THE United States joined Israel’s war on Iran early today by dropping 30,000-pound bombs on an uranium enrichment site buried under a mountain, in a bid to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

The wanton act of aggression prompted fears of a wider regional conflict as Iran lashed out at the United States for crossing “a very big red line.”

The US also fired dozens of missiles and President Donald Trump claimed in a televised address from the White House that the combination of strikes had “completely and fully obliterated” three nuclear sites. However, US military officials said an assessment of the damage was continuing.

Hours later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the time for diplomacy had passed and that his country had the right to defend itself. Mr Araghchi said he would immediately fly to Moscow to co-ordinate positions with its ally, Russia.

“The warmongering and lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,” he told reporters in Turkey. “They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities.”

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran confirmed that attacks had taken place on the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities as well as its Isfahan nuclear site, but it insisted that its nuclear programme would not be stopped. Both Iran and the United Nations nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the three locations following the strikes.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration does not “seek war” and that the operation would not be “open-ended,” though the president had earlier threatened additional strikes if Iran retaliated against US forces.

“There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,” said Mr Trump, who acted without congressional approval.

Hours after the strikes, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had launched a barrage of 40 missiles at Israel, including its Khorramshahr-4, which can carry multiple warheads.

Israeli authorities reported that more than 80 people had suffered mostly minor injuries, though one multi-storey building in Tel Aviv was badly damaged, with its entire facade torn away.

Following the Iranian barrage, Israel’s military said it had “swiftly neutralised” the Iranian missile launchers that had fired and that it had begun a series of strikes on military targets in western Iran.

Iran has always maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only and US intelligence agencies have assessed that is not actively pursuing a bomb.

But US and Israeli officials have said the 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb offered the best chance of destroying sites buried deep underground — and the US is the only military that has both the munitions and the planes to drop them.