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illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on POLITICO or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: Yesterday, June 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces bombed three Iranian nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan — labelling the operation a “spectacular military success” and declaring Iran’s key enrichment facilities “completely and totally obliterated”
• The strikes, executed using B‑2 stealth bombers dropping Massive Ordnance Penetrator “bunker buster” bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles, signal a direct U.S. military escalation into the Israel‑Iran war
🔭 The context: The U.S. intervention follows weeks of Israeli airstrikes and failed diplomacy, including a June 13 Israeli operation targeting Iranian nuclear and missile infrastructure
• Trump had previously promised to wait two weeks for diplomatic progress before deciding on military action
• The timing and scale mark the largest direct U.S. attack on Iranian territory since the 1979 hostage crisis
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: These strikes significantly degrade Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity, but risk triggering retaliatory strikes or a wider regional conflict
• The use of bunker‑buster bombs on fortified underground facilities like Fordow also raises concerns about radioactive release and nuclear safety
• Moreover, growing geopolitical tensions threaten global oil markets and complicate international diplomacy efforts on nuclear proliferation
⏭️ What's next: The world awaits Iran’s response — missile or proxy attacks targeting U.S. personnel, Israel, or Gulf allies
• The U.N. Security Council is expected to convene for an emergency session amid calls for de-escalation
• Domestically in the U.S., litigation and congressional scrutiny loom over Trump’s decision, amid divided opinions over its constitutionality and alignment with his “America First” rhetoric
💬 One quote: Iran’s Foreign Minister denounced the strikes as an “outrageous… reckless violation of the UN Charter and international law”
📈 One stat: U.S. forces deployed included six GBU‑57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs dropped by B‑2 bombers on Fordow, plus two MOPs on Natanz and 30 Tomahawk missiles at Natanz and Esfahan — the first-ever combat use of MOPs
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