President Trump on Saturday declared U.S. strikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities were a “spectacular military success,” but warned in an address to the nation that he could order further action if Tehran does not agree to a satisfactory peace agreement.
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” Trump said in remarks from the Cross Hall at the White House. “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.”
The president had announced hours earlier on Truth Social that the U.S. had bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. In his remarks on Saturday night, Trump said those facilities “have been completely and totally obliterated.”
Trump, who was joined by Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his remarks, warned that Saturday’s strikes could be the first in a wave of actions against Iran, which has been locked in conflict with Israel for nearly two weeks.
Trump delivered his address from the doorway of the East Room, with the grand foyer in the background, the same place former President Obama delivered his address to the nation announcing the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
In a Truth Social post shortly after his on-camera remarks, Trump warned that any retaliation from Iran would be met with “force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.”
“This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump said. “Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.”
The president did not offer specifics on what an acceptable peace agreement with Iran would look like, or how negotiations might proceed in the wake of the U.S. strikes. He has previously said Iran cannot be allowed to achieve a nuclear weapon, and that Tehran cannot be allowed to enrich uranium as part of any deal.
Fox News and The New York Times reported the U.S. dropped six “bunker-buster” bombs on the Fordow nuclear facility, which is buried deep in a mountain. Trump said Hegseth and other top Pentagon officials would address the public on Sunday morning.
Trump spoke after the U.S. attack with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president said in Saturday’s address that the U.S. and Israel “worked as a team.”
The White House released photos of Trump in the Situation Room during Saturday’s operation. Others in the room included Vance, Rubio, Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.
Trump had indicated as recently as Friday that he was willing to give Iran two weeks before taking direct action, a signal he was holding out for a diplomatic solution.
Saturday’s strikes raised immediate questions about the extent of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East and about Trump’s authority to order the bombings without congressional approval.
While most Republicans expressed support for Trump’s actions against Iran, some suggested he was beyond his constitutional authority.
“This is not Constitutional,” Rep. Thomas Mblockie (R-Ky.) posted on X.
“While President Trump’s decision may prove just, it’s hard to conceive a rationale that’s Constitutional,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) posted ahead of Trump’s remarks.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about those criticisms.
Updated: 10:40 p.m. ET
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