Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump, the president who returned to the White House in January promising to be a “peacemaker”, has taken a dramatic step to insert the US into the fraught conflict between Iran and Israel.

Far from bringing peace to the Middle East since taking office, Trump is now presiding over a region on the precipice of even greater warfare – a fight in which America is an active participant.

Now Trump risks a political blowback. That risk includes domestic political concerns, along with questions of international security.

The prospect of a US attack on Iran had already prompted sharp criticisms not only from Democrats but also from within Trump’s own “America First” movement.

Read my analysis in full here.

More reaction now from Israeli officials – and President Isaac Herzog thanks Trump for his “brave step [which] serves the security and safety of the entire free world”.

He says on X: “In the pages of human history, this is a moment when the principles of liberty, responsibility, and security have triumphed. A decisive moment between the axis of terror and evil and the axis of hope,” he writes.

Israel’s defence minister likewise praises Trump and Netanyahu for the “historic” strikes overnight.

Israel Katz congratulates the US president for taking action “in order to continue the Israeli operation” and ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.

He says the US and Israel’s alliance is stronger than ever.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian, World Service reporter

Bluff. It is a word repeated a lot since I started watching Iran’s
state TV a few hours ago to see their reaction to the US attacks on its nuclear
sites.

A presenter on state TV said Donald Trump is “bluffing” about
destroying Fordo nuclear site, adding that “only two tunnels at the entrance
and exit of Fordo have been damaged”.

Iranian official media began downplaying the attacks early on,
calling them “unverified reports”.

Morteza Heydari, spokesperson for Qom province crisis management,
who had confirmed the attack on “a part” of Fordo, was quick to say afterwards
that the whole province was “entirely calm”.

Iranian outlets also tried to downplay by saying the explosions
were “not that loud”.

At the same time, Iran has limited access to the internet,
citing “enemy cyberattacks” as the reason. This has led to a drop in videos and photos sent to the BBC and
shared on social media, meaning we have to rely more on videos by Iranian
outlets and state media and their narratives.

More reaction has come in from across the US political spectrum on Trump’s decision to strike Iran.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is commending Trump for taking “decisive action” to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.

“Seizing this opportunity is not an escalation toward war – it is a prudent response to the warmongers in Tehran. Iran would be foolish to misunderstand American resolve.”

In contrast, Mark Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says Trump’s decision risks dragging the US into another “open-ended” war that could “cost American lives and resources for years to come”.

The Democrat also urges Trump to go before Congress and explain his objectives and plans to ensure the US is not drawn into an “unnecessary and avoidable conflict”.

Hamas describes the US strikes in Iran as “blatant aggression”.

In a statement, Hamas says the attack is a “flagrant violation of international law and a direct threat to international peace and stability”.

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing about 1,200 people. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in response has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Hamas, a Palestinian armed group and political movement, is designated a terrorist group by many countries including the US, UK and Israel.

More reaction is coming out of Israel, where we’re hearing from the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar.

He says Trump has written his name in gold in the history books thanks to his “courageous decision” to carry out the strikes, according to a translation of his post on X.

He adds that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu led the “historic move”.

We’re now getting some images from the White House showing Donald Trump and other US officials in the Situation Room during the strikes on Iran.

US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his warnings to Iran against any retaliation.

In a post on Truth Social, posted after his address in the White House, Trump wrote:

“ANY RETALIATION BY IRAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT.”

Mark Kimmitt, the US former deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East, has just been speaking with the BBC News channel.

Kimmitt said that while it was clear the US had launched “a substantial hit” on Iran’s nuclear facilities, formal assessments would still be needed to confirm the extent of the damage.

He added that if multiple so-called “bunker-buster” bombs were used on the Fordo nuclear facility, there was a “greater chance than not that the facility is out of action”.

Gary O’Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent

When
Israel hit Iran last Thursday week, Donald Trump’s Secretary of State and
National Security Adviser, Marco Rubio, immediately distanced the US from the
action, calling it “unilateral” on Israel’s part.

Fast
forward to now, and America is a combatant.

The
president hopes this is a ‘one and done’ action, as Americans like to put it,
but the one thing that is out of his hands is how Iran responds.

He
is urging Iran to make peace – warning that future attacks would be “far worse
and a lot easier”.

Does
that mean he’s prepared to go as far as regime change? That would certainly be
counter to his promise to avoid taking the US into foreign wars and could cause
a significant domestic backlash among many of his supporters.

US
presidents often come into office vowing to focus on their agenda at home – and
many have ended up getting drawn into international hotspots and wars. Is the
same happening to the most isolationist president in living memory?

Jake Kwon
North America Correspondent

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is likely patting himself on the
back today.

President Trump in his first term mulled bombing North Korea’s
nuclear sites after the country tested missiles that can reach the continental
US. Ultimately Washington chose diplomacy over military strikes.

It was understood that the US couldn’t risk attacking a country
who had already demonstrated it had working nuclear bombs.

Iran gave up its enriched uranium after the 2015 deal with the US
and Europe. Trump’s spy chief Tulsi Gabbard said in March that Iran was not
building nuclear weapons.

After today’s strike, future adversaries of the US may believe
that North Korea calculated correctly.

The UN has also issued its response to the strikes.

Calling it a “dangerous escalation”, the UN Secretary General António Guterres says there is now a “growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world”.

He adds in the post on X: “At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace.”

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian, World Service reporter

We’re just getting some more reaction from Iran following the US strikes.

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) condemns America’s “savage assault” on three
Iranian nuclear sites.

The organisation also criticises the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) for being “indifferent and even complicit”.

The AEOI called on the global community to “condemn the attacks
and support Iran’s rightful position”.

The organisation says that “despite the malicious plans of the
enemies”, scientists and experts will “keep the country’s nuclear industry
moving forward”.

The organisation will be taking “necessary” steps which will
include “legal actions” following the attacks, the statement said.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC

Trump’s message to the Iranian regime was short, simple and direct: come to the negotiating table, or more strikes will come.

“If they do not, future attacks will be far greater,” he said. “And a lot easier.”

In the lead-up to the attacks, Trump had repeatedly – at least publicly – left room for negotiations to continue.

Now, he continues to leave the path open, but with the threat of further American strikes looming over Iran’s leadership.

“There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” he said.

Notably, Trump did not explicitly mention the possibility of regime change in Tehran. Instead, he made it clear the US considers the operation largely over. But if – and only if – Iran comes to the table.

The US has moved considerable military assets to the region, which suggests, as Trump noted, that the US is ready to move extremely quickly if the president so chooses.

Trump says thousands were killed by Iran’s former military commander Qasem Soleimani.

“I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen, it will not continue.”

He also congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they worked as a “team” to erase this “horrible threat to Israel”.

Trump remarks lasted for about four minutes.

“There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater that we have witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump warns.

“Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal.

“But if peace doesn’t come quickly we will go to those other targets with precision, speed and skill,” the US president says.

Trump confirms the US struck Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan a short while ago.

“Everyone heard those names for years as they built this horrible destructive enterprise,” he says.

“Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.”

He goes on to say “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated”.

Iran “must now make peace,” says US President Donald Trump.

“If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier,” he says.

Donald Trump has started his address. Follow more for the latest updates.

Donald Trump is set to make a televised address any moment now after earlier using social media to announce the US strikes on Iran.

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