Washington D.C. — U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that Iran will “never be able to rebuild” its nuclear facilities following a series of American airstrikes conducted over the weekend under the codename Operation Midnight Hammer. Trump emphasized that Iran’s key nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan—have been rendered inoperable, claiming they are now “under rock”.
Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump posted emphatically, “IRAN WILL NEVER REBUILD THEIR NUCLEAR FACILITIES!” Speaking later to reporters, he praised U.S. B-2 bomber crews: “That place is demolished. The B-2 pilots did their job better than anybody could have imagined.”
The U.S. airstrikes prompted swift retaliation from Iran, which fired multiple ballistic missiles at American military installations in Qatar, including Al Udeid Air Base—the largest U.S. base in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Trump has publicly urged restraint from Israel, which has been engaged in its own military confrontation with Iran. In another Truth Social message, he said, “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home while doing a friendly ‘plane wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt; the ceasefire is in effect!”
Trump issued a stern warning to the Israeli government: “DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO, IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli fighter jets carried out a limited strike on an Iranian radar installation north of Tehran on Monday. The strike came after Iran launched two missiles at Israel, breaking the declared ceasefire. However, following a phone call between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel agreed to scale down its response.
According to The Times of Israel, the retaliatory strike was intended to be symbolic. Trump and Netanyahu reportedly coordinated the limited action to avoid further escalation. Most Israeli jets turned back mid-flight, targeting only the radar site.
By Tuesday, Israel formally accepted the ceasefire proposal, announcing that it had met its military objectives and would honour the truce—warning, however, that any further violations would provoke a strong response.
In a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said:
“In light of having achieved the objectives of the operation and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel agrees to the President’s proposal for a bilateral ceasefire. Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire.”
Trump later confirmed both nations’ agreement to a “complete and total ceasefire” aimed at ending a 12-day conflict that began on June 13 when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a series of strikes targeting Iranian military and nuclear assets. Iran responded with Operation True Promise 3, launching missile and drone attacks on Israeli infrastructure.
On Truth Social, Trump summarised the truce timeline:
“Iran will start the ceasefire, and, upon the 12th hour, Israel will start the ceasefire, and, upon the 24th hour, an official end to the 12-day war.”
