On Saturday, June 21, 2025, President Donald Trump said that his military had successfully bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

According to Trump, it was a large-scale attack in which Fordow, a heavily secured underground facility, was struck with a full load of bunker-buster bombs (GBU-57). Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched from submarines at the facilities in Natanz and Esfahan.

Trump stated the operation was executed flawlessly, with all planes safely exiting Iranian airspace. He called it a “historic moment for the United States, Israel, and the world” and urged Iran to “end the war now.”

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U.S. media confirmed that Israel had been informed in advance and was actively involved in the planning. Netanyahu congratulated Trump in a video message for his “bold decision” and called the U.S. attack a “historic turning point.”

Iranian state media minimized the attack’s impact, reporting that personnel and nuclear material had been evacuated from the targeted facilities in time. It’s not yet clear how severely the nuclear facilities have been damaged.

The attack came barely a week after Israel launched a surprise strike on Iran on June 13. That was a coordinated operation in consultation with the U.S., personally approved by Trump.

While Washington publicly conducted peace talks, it secretly supplied weapons, intelligence, and logistical support—including 300 Hellfire missiles. The Pentagon moved a nuclear aircraft carrier to the Arabian Sea and sent dozens of tanker aircraft to Europe, ready for deployment in the Middle East.

Why This Attack?

Just like Israel, the U.S. justifies its military strike by claiming that Tehran is on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. But that’s war propaganda. Both U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently confirmed that there’s no evidence of an active nuclear weapons program in Iran.

Until 1979, Iran was part of the Western camp and was even allowed to develop a nuclear program. But after the 1979 revolution, it became an enemy of the West, and both the U.S. and Israel sought regime change.

Since regime change has so far failed and seems unlikely for now, the U.S.-Israel axis is attempting to neutralize Iran as a regional sub-power.

The long-term goal in the Middle East is to fragment countries into smaller, weaker entities that can no longer operate independently, ideally governed by pro-Western forces. The aim is to create a region where no country is larger or more powerful than Israel, thereby securing Israel’s regional dominance.

To achieve that, Israel is expected to “do the dirty work,” according to Chancellor Merz. For this purpose, it’s armed by the U.S. and its Western allies with the most lethal and advanced weapons, and it can also count on military and logistical support from Washington.

And when necessary, Washington lends a helping hand—as has happened now.

This past week, Israel applied the same strategy in Iran as it had earlier in Lebanon: targeted assassinations, precision bombings, and disabling communication networks. It also targeted fuel depots to disrupt domestic supply and possibly hinder oil exports—especially to China.

Everything aims at weakening the government and society. It’s reminiscent of what happened in Iraq after 2003 and more recently in Syria. In both countries, central authority and the army were severely weakened, and the territory was de facto partitioned into areas where the government had little or no control.

In both cases, this occurred through external military aggression and by turning population groups against one another. The U.S., Israel, and their Western allies are likely trying something similar in Iran. As in Iraq and Syria, the Kurds in Iran form a significant minority group.

According to investigative journalist Ben Norton, the war against Iran is ultimately intended to weaken China and reinforce U.S. global hegemony. The U.S. is actively supporting Israel with intelligence, weapons, and training—and now also with bombings—with the goal of regime change in Tehran.

He cites Michael Flynn, former national security advisor to Donald Trump, who says that a pro-American regime would undermine China and confirm the power of the U.S. and Israel.

According to German politician Sevim Dağdelen, this military action fits into a broader U.S. strategy. It is a global three-front war strategy aimed at maintaining U.S. dominance against the BRICS countries and the Global South.

In Europe, Germany plays a leading role in NATO’s proxy war against Russia; in the Middle East, Israel is conducting a proxy war against Iran with U.S. support; and in East Asia, the U.S. is preparing for confrontation with China, with countries like Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines being groomed as frontline states.

Why Now?

Washington and Tel Aviv saw the perfect moment to strike Iran and attempt a final blow. The recent elimination of Iranian air defenses by Israel, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the destruction of Gaza have tilted the regional balance of power strongly in favor of Israel and its Western allies.

How this conflict will unfold is currently completely uncertain. With its first attacks, Israel inflicted serious military damage in Iran, hitting command structures and possibly delaying parts of the nuclear program.

But the initial euphoria in Israel quickly gave way to realism when Iran struck deep inside Israeli territory with missiles. The destruction in Israeli cities shattered the illusion of invulnerability.

Given the large number of ballistic missiles Iran possesses (2,000), Tehran may be able to sustain such bombardments for several more weeks.

Following the U.S. bombings, all eyes were on how Iran would retaliate. For now, they’ve done so in a controlled and symbolic manner: the large U.S. military base in Qatar was targeted. However, Tehran had warned the Qatari government in advance, which prevented any casualties.

The extent of the damage to the base is still unclear, but shortly after the attack, Trump unilaterally declared a ceasefire. Was he afraid of being dragged into a war unpopular with the vast majority of his population? That, too, remains unclear.

In any case, Israel currently benefits from a ceasefire. According to The Wall Street Journal, and supported by a U.S. official, Israel’s supply of Arrow interceptors—essential for protection against long-range missiles—has been significantly depleted by ongoing attacks from Iran. The U.S. has deployed additional defense systems to compensate for the shortages, but the situation remains critical.

Iran has also agreed to a ceasefire. Their air defenses have been severely weakened in recent weeks, leaving the country with limited ability to counter missile attacks from Israel.

Apparently, all three parties have an interest in this truce. It now remains to be seen if, and for how long, it will hold. The coming days will tell.

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Marc Vandepitte is a member of the Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity and was an observer during the presidential elections in Venezuela. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Sources

Trump bombs Iran directly, after helping Israel start war. Tehran vows retaliation

Trump Announces ‘Successful’ Attack On Iranian Nuclear Sites

Trump Advisor Admits: War on Iran Targets China, Seeking ‘US Global Dominance’

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