WASHINGTON: ( The COW News Digital )–United States (US) President Donald Trump held a press conference following an attack on Iran’s three main nuclear sites, including Fardow, Natanz and Esfanhan, early on Sunday.
Flanked by the US Vice-President JD Vance on his left, with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on his right, the Republican declared Iran “bully of the Middle East”.
The US President justified the US attack on a sovereign state, describing it as a necessary response to the ongoing ‘threats’ from the Iranian regime.
Trump said that Iran had been a persistent adversary, “Iran has been saying “death to America” for 40 years”. He went on to thank the US military for their ‘efforts’, referring to the “brilliant military minds” that made today’s attack possible.
The US President noted that strikes on the three Iranian nuclear facilities were “the most difficult of them all”. He reiterated that the US cannot allow Iran’s ‘actions’ to continue unchecked.
Throughout the press conference, while Trump maintained a firm stance on the need for Iran for denuclearise, he also hinted at a desire to avoid further conflict in the region by stating that “this cannot continue”.
Earlier, in a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump warned Iran to “stop immediately”, or face further consequences; “otherwise, they will get hit again”, he threatened.
The Republican expressed confidence that Iran would not retaliate following the US strikes.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation reported that the US strike had only damaged internal and external tunnels at the Fordow nuclear site, indicating limited impact on their nuclear capabilities.
According to the White House officials, Trump also spoke with the Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the attacks.
The military action has drawn criticism from several US lawmakers. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has been advocating for legislative measures to limit Trump’s ability to engage in military action against Iran without congressional approval, stated “these attacks are a violation of the US Constitution”.
He stated that the US constitution granted Congress the authority to make decisions related to war.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a long-time Democrat, also condemned the strikes, asserting the Trump did not possess the authority to unilaterally decide on matters of war. He stressed that such powers lie with the US Congress.
