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US targets Iran's nuclear sites - extra edition
00:22:07
President Trump says three Iranian nuclear facilities were obliterated
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- [00:00]
Ankur Desai
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
- [00:06]
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- [01:26]
Nomi Iqbal
This is an extra edition of the global News podcast on the US Strikes on Iran from the BBC World Service A monk at a sign at 05:00 GMT on Sunday, 22 June. These are the headlines. President Trump says the US has carried out precision strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, totally obliterating them. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls his decision bold.
- [01:53]
Donald Trump
First comes strength, then comes peace. And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength.
- [02:02]
Nomi Iqbal
But Iran's foreign minister calls the attacks outrageous and warns they will have everlasting consequences. The United States has attacked nuclear sites in Iran, thereby entering the war launched by Israel against Iran nine days ago. In a televised address at the White House, President Trump said the three sites had been obliterated and urged Iran to make either peace or face more strikes. Let's hear what he had to say.
- [02:31]
Donald Trump
A short time ago, the US Military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime Fordeau, Natanz and Isfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle east, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before. And we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades. Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that's so. With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago. God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel and God bless America.
- [04:57]
Nomi Iqbal
Thank you very much, President Trump. Our North America correspondent, Nomi Iqbal was watching President Trump's address to the nation and gave me her thoughts.
- [05:07]
It was interesting because when he arrived to give that speech from the East Room, he was surrounded by his close aides, his Vice President J.D. vance, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, maybe to try and show unity, but he stuck to a script. Donald Trump then went on his social media later, as he often does, to express even more opinions. But I think the fact that he had called on Iran to negotiate and then threatening more action if they didn't return to diplomatic efforts, that was interesting. I mean, it's a huge gamble for a president who has long vowed to keep America out of foreign intervention. And I think ultimately it comes down to how will Iran react? Because if Iran reacts by attacking U.S. troops and bases in the region, I think that would be a pretty seismic moment. I mean, it already is a seismic moment for President Trump's presidency, but I think it would be even more of a big moment for him in terms of how his base would react. Remember, his base do not want him to get involved in these wars.
- [06:13]
And how much of a gamble is this? You touched upon it from the president. Is this his hope of a one and done or the repercussions are something we still don't know what they could look like for him?
- [06:23]
Well, I think he hopes it's one and done, but his address to the nation was pretty contradictory. He was basically threatening Iran with more action if they didn't return to diplomatic efforts. That doesn't sound like one and done. And so on the one hand, I think that he's walking a tightrope. He wants to please the hawks in the party, but also please the isolationists, the ones who don't want to be involved in anything abroad like this. And there's been plenty of mixed reactions from from his party and from other lawmakers. But like we've been discussing, it really depends on how Iran reacts. The supreme Leader warned earlier this week if America joins Israel in bombing their country, then there will be, to quote the supreme leader, irreparable harm. What does that look like? If it does involve killing American troops that are based across the region? If that does happen as a result of what actions Mr. Trump has taken, then I do think there will be a huge amount of supporters of his in this country who will feel betrayed.
- [07:24]
And just lastly, on that final point you did make there, Nomia, he's warned that the US could go after other targets, but it seems as though the US Is already war weary from Ukraine. So what support is there likely to be for that?
- [07:35]
War weary from Ukraine, but also from the forever wars in Afghanistan, in Iraq? Polls show that nearly half of Americans do not want to get dragged into any kind of foreign war. So it will be a huge gamble for President Trump if he decides to go further.
- [07:53]
Nomi Iqbal in Washington. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Arakchi has described the US Attacks as outrageous and warned they will have everlasting consequences. He said Tehran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty. And as we record this podcast, Iranian state TV has announced the launch of a new salvo of missiles against Israel. Our BBC Persian correspondent Bahman Kalbasi, who's in New York, is monitoring reaction inside Iran.
- [08:22]
Bahman Kalbasi
All eyes of millions of people in Iran as they're waking up right now is on those authorities to see if they have decided to attack and respond to this attack, or will they downplay it and try to not drag Iran into a confrontation with the United States as they are already in a confrontation with Israel following Israel's attack last week. And that back and forth has already disrupted lives of millions of people, has taken the lives of hundreds of hundreds of civilians, and thousands are wounded. So the country and much of the population would prefer for this to end and end now. So how did the authorities respond is the real question so far. And the people who are speaking on state tv, whether it be commentators or who hosts seem to be doing their default reaction, which is this will not be going unresponded to. This is a war that Donald Trump started, but we will end it at some point, doubting if the attack was even effective. Then we heard from one official saying all uranium enrichment and other valuable assets in these sites had already been taken out before. We know the two of the three sites had already been attacked by Israel, but for Bordeaux was the one that hadn't been so giving some reassurance to the population around these centers that there is no chance of radiation, but that's all we've got. On top of it, we have the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran saying this was a massive violation of international law. But Iran's entire nuclear industry will live and will continue.
- [10:08]
Nomi Iqbal
Just two brief questions. What do you think the reaction will be from ordinary Iranians waking up this morning?
- [10:14]
Bahman Kalbasi
They are worried that the government will respond to this to save face, especially for their supporters and for the majority that despises this government. They do not want to pay any more price for this nuclear program that has already cost Iran billions and billions of dollars, both directly and indirectly in sanctions and pressures from the international community. So there is that reality that they simply are hopeful this stops here, but are worried that it will actually escalate.
- [10:46]
Nomi Iqbal
And just briefly, will this attack on Iran help to de escalate, I guess, the situation and bring Tehran to the negotiating table, which is what Donald Trump was suggesting, or will there be retaliation from Iran's friends in the Middle East?
- [10:57]
Bahman Kalbasi
I mean, it's hard to see any negotiations right now because first, what does Iran has to bring to offer to the table anymore? Because apparently, according to Donald Trump, the nuclear program is over. But the other reality is Iran was at the negotiating table when Netanyahu decided to disrupt that by attacking Iran. I think the real question if they decide not to respond is does Israel stop attacking Iran as well? If this is mission accomplished for Israel and the United States is this the end of Israel's attacks on Iran and Iran's counterattacks on Israel. That also is a big question for the day.
- [11:32]
Nomi Iqbal
Bahman Karbasi, in the past hours, we've heard from the man Donald Trump called his teammate in these strikes. In a prerecorded video, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called, called it a turning point in history.
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Donald Trump
Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history. In Operation Rising Lion, Israel has done truly amazing things. But in tonight's action against Iran's nuclear facilities, America has been truly unsurpassed. It has done what no other country on earth could do. History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons. His leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle east and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace. President Trump and I often say peace through strength. First comes strength, then comes peace. And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength. President Trump, I thank you, the people of Israel thank you, the forces of civilization thank you. God bless America. God bless Israel. And may God bless our unshakeable alliance, our unbreakable faith.
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Nomi Iqbal
Well, let's cross now to Jerusalem and talk to our correspondent there, Dan Johnson. This looks like a big win for Mr. Netanyahu. He's achieved what some may say his primary war goal.
- [13:16]
Ankur Desai
Absolutely, yes. This is certainly what Benjamin Netanyahu had wanted to do for the last nine days while he's been launching airstrikes across Iran. It's something really that Benjamin Netanyahu has held as a key ambition throughout his political career. He has warned repeatedly as Israel's prime minister of the sort of existential threat that Iran posed to his country and to the Israeli population. He has repeatedly warned of Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions, his belief that Iran was only perhaps weeks, months or a few years away from obtaining a nuclear weapon that it would be prepared to use to wipe out Israel. He has warned repeatedly of that. He has called for US Support. And we don't know how he achieved this. But against some of the evidence, against some of the voices in the US Administration saying that the evidence was not there to justify this sort of attack by the US Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to convince Donald Trump that this was necessary, that it was the right course of action. And despite that two week window, that pause that Donald Trump had laid out to allow talks, negotiations to take place. In the end, it was only two days before those bunker busting B2 bomber raids were launched last night attacking those nuclear sites across Iran. But there is going to be a war of words now about exactly what this means. The symbolism is obvious. The US has attacked Iran and Iran had already promised that that would mean irreparable damage, an escalation that would draw the US now into this conflict, that targets would be hit, that the US Would feel the impact of this. But Iran is already trying to play down the impact of these strikes. It's talked of Donald Trump's announcements as a bluff, saying that the sites have been evacuated, that the damage is limited. Perhaps that's going to be Iran's approach in the aftermath of this, telling its people that this doesn't really matter so much, that the damage is limited, that it hasn't had much of an impact and therefore that may temper the response it will be interesting to see. Now, no doubt this is a huge moment, a dangerous moment, but what Iran does in response is the massive open question.
- [15:26]
Nomi Iqbal
And that's what I wanted to finish with. There seems to be defined rhetoric from both sides, but is this going to cause huge concern across the wider Middle East? And what could what you touched on the repercussions be?
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Ankur Desai
Oh, absolutely. There is a heightened state of alert already in Israel this morning. Israelis are only just waking up to this news and trying to get their heads around exactly what it means. But we're already told there will be further restrictions on gatherings in this country. There is a heightened military and security presence on the streets to try to guard against what we are now likely to see in terms of a response. We've already seen over the last nine days that Iran, despite all the attacks, is still able to launch missiles into this country, into Israel and to cause damage on the ground. Iran had promised that if the US Got involved, the US Would feel the backlash. There are so many US Military service personnel who are stationed in different countries close to Iran. We're talking about military bases in Iraq, which Iran has attacked before. In the Gulf. There are all sorts of targets. Iran Corporation would also take action that would have a much wider impact on the global stage. It can control the oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, about 30% of the world's oil that comes through there. Iran may choose to try to choke that and have much wider rippling effects. But certainly while Benjamin Netanyahu talks of this leading to a future of prosperity and peace, the likelihood of the next few days is that Iran will be trying to show what it is capable of in terms of the promised response that it had offered its people if indeed these attacks were launched. People will now be looking to see if Iran can live up to its promises in terms of delivering on that sort of threat.
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Nomi Iqbal
Dan Johnson, let's bring you some more reaction. Our reporter Ina Islam. Anna, what's the reaction been so far to the US Strikes?
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Ina Islam
Well, in Washington is split down party lines, as you'd expect. So leading Republicans in Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Thune have said they stand by Donald Trump because the strikes are a necessary check on Iran's ambitions developing a nuclear weapon. But Democrats argue it's unconstitutional because the president didn't get congressional approval and they voiced fears that this could drag the US Into a forever war. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, who's American Palestinian, said, we've seen where decades of endless war in the Middle east gets us all based on the lie of weapons of mass destruction. The UN Secretary General has said he's gravely alarmed and called the US Strikes a direct threat to international peace and security. Countries allied to Iran, including Venezuela and Cuba, have also condemned the strikes, while New Zealand and Australia have called for dialogue. The Palestinian group Hamas has released a very short statement saying the brutal US Aggression is a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation of international law. Now, of course, we heard from Israel earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu hailing it a bold historic move. But we haven't really had much reaction from other powers in the region. We're likely to hear from them and the rest of the world in the coming hours.
- [18:27]
Nomi Iqbal
And Aslam reporting there. While writing on social media before his address, President Trump also said that a full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. And then right, Fordow is gone. The US is reported to have used B2 bombers in the strikes. The defense analyst Jonathan Marcus has been telling me more about the significance of this attack.
- [18:47]
Jonathan Marcus
The key issue for both Israel and the United States in this campaign against Iran has been that one of the key nuclear sites, Fordo, a site which was previously secret until it was revealed by the Americans by President Obama many years ago, is deeply buried in a mountain. It's a site where the Iranians have conducted a significant amount of uranium enrichment. And it's so deeply buried that the sorts of weaponry that the Israelis have simply couldn't reach it. So if it was going to be destroyed, only the Americans have a weapon that could reach it. That is this 30,000 pound bunker busting munition. It can only be carried by the American B2 bomber. We heard earlier in the day that B2 bombers had left their base in Missouri. I've been there. It's a typical American air base. These sort of bat winged looking planes, sort of flying wing type planes operate from there. And of course, the key thing about the B2 is that not just that it carries this weapon, but that actually it has the range with aerial refueling and the endurance to be able to fly from the United States, potentially to have bombed targets in Iran and then to recover to a base somewhere else. We don't know the details of that operation yet. So the Israelis are clearly eager that the Americans would come in given that they had this specific capability. And despite the will, he won't. He's and the uncertainties and the mixed signals coming coming from President Donald Trump, he clearly now decided to act.
- [20:32]
Nomi Iqbal
How much damage can they do? Is it likely that the bombs they could carry could have completely destroyed the nuclear facilities?
- [20:41]
Jonathan Marcus
Well, we don't know how many aircraft were involved in the strike. We clearly don't know how much damage was done. There was a lot of debate prior to this skepticism on the part of some people as to how effective these weapons would be. Others showing great confidence that these deep earth penetrating bombs would be able to do the job. I mean, we simply don't know. I think, though, far more profound than a debate as to the exact level of damage at Fordo is the fact that we stand now, I think tonight and this morning at a moment of profound strategic change in the region. I mean, for all of the curious behavior of Donald Trump, from all of the threats of dire repercussions on the part of the Iranians, the fact remains that Iran, one of the most powerful countries in the region, a country that had orchestrated tension, chaos, had put the destruction of the state of Israel firmly as its main strategic goal in the region. Its whole strategy is now in tatters. It stems of course, from the attack from Hamas into Israel, which has brought chaos, carnage and horror upon the Palestinian people. But in strategic terms, that's in human terms. In strategic terms, it's knocked out a key ally of Iran, Hamas. Then Hezbollah pitched into the fray. Really Iran's most important ally in Lebanon. It was knocked out of the contest. Its leadership decimated much of its missile stocks, destroyed Assyria. Along the way, the regime collapsed another key ally of the Iranians. And so the Iranians were left pretty much to face the Israelis on their own. So, you know, the Iranian strategy, as I say, is in tatters. The Iranian regime is on the ropes. And for all the threats of dire retribution and so on, the Iranian regime is going to have to think very, very carefully about what it does next.
- [22:55]
Nomi Iqbal
Defence analyst Jonathan Marcus. And that's all from us for now. But there will be a new edition of the news podcast later. If you want to comment on this episode or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk and you can also find us on X, formerly known as Twitter BCWorldService. You can use the hashtag GlobalNewspod. This edition was mixed by Chris Hansen and the producers were Marion Strawn and Steven Jensen. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Ankur Desai. Until next time. Goodbye.