The Middle East just got a lot hotter. In a bold and potentially game-changing move, the United States has joined Israel in a blistering air campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities and military installations. According to former President Donald Trump, American forces have now launched their first airstrikes, joining the week-long Israeli operation that has already claimed hundreds of lives.
Trump announced the attack himself on Truth Social, declaring that “a full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” and confirming that other critical sites, including Natanz and Esfahan, were also hit. In the same breath, he urged Iran to stand down and offered an olive branch, saying it was “time for peace” and calling for negotiations.
Tehran, for its part, has remained defiant. The Iranians have long claimed their nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful energy, and they’ve called the assault an “act of war.” In retaliation, Tehran responded with a wave of missile and drone strikes of its own, intensifying a conflict that threatens to boil over. According to the Iranian Health Ministry, the campaign has already left at least 430 Iranians dead and more than 3,500 injured. Meanwhile, Israel has suffered 25 deaths and more than 2,500 injuries.
The attack has also triggered warnings from across the region. A spokesman for Yemen’s Houthis announced that if the US deepens its involvement, the group will target American warships in the Red Sea.
Israel launched its air campaign, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” as a preemptive measure meant to cripple Tehran’s nuclear ambitions before they came to fruition. Now, with the US openly joining the fray, tensions have surged to a new level — and all eyes are on the Middle East to see what happens next.
