*Tehran Insists Reserves ‘All Options’ To Defend Itself
*Pope Leo XIV: ‘Humanity Cries Out, Pleads For Peace’
WORLD leaders have continued to react to the developing the bombing of Iran’s nuclear programme sites by the United States (US) on Sunday morning, June 22.
US President, Donald Trump, had on Sunday morning announced that he had “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites in strikes overnight with massive bunker busting bombs, joining an Israeli assault in a significant new escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Tehran, in reaction, vowed to defend itself, and indeed, responded with a volley of missiles at Israel, wounding scores of people and destroyed buildings in its commercial hub, Tel Aviv.
But, perhaps in an effort to avert all-out war with the superpower, Iran had yet to follow through on its main threats of retaliation, which is to target US bases or choke off the quarter of the world’s oil shipments that pass through its waters.
In his reaction, UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, saying the US took action to “alleviate” what he called the “grave threat” posed by Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a statement, he called on Tehran to agree to talks and reach a diplomatic solution.
United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said the US air strikes were a dangerous escalation, while European Union (EU) Foreign Policy chief, Kaja Kallas, urged all sides to step back and return to the negotiating table.
Saudi Arabia has voiced “great concern,” while Oman condemned the strikes and called for de-escalation.
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said he had spoken to Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, and called for “dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward.”
Russian politician, Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said: “Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war for the US.
“With this kind of success, Trump won’t win the Nobel Peace Prize.”
On his part, Pope Leo XIV appealled for an end to the tragedy of war, especially in the Middle East, recalling that war only amplifies problems and creates deep wounds without providing lasting solutions.
“Alarming news continues to arrive from the Middle East, especially from Iran,” he said on Sunday at the Angelus address.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine,” continued the Pope, “the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, even as the need for adequate humanitarian aid becomes ever more urgent.
“Today, more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace,” he said.
The pontiff said the cry for peace “demands responsibility and reason and must not be drowned out by the roar of weapons or by rhetorical words that incite conflict.”
He urged every member of the international community to take up their moral responsibility to “stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”
Saying that when human dignity is at stake, no conflict is distant, Pope Leo noted that “war does not solve problems,” adding: “On the contrary, it amplifies them and causes deep wounds in the history of peoples, wounds that take generations to heal.
“No military victory can ever compensate for a mother’s pain, a child’s fear or a stolen future.”
In conclusion, Pope Leo expressed his hope for the din of arms to fall silent, stating: “Let diplomacy silence the weapons! Let nations shape their future with works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflicts!”
Trump, in a televised address to the American people, called the strikes a “spectacular military success” and warned Tehran against retaliation, saying it would face more devastating attacks if it did not agree to peace.
Iran, which has responded to Israel’s sudden blitz on its nuclear and military apparatus since June 13 with missile fire on Israeli cities, called the US attack a grave violation of international law that would have “everlasting consequences.”
“Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests and people,” Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, wrote in a social media post, noting that the Israeli and US attacks on Iran came despite ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran.
The US strikes, with bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles, push the Middle East to the brink of a major new conflagration in a region already aflame for more than 20 months with wars in Gaza and Lebanon and a toppled dictator in Syria.
Israel has long said its aim was to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme. But only the US possesses the massive 30,000-pound bombs, and the huge batwing B2 bombers that drop them, designed to destroy targets like Iran’s most sensitive uranium enrichment plan at Fordow built beneath a mountain.
During the past nine days of war, Israel killed much of Iran’s military leadership and spoke of pressing on until it topples the Islamic Republic’s clerical rulers.
Trump had veered between offering to end the war with diplomacy or to join it, at one point musing publicly about killing Iran’s supreme leader. His decision ultimately to join the fight is the biggest foreign policy gamble of his career.
Still, he held out the prospect of averting a wider conflict if Iran accedes to demands. Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy” and “if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets,” he said. CBS News reported that Washington had contacted Tehran to say it did not aim for regime change.
Speaking in Istanbul, Araqchi said Tehran was weighing its options for retaliation and would consider diplomacy only after carrying out its response.
“The US showed they have no respect for international law. They only understand the language of threat and force,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, congratulated Trump on a “bold decision.” Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, also praised Trump, saying the world was now a safer place.
Iranians contacted by Reuters described their fear at the prospect of an enlarged war involving the US. “Our future is dark. We have nowhere to go, it’s like living in a horror movie,” Bita, 36, a teacher from the central city of Kashan, said before the phone line was cut.
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said they had fired 40 missiles at Israel overnight and, warning of more to come, adding that they had not yet made the main part of their capabilities operational.
Air raid sirens sounded across most of Israel, sending millions of people to safe rooms and bomb shelters as explosions rang out and missile interceptions were seen above Jerusalem and in other parts of the country.
In Tel Aviv, Aviad Chernovsky, 40, emerged from a bomb shelter to find his house had been destroyed in a direct hit. “It’s not easy to live now in Israel (right now), but we are very strong. We know that we will win,” he said.
Satellite images of the mountainous area covering the subterranean Fordow uranium enrichment plant obtained by Reuters appear to show some damage after the US strikes, and possible damage to nearby entryways.
It was largely impossible to assess the extent of the damage inside Iran on Sunday morning. Communication both within Iran and with the outside world has been sharply curtailed in recent days, with Internet access shut.
Iran said hundreds of people have been killed in Israeli bombing, most of them civilians. Iranian state media, which broadcast vivid footage of damage to civilian targets in the first days of Israeli bombardment, have stopped showing regular images of damage.
Much of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, has emptied out, with residents fleeing into the countryside as Israel pounded the capital.
Gulf Arab states, which have in recent years tried to cool long-time rivalries with Iran and fear their crucial energy exports could be targeted in any expanded conflict, expressed concern at the escalation.
Trump’s decision is the biggest foreign policy gamble of his two presidencies, and he was flanked during the announcement by Vice President, JD Vance; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
He said US bombing had taken out Iran’s three principal nuclear sites- Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow- which are involved in production or storage of enriched uranium, a material used as fuel for power plants, but also to make atomic warheads.
The United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the US strikes, and IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, announced an emergency meeting of its 35-nation Board of Governors for Monday, June 23.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack and the number of nuclear personnel there had been reduced to a minimum.
Mohammad Manan Raisi, a member of parliament for Qom, near Fordow, told the semi-official Fars news agency the facility had not been seriously damaged, without elaborating.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said it would not allow development of its “national industry” to be stopped.
Iran has always insisted that its nuclear programme is peaceful, and that it has a sovereign right to pursue it under the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But Western countries have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, and the IAEA concluded this month that Iran had violated its treaty obligations.
Araqchi would not rule out Iran withdrawing from the NPT.
Fordow, a uranium enrichment plant, hidden away in a mountainside south of Tehran, is believed to be deeper underground than the Channel Tunnel connecting the United Kingdom (UK) and France.
Due to its depth below ground, only the US has the kind of “bunker buster” bomb big enough to penetrate the site, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
MOP weighs 13,000kg (30,000lb) and is able to drop through about 18m (60ft) of concrete or 61m (200ft) of earth before exploding, according to experts.
Due to the depths of Fordow’s tunnels, the MOP is not guaranteed to be successful, but it is the only bomb that could come close.
Situated about 60 miles (96km) south of the capital, Tehran, Fordow is located in a mountainous region close to the city of Qom and built deep within northern Iran’s rugged, remote mountains.
Designed to withstand air strikes, its underground location shields it from conventional bombs. The complex at Fordow was originally a series of tunnels used by the country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but Iran acknowledged the existence of the enrichment plant in 2009 after it was revealed by Western intelligence agencies.
Two other key nuclear sites- Natanz and Isfahan- were also hit.
The B-2’s range is about 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 kilometres), according to the US Air Force. With aerial refuelling, the bomber, with low observability, can reach virtually any target worldwide.
The aircraft can carry a diverse array of conventional and nuclear weapons. Two US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers fly with a pair of RAAF F-35A Lightning II fighters.
The bombers can host a crew of two, a pilot in the left seat and a mission commander in the right, the Air Force said on its website.
Only 21 B-2s were made after the Pentagon’s planned acquisition programme was truncated, according to Reuters.
They are considered one of America’s most advanced strategic weapons platforms, capable of entering sophisticated air defences and delivering precision strikes against targets like Fordow.
The B-2’s stealth technology incorporates radar-absorbing materials and angular design features that minimise detection by enemy air defence systems, according to Reuters.
The bomber’s radar cross-section is reportedly comparable to that of a small bird, making it nearly invisible to conventional radar.
The B-2’s composite materials, special coatings and wing design all contribute to its “stealthiness,” the US Air Force added.
B-2 bombers operate out of a US Air Force base in Missouri.
The B-2 internal weapons bay is reportedly specifically designed to maintain stealth characteristics while accommodating large ordnance loads, which could include two GBU-57 MOP.
“While each B-2 can carry two GBU-57/Bs, such an attack would require redundancy since the weapons would have to function and be delivered perfectly to get down into the facility, and explode at the right depth to cause critical damage,” Justin Bronk, an air power specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, told ABC NEWS Verify.
