President Trump addresses the nation, alongside Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from the White House on Saturday, following the announcement that the U.S. bombed nuclear sites in Iran.
Carlos Barria/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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Carlos Barria/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The Pentagon will provide a briefing on the U.S. airstrikes on Iran Sunday morning, after President Trump took direct action for the first time in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Trump declared the strikes on three separate nuclear sites a “spectacular military success.”
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” he said in an address from the White House Saturday night. “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”
Gen. Dan Cain, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are scheduled to hold their press conference at 8 a.m. ET.
Republican congressional leaders praised the president’s actions, while Democratic leaders said the president violated the Constitution by not seeking congressional authorization and put American servicemembers and other personnel abroad at risk.
A U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that senior Democratic leadership was notified of the strike right before Trump’s social media post. The Army Ops Center notified senior Army leaders around the same time. It is unclear when senior Republican leadership was informed, though sources familiar with the communications told NPR that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did get a heads up.
“The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement,” Johnson said in a statement Saturday night. “President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., noted that Trump has repeatedly vowed to end foreign wars but said that his actions in Iran risk starting a new one.
“The American people deserve more than vague rhetoric and unilateral decisions that could set off a wider war,” Warner said in a statement. “The president must come before Congress immediately to articulate clear strategic objectives and lay out how he plans to protect American lives and ensure we are not once again drawn into a costly, unnecessary, and avoidable conflict.”
In his announcement of the airstrikes on his Truth Social platform, Trump also declared, “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” and threated Iran against any retaliation.
