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Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) hit the Isfahan nuclear site in Iran on Friday night, a location where uranium moves beyond enrichment to the ‘reconversion’ process of building a nuclear bomb. 

‘The strike dismantled a facility for producing metallic uranium, infrastructure for reconverting enriched uranium, laboratories, and additional infrastructure,’ the IDF said on Friday. 

On Friday evening, video footage posted by Iranian media showed Iranian air defenses attempting to intercept a fresh wave of Israeli attacks on the site, adding it to a list of nuclear sites targeted that includes the key Natanz facility.

 

The IAEA has confirmed that a nuclear facility in Isfahan was struck by Israel. In a statement on X the IAEA posted that four critical buildings ‘were damaged in yesterday’s attack, including the Uranium Conversion Facility and the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant. As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected.’

‘Isfahan’s uranium conversion facility is at the heart of Iran’s quest for domestic fuel cycle mastery,’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital. 

At Isfahan, uranium is converted into a state suited for gaseous enrichment. 

‘Crippling this capacity at Isfahan would disconnect the dots between Iran’s diverse nuclear industry and potentially handicap future efforts to prepare uranium for enrichment.’ 

Direct bombing of a facility that stores nuclear fuel represents a major blow to Iran’s nuclear program – but also risks radioactive spills. Israel avoided hitting Iran’s supply of near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel at Isfahan, the New York Times reported. 

‘All these developments are deeply concerning,’ the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement on the attacks. ‘I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment.’ 

Israel has now targeted over 200 sites in Iran in its move to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability. 

Iranian media reported on Saturday that Israel had struck near the northwestern Tabriz refinery, reporting three missile strikes in locations near western Iran. 

The Israeli military said that initial strikes had taken out nine nuclear scientists, in addition to top generals in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and dozens of others. 

Iran’s counter-strikes have killed three Israelis. 

Experts have long warned that Iran is weeks away from enriching uranium to a weapons-grade 90%, and Israeli intelligence sources suggest Iran had moved beyond enrichment into the early production phase of a nuclear weapon.

The IAEA has warned of Iran’s ‘rapid accumulation of highly enriched uranium’ and said the regime has been opaque about providing details on its use. 

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Israel’s precision strike on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure may open a rare strategic window for the Trump administration. With experts telling Fox News Digital the U.S. has an opportunity to pressure Tehran toward a nuclear agreement — one that could not have been achieved through diplomacy alone. 

The Israeli military told Fox News Digital that the operation in Iran was carried out by Israeli forces but in coordination with the United States. While U.S. troops did not participate in the attack, defense cooperation continued throughout the strike — and during Iran’s retaliation on Friday, when U.S. forces helped intercept Iranian missile attacks on Tel Aviv.

‘This was an Israeli operation,’ an IDF official said, ‘but we were closely coordinated with the Americans. There was real-time intelligence and continuous contact.’

Avner Golov, vice president of Mind Israel, told Fox News Digital ‘We’re not trying to pull the U.S. in — Israel is the right model for what a responsible ally looks like: doing the hard work, asking for minimal support, and delivering strategic value.’ 

He added, ‘No one wants a war. Israel achieved this result in just a few days. It was effective and disciplined. We don’t want to stay in a prolonged war — and certainly don’t want to drag the U.S. into one. Israel is the model — a way for the U.S. to stay globally influential through a partner that delivers results with minimal investment.’

Robert Greenway, director of the Allison Center for National Security at The Heritage Foundation, said, ‘The President’s messaging so far has been careful to distinguish that these attacks are unilateral Israeli actions — not U.S. attacks. That’s largely to prevent retaliation against American infrastructure. But if U.S. assets were attacked, we would become a participant — and Iran can’t handle Israel, let alone the United States.’

‘The President made it clear that he preferred a diplomatic solution,’ Greenway added, ‘I believe that was sincere, even though he knows the Iranians full well. He anticipated that the prospects might have been remote — but it was worth trying.’

Israeli analyst and journalist for Yediot Ahronot, Nadav Eyal, told Fox News Digital the operation reflects a deliberate ‘bad cop, good cop’ strategy — with Israel applying military pressure, and the U.S. positioned to extract diplomatic gains.

‘The president is basically saying this on the record: you’ve got hit by the Israelis. Now we’ve signed a good agreement, and we’re ready to sign an agreement. . . .’

Eyal added that some of the media coverage ahead of the attack may have been deliberately misleading, part of a broader psychological operation to confuse Iran’s leadership about the timing and scope of the strike.

‘We have information pointing to the possibility that much of the publications and some stories that were published pointing to after Sunday, after negotiations with Oman, and the fact that the Americans would play with this role that contributes another major cooperation, between Israel and the U.S., as to the strike.’

Avner Golov, vice president of Mind Israel, told Fox News Digital that the strike was the culmination of a broader Israeli campaign to neutralize three fronts: Hamas in Gaza, Iran’s proxy network across the region, and now the nuclear program inside Iran.

‘Since October 7, we’ve been fighting two wars — one on the Palestinian front in Gaza, and another against Iran, which has invested in a vast network of proxies, regional partnerships, and a missile and UAV program. Over the past year and a half, we’ve struck both of those arenas and gained superiority. Now, we’ve initiated an operation against the third strategic asset.’

Golov said this is the moment for the U.S. to step in and deliver a message that escalation will trigger American consequences — not just Israeli ones.

‘Ultimately, what we want is for the U.S. to say to Iran: ‘Israel struck your nuclear and military targets, avoided civilian infrastructure and didn’t touch the regime. If you now escalate … take into account that we’re in this now, and it’s a different game altogether.’’

He emphasized that the military victory must now be sealed with a political event — ideally, one that drives Iran back to the negotiating table. ‘The nuclear issue can’t be solved by a single military event, but this creates a solid foundation for a political one. Coordination with the U.S. is absolutely crucial.’

Greenway told Fox News Digital, ‘Having taken the strike, as the President said, perhaps this does open the door to continued negotiation. There are obviously different circumstances now. Iran has less capacity than it did yesterday — and will have even less tomorrow.

‘Each day that passes, every strike that lands, Iran has less to offer in resistance. At some point, I think there’s a good possibility they’ll choose to negotiate.’

The strike also revealed U.S. involvement on the defensive front. As Iran launched missiles toward Israeli cities, U.S. forces helped intercept them — a move officials say demonstrated American commitment without triggering escalation.

‘As a practical matter, this is our best collective opportunity to do as much damage to Iran’s nuclear program and to their offensive retaliatory capabilities as possible’, Greenway said. ‘From a strictly military standpoint, this is a window of opportunity.’

Trump withdrew from the original Iran nuclear deal during his first term, citing its failure to prevent Tehran’s long-term nuclear weapons ambitions. While he has insisted Iran will never be allowed to obtain a bomb, recent reports suggest he may support a revised deal that allows uranium enrichment for civilian purposes.

Golov said the numbers now favor the U.S. if it acts swiftly. ‘We’ve optimized our numbers and are hitting theirs. Eventually, the Iranians will have to agree to the American proposal — and that proposal should be on the table now.’

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Just hours following Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a direct appeal to the Iranian people and said: ‘This is your opportunity to stand up [to the regime].’

The regime’s standing not only with the international community, amid its vast support of state-sponsored terrorism, which has impacted neighboring nations from Syria and Yemen to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, coupled with years of internal unrest, could mean regime change is on the horizon.

‘We are in the midst of one of the greatest military operations in history,’ Netanyahu said Friday. ‘The Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for almost 50 years, threatens to destroy our country.’

The Israeli leader said Jerusalem’s goal in hitting Iran’s top military targets is to thwart the nuclear and missile threats that Iran poses towards the Jewish nation, which he argued weakens the regime and poses a unique opportunity for dissidents within. 

Minority groups make up some 50% of the Iranian population, and some Iranian specialists have argued that if the minority groups, which are frequent targets of oppression in Iran, were to unite against the regime, they could play a critical role in toppling the regime.

Iran has faced increasing opposition since the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, who in September 2022 was arrested by Iran’s morality police and later died in a hospital due to her injuries.

Amini’s death sparked mass protests across the country, which Iran brutally clapped back at and continues to execute those arrested during the demonstrations. 

Fox News Digital was told by Yigal Carmon, President of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), that members of the Ahwazis, a minority group in south-western Iran, which make up 6-8% of the population, have already been arrested by the regime amid its fears another internal rebellion could brew alongside war with Israel.

It is unclear if any demonstrations have yet begun or if their arrests were pre-emptively carried out. 

‘A regime change will be supported by many,’ Carmon said. ‘The fact is that only the minorities can bring a regime change because they are militarily organized.’

‘A coalition of non-Persian ethnic groups could topple the regime in a few months,’ he said. ‘Unlike the Persian anti-regime population, the non-Persian anti-regime population is militarily organized.’

Other minority groups, like the Kurds, who make up 10%-15% of Iran’s population and who live primarily in the northwestern border areas near Iraq and Turkey, as well as the Baloch people, who encompass another 5% of the population and live along Iran’s southeast border with Pakistan, also have a long history of opposing the regime, though they have also suffered brutal consequences. 

‘It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard. Woman, Life, Freedom Zan, Zendegi, Azadi,’ Netanyahu said.  ‘As I said yesterday and many times before, Israel’s fight is not against the Iranian people. 

‘Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you,’ he added. 

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The United States Embassy in Jerusalem has issued a security alert stating that American government workers and their families in Israel remain indoors, as Iran has hit the Jewish state with drone and missile strikes.

The alert, first made on Saturday and then posted again Sunday morning, comes as Iranian strikes have so far killed at least 10 people in Israel and injured upwards of 180. 

‘As a result of the current security situation and ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, the U.S. Embassy has directed that all U.S. government employees and their family members continue to shelter in place until further notice,’ The embassy’s alert, posted on its website and X, said.

‘Given the proximity of missile and debris impacts, the U.S. Embassy has offered employees living near the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv the option to voluntarily relocate to new accommodations further away,’ the alert continued.

Meanwhile, Israeli airspace remained closed, with arrivals and departures, according to a statement from an Israel Airports Authority spokesperson.

Iran’s bombardment of Israel came in response to Israel’s strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets, which Israeli officials said were preemptive measures as Iran drew closer to developing nuclear weapons.

‘I’ll tell you what would have come if we hadn’t acted. We had information that this unscrupulous regime was planning to give the nuclear weapons that they would develop to their terrorist proxies,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X on Saturday. ‘That’s nuclear terrorism on steroids. That would threaten the entire world.’

Israel has also made clear that strikes against Tehran are far from over, issuing a warning to the people of Iran.

‘Urgent warning to all Iranian citizens: All individuals currently or soon to be present in or around military weapons production factories and their supporting institutions must immediately evacuate these areas and not return until further notice,’ the Israel Defense Forces said in an alert posted in Farsi. ‘Your presence near these facilities puts your life at risk.’

The IDF contrasted their approach with that of Iran, which has launched attacks at civilian areas.

‘This is the message we spread to Iranian citizens. While Iran chooses to strike without warning, we choose to warn a innocent [sic] people even if it means giving up the element of surprise,’ the IDF posted to X Sunday morning. ‘We warn them, in Persian, across many channels. Because human life comes first to us. That’s the difference between us and our enemy.’

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.

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Former top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and Alex Soros, son of billionaire left-wing donor George Soros, married in a lavish wedding in New York on Saturday that reportedly drew attendance from high-profile Democrats stretching from former Vice President Kamala Harris to former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. 

The couple married in Water Mill, N.Y., at a Soros family estate on Saturday, according to the New York Times, which reported the swank Hamptons wedding drew private jets, fleets of black SUVs ‘and Clinton aides galore in a rare concentration of wealth and power.’ 

Democrat heavyweights including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Harris – as well as her husband Doug Emhoff – and Pelosi attended the wedding, the New York Times reported. Other celebrities and high-profile attendees included Vogue’s Anna Wintour, socialite Nicky Hilton Rothschild, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, the outlet reported, citing attendees. 

‘I’m looking forward to being a witness to their marriage; to the celebration that we all are going to be part of; to seeing so many longtime friends gathered in one place to really enjoy being part of Huma and Alex’s start of their married life. And I think we all could use some fun, so I’m looking forward to all of it,’ Hillary Clinton told Vogue of the wedding in an article published Saturday. 

Soros, 39, is the chairman of the Open Society Foundations, which is a massive $25 billion nonprofit founded by George Soros, 94, and helps bankroll left-wing causes and politicians across the country. Abedin, 48, is the former longtime aide to Hillary Clinton and often called the former secretary of state’s ‘second daughter.’ Abedin was previously married to disgraced former New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner. 

The wedding included a live performance from Boyz II Men, the vocal harmony group behind hits such as 1991’s ‘Motownphilly,’ according to the Times, as well as toasts from Hillary Clinton, Wintour, and the Albanian prime minister. Abedin wore two custom wedding dresses over the course of the day, Vogue reported. 

The wedding’s menu reportedly included cuts of Wagyu beef, grilled prawns and chilled English pea soup. 

Soros popped the question to Abedin in July of last year, sharing the announcement on his Instagram page at the time. 

‘This happened…we couldn’t be happier, more grateful, or more in love,’ Soros wrote in an Instagram post, accompanied by a photo of him on one knee. 

Abedin told Vogue of her engagement: ‘I was shocked, not by the fact that he proposed, but it was the timing that made no sense. It was a very hectic, very chaotic day, and I was leaving for a trip the next day. I went to get my hair colored in the morning [and] I dropped something on my foot, so I was wearing sneakers.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the Open Society Foundations on Sunday morning inquiring if representatives for the couple had any additional comment to include on the wedding, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

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After House Republicans passed reconciliation language banning taxpayer funds from paying for sex change treatments, Democrats began using language to drum up opposition that conservative watchdog group the American Principles Project says is meant ‘to confuse people and make it sound like we’re trying to ban normal healthcare, medically necessary healthcare.’

The House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes provisions that prohibit federal Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding from being spent on ‘gender transition procedures for any age’ in all 50 states. 

In response, Democrats and left-wing groups have begun claiming the GOP’s spending package seeks to eliminate ‘medically-necessary care.’ 

However, according to APP President Terry Schilling, ‘it’s a lie’ and an effort to combat the prevailing notion among Americans that taxpayer funds should not be paying for transgender procedures. 

‘They’re deliberately obfuscating here, and it’s because they don’t have any good arguments,’ Schilling told Fox News Digital. ‘We shouldn’t be paying for any cosmetic sex change procedures with our tax dollars, and that’s what we’re cutting here. 

‘But they’re introducing and now ramping up these highly weaponized and high-powered words to confuse people and make it sound like we’re trying to ban normal healthcare, medically necessary healthcare.’

After Republicans in the House of Representatives passed their version of the GOP spending package last month, the Congressional Equality Caucus complained that ‘Congress should be working to make healthcare more affordable – not banning coverage of medically necessary care.’ 

‘House Republicans changed a previous anti-trans provision so it now cuts off federal Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding for medically-necessary care for ALL transgender people — no matter their age,’ a press release from the pro-trans Human Rights Campaign said after the House passed its spending bill.

According to APP’s Schilling, arguments that Republicans are taking away ‘medically necessary’ healthcare from anyone are ‘just not true.’   

To make his point, APP’s Schilling pointed to one of the left’s frequent sources for transgender medical recommendations, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Schilling pointed out that WPATH’s guidelines and standards explicitly state there is no ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ to treating individuals with gender dysphoria.

‘These are not medically necessary [treatments]. It’s a lie. These are cosmetic,’ Schilling argued. ‘If you look at WPATH, even according to their own standards, transgender-identifying people don’t actually have to medically transition. They say there’s no one size fits all. Well, I’m sorry, but medically necessary means you need it in order to survive. You need it for your health. And they’re saying in their own writings that it’s not medically necessary, that it’s not a one-size-fits-all.’

Schilling added that they’re ‘arguing out of both sides of their mouth.’ 

‘We’re calling out the transgender industry, and we’re trying to stop them from confusing even more people as we pass a very, very good and important bill,’ he said.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Human Rights Campaign argued ‘gender-affirming care’ is considered ‘best practice’ and ‘evidence-based’ by every major medical association in the country, noting that studies have shown it significantly improves mental health outcomes for transgender youth.

‘Healthcare decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors — not the American Principles Project,’ HRC said.

Schilling said he has run numerous polls and focus groups about whether Americans agree with taxpayer funds supporting individuals’ gender transitions, and he told Fox News Digital that the overwhelming sentiment from people across the political spectrum is that they should not.

‘Here’s where Americans are at,’ Schilling said. ‘They want to ban the procedures for anyone under 18. And, anyone over 18, they want you to pay for it yourself. That’s where they’re at, and that’s where [APP is] at, and that’s where Donald Trump is at. That’s where Republicans in the House and Senate are at.’

The Congressional Equality Caucus did not respond to requests for comment on this article. 

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that concerns over national security risks posed by Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel can be resolved if the companies fulfill certain conditions that his administration has laid out, paving the way for the deal’s approval.

Shares of U.S. Steel rose 3.5% on the news in after-the-bell trading as investors bet the deal was close to done. Trump, in an executive order, said conditions for resolving the national security concerns would be laid out in an agreement, without providing details. “I additionally find that the threatened impairment to the national security of the United States arising as a result of the Proposed Transaction can be adequately mitigated if the conditions set forth in section 3 of this order are met,” Trump said in the order, which was released by the White House.

The companies thanked Trump in a news release, saying the agreement includes $11 billion in new investments to be made by 2028 and governance commitments including a golden share to be issued to the U.S. government. They did not detail how much control the golden share would give the U.S. Shares of U.S. Steel had dipped earlier on Friday after a Nippon Steel executive told the Japanese Nikkei newspaper that its planned takeover of U.S. Steel required “a degree of management freedom” to go ahead after Trump earlier had said the U.S. would be in control with a golden share.

The bid, first announced by Nippon Steel in December 2023, has faced opposition from the start. Both Democratic former President Joe Biden and Trump, a Republican, asserted last year that U.S. Steel should remain U.S.-owned, as they sought to woo voters ahead of the presidential election in Pennsylvania, where the company is headquartered.

Biden in January, shortly before leaving office, blocked the deal on national security grounds, prompting lawsuits by the companies, which argued the national security review they received was biased. The Biden White House disputed the charge.

The steel companies saw a new opportunity in the Trump administration, which began on January 20 and opened a fresh 45-day national security review into the proposed merger in April.

But Trump’s public comments, ranging from welcoming a simple “investment” in U.S. Steel by the Japanese firm to floating a minority stake for Nippon Steel, spurred confusion.

At a rally in Pennsylvania on May 30, Trump lauded an agreement between the companies and said Nippon Steel would make a “great partner” for U.S. Steel. But he later told reporters the deal still lacked his final approval, leaving unresolved whether he would allow Nippon Steel to take ownership.

Nippon Steel and the Trump administration asked a U.S. appeals court on June 5 for an eight-day extension of a pause in litigation to give them more time to reach a deal for the Japanese firm. The pause expires Friday, but could be extended.

June 18 is the expiration date of the current acquisition contract between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, but the firms could agree to postpone that date

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Shortly before sunrise in Iran on Friday, Israel launched the first strikes of its operation against the regime’s nuclear program.

That operation, called “Rising Lion,” had two prongs: Heavy airstrikes against at least one of Iran’s enrichment sites, and more targeted strikes in Tehran to decapitate the regime’s military leadership. It aimed to halt what Israel said was Tehran’s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons.

Israel’s attack came after years of threats and days of heightened speculation – but without the United States’ blessing. The Trump administration stressed that Israel acted unilaterally and that Washington was “not involved.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation would continue “for as many days as it takes” to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat. Tehran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful, says it has “no option but to respond.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Where and when did Israel strike?

Shortly after explosions rocked Tehran, Israel also struck elsewhere in the country. Israel’s military said it used jets to strike “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.”

An explosion was reported at Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Tehran.

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed that Natanz had been hit, but said it had not observed an increase in radiation levels in the area.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, said other nuclear facilities in Iran – Isfahan, Bushehr and Fordow – were not impacted. The Fordow site is buried under a mountain, and is considered a much harder target for Israel.

What did Israel say?

In a televised address, Netanyahu said Israel had taken action to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” and said it would continue its operation for as long as it takes “to remove these threats.”

Netanyahu claimed that Iran had in recent years produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine nuclear weapons.

“Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year, it could be within a few months,” he said. “This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s survival.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also said it had destroyed Iran’s ballistic missile launch sites and stockpiles.

Who did Israel kill?

Several of the most important men in Iran’s military and its nuclear program were killed in Israel’s strikes.

Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was the highest-profile of those killed.

Israel also said it killed Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; and Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s air force.

How might Iran hit back?

Iran’s retaliation has already begun. The IDF said Tehran has fired more than 100 drones toward Israel and that Israeli defenses were working to intercept the drones.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian urged the Iranian people to remain unified and trust Iran’s leadership.

“The nation needs unity… more than ever,” he added.

After a series of lethal and embarrassing Israeli blows against the Iranian regime, it is not clear how Tehran might attempt to exact retribution.

Following previous Israeli attacks against Iran and its proxies in the region, Tehran fired back with huge salvos of ballistic missiles.

The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington DC, said this time it was “possible that Israel somehow disrupted Iran’s response by targeting Iran’s ballistic missile launch sites and stockpiles.”

How has the US responded?

The Trump administration – which has been pursuing a diplomatic path with Iran in recent weeks – sought to distance itself from Israel’s attack.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel’s actions were “unilateral.” Although Israel notified the US ahead of its strikes, Rubio said the US was “not involved” in the attack.

“Our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he added. Earlier this week, the US had made efforts to arrange the departure of non-essential personnel from various countries in the Middle East, leading to speculation that an Israeli attack on Iran could be imminent.

US President Donald Trump urged Iran to agree to a new nuclear deal “before there is nothing left,” suggesting that follow-up Israeli attacks on the country would be “even more brutal.”

Trump said he had given Iran “chance after chance” to make a deal. “JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

What happened to the last Iran nuclear deal?

Under a 2015 nuclear deal struck by former US President Barack Obama, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to drastically limit its number of centrifuges and cap uranium enrichment at levels far below those required to make weapons, in exchange for sanctions relief.

But during his first term as president in 2018, Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, saying the “rotten structure” of the agreement was not enough to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. He ramped up sanctions on Iran and threatened to sanction any country that helped the regime to obtain nuclear weapons.

In his second term, Trump has revived efforts to strike a new nuclear deal with Iran. Just hours before Israel’s strikes, the president cautioned Israel against launching an attack while US-Iran talks are ongoing.

“As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in because that would blow it. Might help it, actually, but also could blow it,” Trump said.

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After decades of threats, Israel on Friday launched an audacious attack on Iran, targeting its nuclear sites, scientists and military leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation had “struck at the head of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program.”

But international assessments, including by the US intelligence community, say that Iran’s nuclear program isn’t currently weaponized. Tehran has also repeatedly insisted it isn’t building a bomb.

Still, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t if it chose to.

Iran has spent decades developing its nuclear program and sees it as a source of national pride and sovereignty. It maintains the program is solely for peaceful energy purposes and plans to build additional nuclear power plants to meet domestic energy needs and free up more oil for export.

Nuclear plants require a fuel called uranium – and according to the UN nuclear watchdog, no other country has the kind of uranium that Iran currently does without also having a nuclear weapons program.

That has fueled suspicions that Iran isn’t being fully transparent about its intentions. Tehran has used its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium as a bargaining chip in talks with the United States, repeatedly saying it would get rid of it if US-led sanctions are lifted.

So, what exactly is uranium’s role in a nuclear weapon, and how far is Iran from weaponizing its program? Here’s what you need to know.

When did Iran’s nuclear program start?

The US launched a nuclear program with Iran in 1957. Back then, the Western-friendly monarch – the Shah – ruled Iran and the two countries were still friends.

With backing from the US, Iran started developing its nuclear power program in the 1970s. But the US pulled its support when the Shah was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Since the revolution, which transformed Iran into an Islamic Republic, Western nations have worried the country could use its nuclear program to produce atomic weapons using highly enriched uranium.

Iran has maintained that it does not seek to build nuclear weapons. It is a party to the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), under which it has pledged not to develop a bomb.

Here’s where its nuclear facilities are located.

Why is the program so controversial?

At the heart of the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program is its enrichment of uranium – a process used to produce fuel for power plants that, at higher levels, can also be used to make a nuclear bomb.

In the early 2000s, international inspectors announced that they had found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian plant in Natanz. Iran temporarily halted enrichment, but resumed it in 2006, insisting it was allowed under its agreement with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

It prompted years of international sanctions against Iran.

After years of negotiations, Iran and six world powers in 2015 agreed to a nuclear deal that limited Iran’s nuclear threat in return for lighter sanctions.

The deal required Iran to keep its uranium enrichment levels at no more than 3.67%, down from near 20%, dramatically reduce its uranium stockpile, and phase out its centrifuges, among other measures.

Uranium isn’t bomb-grade until it’s enriched to 90% purity. And nuclear power plants that generate electricity use uranium that is enriched to between 3.5% and 5%.

Does Iran have nuclear weapons?

It’s unclear how close Iran might be to actually building a nuclear bomb, if at all, but it has made significant progress in producing its key ingredient: highly enriched uranium. In recent years, it has sharply reduced the time needed to reach weapons-grade levels – now requiring just about a week to produce enough for one bomb.

In 2018, Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and initiated new sanctions on the regime to cripple its economy.

Tehran in turn said it would stop complying with parts of the agreement, and started increasing uranium enrichment and uranium stockpiles, and using advanced centrifuges.

It removed all of the IAEA equipment previously installed for surveillance and monitoring activities.

The Biden administration then kicked off more than a year of indirect negotiations with Iran aimed at reviving the deal, but those broke down in 2022.

In 2023, the IAEA said uranium particles enriched to 83.7% purity – close to bomb-grade levels – were found at an Iranian nuclear facility. Its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% had also grown to 128.3 kilograms, the highest level then documented.

And last year, the US shortened Iran’s so-called “breakout time” – the amount of time needed to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon – “to one or two weeks.”

An IAEA report sent to member states late last month said Iran’s stock of 60% purity enriched uranium had now grown to 408 kilograms. That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick.

The IAEA has long accused Iran of violating its non-proliferation obligations, but on Thursday – for the first time in almost 20 years – its board passed a resolution officially declaring Iran in breach of those obligations. Iran promised to respond by escalating its nuclear activities.

What exactly is enriched uranium?

Enrichment is a process that increases the amount of uranium-235, a special type of uranium used to power nuclear reactors or, in much higher amounts, to make nuclear weapons.

Natural uranium is mostly uranium‑238 – about 99.3%, which isn’t good for power or bombs. Only about 0.7% is uranium‑235, the part needed to release energy.

For nuclear energy use, that tiny amount of useful uranium-235 needs to be concentrated. To do this, uranium is first turned into a gas, then spun at high speeds in machines called centrifuges. These machines help separate uranium-235 from the more common uranium-238. That is what enrichment is.

Uranium used in nuclear power plants is typically enriched to about 3.67%. To make a nuclear bomb, it needs to be enriched to around 90%. Iran has enriched uranium to 60% – not enough for a bomb, but a major step closer to weapons-grade material.

Centrifuges are essential for enriching uranium. The more advanced the centrifuge, the faster and more efficiently it can separate uranium-235 from uranium-238 – shortening the time needed to produce nuclear fuel or, potentially, weapons-grade material. Iran has spent decades improving its centrifuge technology, starting with its first-generation IR-1 model in the late 1980s. Today, it operates thousands of machines, including advanced models like the IR-6 and IR-9.

According to the Arms Control Association, Iran’s current centrifuge capacity could allow it to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb in less than two weeks.

How has Iran’s nuclear program been hit?

Israel says it’s targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in its attack.

The nuclear complex there, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is considered Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility. Analysts say the site is used to develop and assemble centrifuges for uranium enrichment, a key technology that turns uranium into nuclear fuel.

The IAEA said three nuclear sites, Fordow, Isfahan and Bushehr, had not been impacted.

Six of Iran’s nuclear scientists were also killed in Israel’s strikes, Iranian state-affiliated Tasnim news agency said.

Some facilities are buried deep underground to put them out of reach of Israel’s weapons.

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The Israeli military has warned that “all of Israel is under fire” after Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on Friday, following Israel’s attacks on Iranian military and nuclear targets.

Iran confirmed Friday evening local time that it had fired “hundreds of various ballistic missiles” towards Israel, in what it called the “beginning” of its “crushing response.”

“Moments ago, with the launch of hundreds of various ballistic missiles toward the occupied territories, the operation of decisive response to the savage attack of the Zionist regime has begun,” Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported.

Iranian munitions have fallen on at least one community within Tel Aviv, but no injuries have been reported so far, according to an Israeli police spokesperson.

“A short time ago, the Israel Police received reports of fallen munitions in one of the communities within the Tel Aviv District. At this stage, no injuries have been reported, but property damage has occurred,” the spokesperson said.

“Police officers and bomb disposal experts are currently working to isolate the impact sites,” the spokesperson added.

The Iranian barrage comes after Israel launched a massive two-pronged attack on Iran early Friday morning local time, with strikes aimed at destroying Iranian nuclear sites and decapitating its military leadership in Tehran.

Israel’s attack culminated years of threats and days of heightened speculation – but was executed without the blessing of Israel’s closest ally: the United States. The Trump administration has stressed that Israel acted unilaterally and that Washington was “not involved.”

Iran’s retaliation Friday evening began just as a press briefing with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials was underway.

Effie Defrin, spokesperson for the IDF, was answering questions from journalists when an announcement was played over a speakerphone. The broadcast of the briefing was then cut short.

Defense systems are operating to intercept the missiles, a statement from the Israel Defense Forces read. It has instructed the public to seek shelter.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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