and that the U.S. was "fairly close” on a nuclear agreement. Trump also said an attack by Israel “could blow” a potential agreement, noting there is a “chance of massive conflict."

Further Reading
Will Israel Strike Iran? Trump Evacuates 4 Middle East Embassies As Fears Grow (Forbes)

Breaking News Alerts: Get the latest news straight to your inbox as it happens.

So is the leadership of The USA! That guy is NUTS

Israel’s airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites have damaged some aboveground research facilities and infrastructure but do not appear to have eliminated the thousands of centrifuges, buried deep underground, that enrich near-weapons-grade uranium or the hundreds of pounds of material they have already produced, according to a wide range of nonproliferation and Iranian experts.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/othe...ut-not-destroyed-experts-say/ar-AA1GGmnb

BB creating more war to keep his King like power in the holy land. It’s a tell tail of what’s going on in the trump admin right now.

There is far too much happening too fast for me to keep up with all of it. But there are some factual things which we should all know at this point.

There was a deal in place to control Iran from enriching uranium reached in 2015 by the Obama administration which placed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities, such as the number of centrifuges and uranium enrichment levels, and allowed for international inspections. In return, Iran received sanctions relief in areas like trade, technology, finance, and energy.

Trump came along and blew that deal up in 2018. At that point Iran began enriching uranium at a much faster pace and at higher levels. They were no longer under that agreement and no longer had to undergo the inspections that were taking place under the Obama deal.

Fast forward to 2025. The absolute failure and results of trump canceling that deal were evident. Evident to the point that Israel had become very nervous about the rapid advancement of Iran's nuclear program. Their uranium enrichment had reached levels almost rich enough to make weapons grade nukes. So trump rushes in to try and fix what he had broken by attempting to reach an new deal with Iran to try and prevent a war his own actions in 2018 was about to cause.

In the middle of those negotiations with Iran, in which trump "claimed" was close to reaching a deal, Israel decided to attack Iran. I'm not sure why Israel couldn't have waited for at least a short time to see if another nuclear deal could be reached rather than attack.

We are in a very precarious situation now in the middle east. I think this could all have been avoided if the original nuclear deal made with Iran had been kept in place. Sometimes people create messes that they find in the end it's too late to fix. These are the results.

Can't wait until their so called "Supreme Leader" dies. It's been needing to happen for quite awhile and he seems to have a death wish.

Let the women in Iran live their lives. That would be one of the most enjoyable things to see.

I have no idea why you think they wouldn't just appoint a new "Supreme Leader" and things wouldn't continue as they are now or even worse. It's a nation ruled by their religious beliefs and I highly doubt that the death of the current "Supreme Leader" would prevent him being replaced with the next one. I mean that's exactly how this one gained power in the first place.

The current Ayatollah is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei which suceeeded the previous one, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

It would be wonderful if what you think would happen upon his death would actually happen but I don't think that's the way it would work.

Trump is G7 early and requested National Security Council is assembled when he gets back. Sounds like we are getting sucked in the middle east

because everyone is freaking out...




Trump's June 17 warning for Tehran residents to evacuate likely referred to potential Israeli strikes, not a direct U.S. threat. The claim misinterprets Trump's statement as a threat to Iranians and oversimplifies China's actions, which reflect different risk assessments for Israel and Iran.

It still must be mentioned that in the middle of ongoing negotiations over a nuclear deal with the U.S., rather than allow that process to play out to see if a deal could be reached Netanyahu, chose to attack Iran anyway. That pretty much undermined trump.

But I agree with you that I don't think trump's post meant we were going to join in the attack on Iran. At least not yet. What the future holds on that matter is yet to be determined. Since we are helping with Israel's air defense and supplying them with weapons we are already involved to some extent.

This is going well......

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-moment-choosing-israel-looks-042215921.html?.tsrc=1340&ncid=crm_-1285232-20250617-300--A&bt_user_id=%2Bk3f525VM4Lpm4ACZp7CR3%2FUB%2BssvoaxjARdb%2B%2FYEAEUCMSpR3xo%2BdNhuV9OaS4TtwfA5m1JO0kM%2BepiX%2F6vq5UZFmZiIIU4oJKnUMbbcr09MBeXh9FsrzNjoHv6SutR&bt_ts=1750182181163

Trump says the US knows where Iran's Khamenei is hiding and urges Iran's unconditional surrender

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict but doesn’t want him killed “for now.”

Trump urged, in a social media posting, Iran's “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” as the five-day conflict continues to escalate.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump added. “He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”

Trump's increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government come after he urged Tehran’s 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.

The comments about Khamenei and calls for surrender came shortly after Trump in a separate posting touted complete control of the skies over Tehran.

Trump returned the White House from his abbreviated visit to the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with five days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president.

But deepening American involvement, perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate Iranian nuclear sites built deep underground or offering other direct U.S. military support, comes with enormous political risk for Trump.

Trump, as he made his way back to Washington, expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement. He said he was now looking for “a real end” to the conflict and a “complete give-up” of Tehran's nuclear program.

“They should have done the deal. I told them, ‘Do the deal,’” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “So I don’t know. I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”

Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb.

Trump, who planned to meet with advisers in the Situation Room, appears to be gradually building the public case for a more direct American role in the conflict. His shift in tone comes as the U.S. has repositioned warships and military aircraft in the region to respond if the conflict between Israel and Iran further escalates.

Israel is the US surrogate to wage war in the Middle East. Much like Hamas was Iran’s surrogate to wage war. Eventually BB and Trump will drag US into a major war with Iran.

He's certainly starting to thump is chest more. Can't be good for his blood pressure. I hope he cut back on his KFC and McDonald's intake.

Netanyahu blindsided him by attacking Iran while he was holding ongoing talks with Iran on a nuclear deal. He is one of the first people I have seen that stabbed trump in the back who seems to be getting rewarded for it. But then they do have a commonality not shared by many. Netanyahu is the leader of a democracy who is on trial for committing felonies too.

There's always a Tweet..............

Israel 'undermined Trump's position' as Netanyahu signals country is 'losing' to Iran

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...eca4d345bc74e8bfde8db9bdfe07a05&ei=8


Israel "undermined Donald Trump's negotiating position" with Iran and placed the U.S. president in an impossible predicament — both for his diplomatic goals and for his ego, an expert claimed.

Israel's primary goal in attacking Iran was to utterly dismantle its nuclear program and prevent it, once and for all, from producing a nuclear weapon. But Israel has fallen short of that goal — and it won't be able to achieve it without either sparking negotiations with Iran or involving the U.S.

That's where things get tricky for President Trump.

On the one hand, Iran is already blaming the U.S. for Israel's attack — the U.S. helped Israel's Iron Dome defense system intercept Iranian missiles flying into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and it also provided many of the weapons Israel used to strike Iranian targets. Actual U.S. offensive involvement in the conflict is irrelevant to Iran. It comes after Trump was slammed for an alarming White House decision.

Trump cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the strikes, believing — and accurately so — that they would escalate the conflicts already raging in the Middle East.

He also believed that they would harm his negotiating position with Iran as the countries work toward a new nuclear proliferation agreement.

"With its unprovoked war, Israel has undermined Trump’s negotiating position," Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told the Mirror US.

"Support for acquiring a nuclear weapon has surged among Iran’s elite and broader society in response to the Israeli bombings. This has raised the political cost for Tehran to agree to limit enrichment to civilian levels, making a deal more difficult."

Trump did, however, provide his blessing for Israel to go to war with Iran — something Parsi said was unexpected. And it may have had ramifications on America's negotiations with Iran.

"America’s backing of Israel’s attack — coupled with Trump’s self-congratulatory rhetoric — has led Tehran to believe he deliberately lulled Iran into a false sense of security to boost Israel’s chances," Parsi said. "As a result, what little trust remained in Trump as a negotiating partner has further eroded. And the less trust there is, the narrower the path to a deal."

"Had Trump stuck to his original red line — no weaponization — he might now be on the verge of a historic nuclear agreement with Iran," he added.

On the other hand, "Trump likes winners" and hates losers. And, by asking the U.S. to intervene, "Israel is signaling that it's losing," Parsi wrote.

"It has failed to eliminate Iran's regime or cripple its nuclear program and is now absorbing unexpected blows in return," he said. "Despite inflicting significant damage on the Natanz nuclear site, Israel has failed to penetrate the far more critical and heavily fortified Fordow facility. As a result, the actual impact on Iran’s nuclear program appears limited."

To strike the Fordow facility, Israel will need the help of the U.S., which boasts specialty drones and aircraft that would allow it to strike inside the facility — not just crippling it but utterly dismantling it.

Israel's failures, however, have made it convincing the U.S. to join the conflict and strike at the heart of Iran's nuclear facilities even more difficult, Parsi said — even with Israeli allies in Washington lobbying Trump to enter the war and begin offensive strikes.

Trump had urged Netanyahu not to strike Iran for fear that it could collapse the peace talks

So, Netanyahu has turned toward other means of eliciting a U.S. response to the conflict. It began by seeking "a green light for Israel to act," he said.

But, he added, "Seeking America’s blessing to go to war is a far lighter ask than requesting America’s direct military involvement." He noted that "Trump, unexpectedly, agreed to the former" but added that "it would be exceptionally unwise for him to agree to the latter."

Trump was quick to take credit for the success of the strikes after the initial wave. "Impressed by Israel's early success, Trump moved quickly to claim credit for the operation despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio having declared just hours earlier that the strikes were a 'unilateral action' by Israel and that the U.S. was not involved," Parsi said.

Just 18 hours later, however, Iran had completely restructured its chain of command — the strikes killed at least three of its top generals — and activated its air defenses. But "most critically," Parsi said, the country launched four missile barrages at Israeli targets in Tel Aviv, penetrating the country's Iron Dome defense system and landing a direct hit on the country's Ministry of Defense.

"That Tehran could mount such a response just hours after losing several top military commanders was the first clear sign that Israel’s initial success would be short-lived," Parsi analyzed. And that, he said, didn't impress Trump.

"Why would Trump risk American lives, endanger his presidency and join a war he didn't start — just to rescue Israel from a failed and unprovoked conflict? Trump prefers to take credit for victories, not inherit blame for someone else’s potential fiasco," he said.

"Israel’s war of choice with Iran is proving far less decisive than President Donald Trump initially believed when he praised Israel’s performance as 'excellent,'" he added. "What now appears to be an escalating, inconclusive conflict with no clear end in sight will soon force Trump into a challenging decision: end the war — or enter it."

"It is becoming increasingly clear to Washington that Israel’s war of choice is far from a success, and a decisive outcome may not materialize at all."

Nevertheless, Parsi said a deal "remains possible." But achieving one will come down to how quickly Trump can stop Israel. "The sooner Trump halts Israel's war, the better his chances," Parsi wrote.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said on Monday that the reopening of discussions between Iran and the U.S. simply requires a phone call from Trump to Netanyahu.

"If President Trump truly believes in diplomacy and wants to stop this war, the next steps are crucial," Aragchi wrote in a public Telegram channel. "Israel must stop its aggression. Without a complete cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue."

"It only takes one phone call from Washington to silence someone like Netanyahu," he continued. "This could pave the way for a return to diplomacy."

Parsi emphasized the importance of Aragchi's ultimatum. "One thing is certain: if Trump and Iran return to the negotiating table, he must quickly abandon the self-defeating zero-enrichment demand championed by Israel and [John] Bolton — the very stance that gave birth to this needless and messy war," he concluded.

you gotta admit... Grok is a superior product.

WTF?? Go root for Iran in Iran.

I don't know. If so, it won't last long.

Maybe it is about time. We have only been dorking around with those clowns for 45 years. Maybe this is where we say it finally needs to stop.

So the catch line is…”we’ll see” …pfft …you Goper’s crack me up. We’re doomed with the leadership you love so much.

meanwhile, anonymous released this video this morning.

Never in a million years would I have predicted an interview between these two to go this way.

Crazy.

I could.
I called this last year, when the final election results were finalized.

GOP held all 3 branches of power.
POTUS held the bully pulpit.
Congreass was set to usher in any and everything this current POTUS wanted.

....and then I posted words that were dropped on me in my teenage years. Words that were dropped on me by My Pops, on one of our long, Saturday piano hauls on a Saturday morning (3 Aces Moving). Nixon had been just re-elected, and my teenage (recently politically aware) ass was on a roll. This is what Pops said:

"Every time a political party owns everything, they eventually shoot themselves in the foot. They can't help themselves. And then, the people swing them back." Politics swings on a a pendulum."

____________________


Far Right America has worked for 50+ years to capture American politics, based upon dogmatic ideology. Project 2025 is in full swing. They are now "the dog who finally caught the car."

We are now seeing what "catching the car" looks like.

Infighting.
Disagreement about what "winning" looks like.
Fights about how best to proceed, now that the hubcap is firmly within their jaws.

The year was 1972-73.
My Dad was prophetic then... and he's right, now.

Because Human Nature never changes.


This current historical moment will see its disintegration as well, because of the caliber of folks who now own/run it.
It will disintegrate, because they can't help themselves- and because they are trying to do it from within a a system that is designed to resist efforts such as this.


History will record them and their deeds for exactly what they were- and it most probably won't be pretty.

A better America will use them as object lessons, as She moves inexorably toward "A more perfect union."


.02,m
Clem.

LIKE

Iran is too good for someone that thinks like this.

WTH is wrong with you? How is claiming trump isn't stable enough to be in charge of our nukes supporting Iran? What happened to you?

And Iran doesn't even have nukes to start with. Jesus Christ man.

And too good for someone that thought Iran already had nuclear weapons.

Is Iran ‘very close’ to building a nuclear bomb as Trump claims?
The US president’s own intelligence chief and the IAEA don’t think Iran is building nuclear weapons at all, but the US and UN are concerned by its rapidly increasing enrichment levels.

ARCHIVO – En esta foto, publicada el 5 de noviembre de 2019 por la Organización de Energía Atómica de Irán, se muestran centrifugadoras en la instalación de enriquecimiento de uranio de Natanz, en el centro de Irán. (Organización de Energía Atómica de Irán vía AP, Archivo)
These centrifuges at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility are used to enrich uranium [File: Handout/Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP]
By Yashraj Sharma and John T Psaropoulos
Published On 18 Jun 2025
18 Jun 2025
Returning early from the Group of Seven summit in Canada early on Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump told reporters he believed Iran was “very close” to building nuclear weapons.

His comments were in keeping with increasingly threatening social media posts and language from Trump against Iran in recent days during Israel’s escalating conflict with its longtime Middle Eastern rival.


Since Friday, Israel has bombed Iran’s top nuclear facilities and has killed at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists. Israel’s armed forces said the scientists “were key factors in the development of Iranian nuclear weapons” and “their elimination is a significant blow to the regime’s ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).”

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and for civilian purposes. It points to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s edict against nuclear weapons to back up its assertion.

But Trump’s comments on Monday echoed the claims made on multiple occasions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for more than two decades – and repeated by him during the current conflict – to justify military action against Iran.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before: steps to weaponise enriched uranium,” Netanyahu said on Friday after the first wave of missiles struck Iranian nuclear facilities.

So is Iran indeed close to building a nuclear bomb as Trump and Netanyahu claim? And are there parallels between the accusations against Iran and the fraudulent allegations of nonexistent WMDs used by the US and its allies to attack Iraq in 2003?


We look at the facts and assessments of the US’s own intelligence community and the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

What does US intelligence say about Iran’s nuclear programme?
On March 25, Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, unambiguously told members of the US Congress that Iran was not moving towards building nuclear weapons.

“The IC [intelligence community] continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons programme he suspended in 2003,” she said, referring to a collection of US spy agencies that collaborate to make such assessments.

But Gabbard also said there had been an “erosion of a decades-long taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision-making apparatus”.

Iran’s “enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons,” she added.

On Monday, when reporters quoted Gabbard’s testimony to Trump, he said: “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having” a nuclear weapon.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple,” he added.

Gabbard, when asked about Trump’s comments, told reporters that she and the US president were aligned – but did not explain how, given their differing assessments of Tehran’s nuclear programme.

What does the US military think?
On June 10, three days before Israel launched its attacks on Iran, Erik Kurilla, the commander of the US military’s Central Command, told a Senate committee that Tehran was “continuing to progress towards a nuclear weapons” programme.

On the surface, that assessment appears to be at odds with Gabbard’s from March. But Kurilla did not say that the US military thought Iran currently had a programme to develop nuclear bombs – but that it was progressing towards such a stage.

What the general did do was to question why Iran had high levels of enriched uranium. “Stockpiles of enriched uranium continue to accumulate in facilities across the country under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme,” he said. “Iran continues to gain knowledge and skills directly linked to nuclear weapon production.”

What is uranium enrichment, and what has Iran been doing?
Iran has been enriching uranium at up to 60 percent purity – and that has concerned the IAEA and critics of Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Uranium enrichment is the process of increasing the concentration of the uranium-235 isotope in natural uranium, which normally contains only about 0.7 percent U-235. To build a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to about 90 percent U-235. Once enriched to those levels, uranium is considered “weapons-grade”.


Once uranium is enriched to 60 percent, it reduces the time required to reach weapons-grade, which is why higher enrichment levels attract greater scrutiny from watchdogs like the IAEA.

Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons and asserts its legitimate right, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including uranium enrichment.

Does the IAEA think Iran is building nuclear weapons?
Addressing the UN watchdog’s Board of Governors on June 9, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Iran had accumulated 400kg (880lb) of uranium enriched to 60 percent.

“While safeguarded enrichment activities are not forbidden in and of themselves, the fact that Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon State in the world that is producing and accumulating uranium enriched to 60 percent remains a matter of serious concern,” he said in a report to the Board of Governors.

On Thursday, a day before Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the IAEA board passed a resolution censuring Tehran and accusing it of violating its safeguards-related commitments to the UN agency.

But in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Grossi was emphatic that Iran’s alleged violations of its assurances had not led his agency to conclude that Tehran was building bombs.

“We did not have any proof of a systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon,” he said.



Meanwhile, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Atomic Energy Organization have rejected the IAEA’s resolution, insisting that Tehran remained committed to its safeguards obligations.

Can Iran build nuclear weapons soon – and how soon?
In his June 10 testimony, Kurilla claimed that if Iran were to decide to “sprint to a nuclear weapon”, it had enough stockpiles and centrifuges to produce up to 25kg (55lb) of weapons-grade uranium in “roughly one week” and enough to build up to 10 weapons in three weeks.

But Grossi, in the CNN interview on Tuesday, suggested a very different timeline.

“Certainly, it was not for tomorrow, maybe not a matter of years,” he said. “I don’t think it was a matter of years.”

And neither Kurilla, a military commander, nor Grossi, the boss of the UN’s nuclear regulator, have indicated how long they think it might take a country to actually build atomic weapons once they have a stockpile of weapons-grade uranium, even if that were Iran’s intention.

Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the US-based nonprofit Arms Control Association, suggested Israel also knows that Iran has no imminent ability to build a bomb.

“If there was truly an imminent proliferation risk, if Israel really thought that Iran was dashing towards a nuclear weapon, I think there would have been a much more sustained campaign trying to disrupt activities at Fordow and other activities at the Natanz site,” she told Al Jazeera, referring to Iranian nuclear facilities.



Are there echoes of 2003 and WMDs in the current debate?
To several observers of the Middle East, there are.

In the lead-up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the US and the United Kingdom asserted that Iraq possessed WMDs, including chemical and biological weapons, and that it was pursuing a nuclear weapons programme.

These claims were central to justifying military action under the argument that Iraq posed an imminent threat to regional and global security. The US intelligence assessments at the time, including the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, supported this view although with varying degrees of confidence.

After the invasion, extensive searches found no active WMD programmes in Iraq.

Subsequent investigations, including those by the US Senate Intelligence Committee and the UK’s Chilcot Inquiry, concluded that the intelligence was deeply flawed and was politicised by leaders to overstate Iraq’s WMD capabilities to build a case for the invasion.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025...-building-a-nuclear-bomb-as-trump-claims

Rinse and repeat isn't something that's just printed on the back of shampoo bottles anymore.

Sure hope the gun isn’t a nuke.

I know the don't just yet.

Once they have them, they have them. Waiting until they do is foolish because those 7th century zealots will use them.

What's happened to you?