Iran vows retaliation after US strikes on nuclear sites
TEHRAN
A B-2 bomber arrives at Whiteman Air Force Base Mo., Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Aerial assaults raged between Iran and Israel early Monday, while Tehran vowed retaliation over the bunker-buster bombs American warplanes unleashed at the weekend on three nuclear sites.
U.S. President Donald Trump insisted the attack had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to determine how significantly Tehran's nuclear programme had been impacted.
Iran on Monday warned the United States of severe repercussions.
"This hostile act... will widen the scope of legitimate targets of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and pave the way for the extension of war in the region," said armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari.
"The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations," he said on state television.
As the world awaited Iran's reply, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on June 13 "a big mistake".
"The Zionist enemy... is being punished right now," Khamenei wrote on social media.
Sirens sounded across Israel and Iran early Monday as the arch enemies exchanged their latest round of fire.
The Israeli army said it was intercepting missiles from Iran, while Iranian state media Fars said the air defence system was working to counter a drone attack.
In a sign of possible nervousness about the conflict spilling into a wider regional war, oil prices jumped by more than four percent in early trading on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.
With Iran threatening U.S. bases in the Middle East, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.
"The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad," the department's security alert said.
It made no mention of the U.S. strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.
Israel's army said it was striking military sites in western Iran's Kermanshah on early Monday, as fighting between the two foes raged for the 11th day.
The Israeli air force "is currently striking military infrastructure sites in Kermanshah in Iran", a military statement said.
Loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem on Monday, after the Israeli military warned a fresh barrage of missiles had been launched from Iran.
Around 10 minutes after announcing the missiles had been identified, the military said "additional missiles were launched" towards Israel and urged people to take cover.
The Magen David Adom rescue service reported no immediate casualties.
'Regime change'
In central Tehran on Sunday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against U.S. and Israeli attacks.
In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was "truly shocked" by the strikes.
"Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near," she said.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said the U.S. strikes revealed Washington was "behind" Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response.
After the Pentagon stressed that the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea.
"It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!"
Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes.
"Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!" Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing.
"The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" he added.
At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top U.S. general Dan Caine said that while it would be "way too early" for him to determine the level of destruction, "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage."
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's bombardments will "finish" once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved.
"We are very, very close to completing them," he told reporters.
'Grave consequences'
In response to the U.S. attack, which used over a dozen massive "bunker buster" bombs, Iran's armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded.
Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was struck.
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.
He added that "armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked."
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-U.S. nuclear talks, criticised the U.S. strikes and called for de-escalation, while France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region."
North Korea, which is also at odds with Washington over its own nuclear weapons, condemned the U.S. strikes as a violation of the United Nations charter.
The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas called for de-escalation and a return to negotiations.
"I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation," Kallas wrote on X, adding that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that EU foreign ministers would discuss the situation on Monday.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strikes a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge."
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to "return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis."
China's foreign ministry said it "strongly condemns" the US strikes, warning that they "escalate tensions in the Middle East".
"China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible," the ministry said.
On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an "immediate ceasefire" in Iran.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of deciding to "blow up" nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war.
He headed to Moscow on Sunday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.