Iran has warned that it may attack United States military bases in the Middle East after deadly air strikes reportedly damaged its key nuclear sites. The strikes, which the US launched on Saturday, targeted Iran’s underground uranium facilities in Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.
While US officials said the mission was successful, Iran vowed to strike back.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said, “Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces.”
He added, “America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences.”
The attacks came after President Donald Trump ordered a surprise military operation using massive “bunker buster” bombs.
“We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the ‘bomb’ right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!),” Trump said on social media.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran’s nuclear program had been “devastated,” but insisted the strikes did not target civilians or Iranian troops. Top US General Dan Caine said it was still too early to know how much damage had truly been done, but that all three sites suffered “extremely severe” destruction.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian promised that the US would “receive a response” to the attacks.
People in Tehran protested on Sunday, waving Iranian flags and chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
A 46-year-old housewife from Semnan, Samireh, said, “I’m truly shocked. Semnan is far from the sites, but I’m very concerned for people living near them.”
Despite the damage, another Iranian advisor, Ali Shamkhani, said Iran’s nuclear efforts were not over.
“Even if nuclear sites are destroyed, the game isn’t over—enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, and political will remain,” he posted on social media.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that there were visible craters at the Fordo facility. But its chief, Rafael Grossi, said they had not yet assessed the full damage and had not detected any radiation leaks.
Meanwhile, Israel praised the strikes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even prayed for Trump at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, calling the action a “move that would change history.”
However, Iran hit back. Its forces reportedly fired missiles at Israeli targets, including Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, wounding at least 23 people. Israel also launched more attacks inside Iran, killing nine members of the Revolutionary Guards on Sunday. Iran’s health ministry said over 400 people have died from Israeli strikes, while 24 Israelis have been killed in Iran’s retaliation so far.
Middle Eastern countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Oman, which had been trying to mediate peace talks between Iran and the US, condemned the US attack and urged both sides to calm down.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that continued fighting could lead to a dangerous cycle of revenge. Iran’s allies, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, also threatened to resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea if the US joins the war directly.