The goal of the Saturday’s U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities was to destroy “Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” President Donald Trump said in a Saturday night address to the nation.
Earlier in the evening, Trump announced on social media that the U.S. had bombed Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said during his televised address, speaking from a podium. Standing behind him were Vice President J.D. Vance, Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Sec. of State Marco Rubio, none of whom spoke. Trump said Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine would hold a press conference at the Pentagon 8 a.m. Sunday morning.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump said that Iran, for decades, “has been saying, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’” and that “hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate.”
“I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue,” Trump said.
Trump said his administration worked “as a team” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and offered thanks to the Israeli military. He also recognized 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,” adding, “Hopefully, we will no longer need their services at this capacity.”
“[T]his 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,” Trump said. “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.”
Trump ended his brief comments by thanking God.
“I want to just thank everybody, and in particular God. I want to just say, we love you, God. And we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel. And God bless America.”
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
