US officials warned Tehran not to retaliate and stressed that Washington is not out for regime change after the United States entered the conflict between Israel and Iran with unprecedented air strikes that President Donald Trump claimed "obliterated" key Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran turned a cold shoulder to urgent calls from for a return to negotiations, stressing its right to self-defense, saying the United States would be responsible for the "dangerous consequences" of its actions, and suggesting that diplomacy can only come after Tehran responds.
Israel and Iran traded new missile attacks early on June 22, in the hours after the US strikes, and Iran's foreign minister said Tehran "reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people" following what he described as an "outrageous" step by the United States.
The UN chief cautioned of a "growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control" as fears of a wider war grew following the US bombings overnight.
Antonio Guterres was speaking at an emergency session of the UN Security Council, adding that "the people of the region cannot endure another cycle of destruction.
Russia, China, and Pakistan proposed that the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an unconditional cease-fire in the Middle East, but it was not clear if it would be put to a vote.
Several world leaders urged a renewal of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, with some in the West stressing that Iran must not acquire atomic weapons.
At a press conference at the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the strikes a "precision operation" aimed only at Iran's nuclear program, not Iranian troops or the Iranian people. "This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change," he added.
Trump "seeks peace, and Iran should take that path," Hegseth said, later adding: "There needs to be a negotiated settlement here."
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Iran Hits Israel After US Bombs Its Nuclear Sites
"We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it's already been built out. We want to end their nuclear program," US Vice President JD Vance said on NBC television. "We want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here."
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi rejected calls for talks for now, saying that the United States "crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities" and that the Trump administration "is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression.”
The “door to diplomacy” should always be open, Araqchi told a press conference in Istanbul, but "this is not the case right now." Iran is under attack and will exercise its right to self-defense for as long as is necessary, he added, but said he could not reveal what actions Iran would take in response to the US strikes.
Iranian state media later reported that Araqchi had arrived in Moscow to hold consultations with senior leaders. Araqchi said he planned to meet on June 23 with President Vladimir Putin, whose recent offer to help mediate negotiations with Tehran was effectively rejected by Trump. "Russia is our partner and we always consult," Araqchi said prior to his arrival.
The Americans "must receive response to their aggression," Iranian news agencies quoted President Masud Pezeshkian as saying in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tehran not to retaliate, saying on Fox News that doing so would be "the worst mistake they've ever made."
The "Iranian regime should wake up and say: 'OK, if we really want nuclear energy in our country -- there is a way to do it.' That offer is still there. We prepared to talk to them tomorrow and start working on that," Rubio, who is also the acting White House national security adviser, told US network CBS.
SEE ALSO: Analysis: Do US Strikes On Iran Set Back Russia’s Ambitions, Or Can Putin Play Them To His Advantage?Trump announced what he called a "spectacular military success," saying US bombers hit nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in a joint effort with Israel to destroy Iran’s nuclear program after diplomacy failed to get Tehran to return to the negotiating table.
"Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise," Trump said in an address to the nation from the White House. The strikes occurred early on June 22 local time in Iran, but it was still June 21 in Washington when Trump spokes.
"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."
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Trump Calls US Strikes On Iran Nuclear Facilities ‘Spectacular Military Success’
Trump, who just two days ago had said he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join Israel in its effort to destroy Iranian nuclear sites, claimed the strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities.
SEE ALSO: Iran, Israel, And The High-Stakes Gamble Of Intervention"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," Trump said, speaking with Vance, Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing directly behind him. Iran's future holds "either peace or tragedy," he said.
'Everlasting Consequences'
In a post on X hours before he spoke in Istanbul, Araqchi called the attacks "outrageous" and warned that they "will have everlasting consequences."
"Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior," he said, adding that Iran "reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."
There were no immediate reports of any Iranian strikes targeting US interests in the Middle East or elsewhere, but Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had launched 40 missiles targeting Israel on the morning of June 22, including one of Tehran's biggest ballistic missiles, the Khorramshahr-4.
The Israeli Health Ministry said more than 80 people had been wounded in Iranian strikes overnight, more than 70 of them sustaining light injuries.
The Israeli military said it carried out strikes on military facilities in several cities across Iran on June 22, including attacks targeting a strategic missile command center in Yazd province and missile launchers in Ahvaz, Bushehr, and Isfahan.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said he was convening an emergency meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on June 23 "in light of the urgent situation in Iran."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had joined the European Union, France, and Germany last week in seeking to find a diplomatic solution in talks with Iran, urged Tehran to return to negotiations.
“Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the U.S. has taken action to alleviate that threat," Starmer said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said that "Iran must never acquire the bomb."
"Now is the moment for Iran to engage in a credible diplomatic solution," she said. "The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the "bold" US strikes, calling the attack a historic moment that could lead the Middle East to peace.
"Congratulations President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history," Netanyahu said in a video address.
"President Trump and I often say, peace through strength. First comes strength, then comes peace," Netanyahu said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow "strongly condemns" the US bombings, which it said were "irresponsible" and a "gross violation of international law."
"It is already clear that a dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security," it said in a statement.
Arab states in the Middle East stressed the need to to avoid further escalation, with some condemning the US strikes and others stopping short of doing so. There are US bases in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
The IRGC said that US forces "have de facto put themselves in direct danger" by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, the Fars news agency reported.
In the United States, Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina) welcomed the attacks.
“This was the right call. The regime deserves it. Well done, President Trump,” Graham posted on X.
Still, the decision to strike Iran was politically risky for Trump, who won the White House last year on the promise of keeping America out of foreign conflicts. Some members of his Make American Great Again coalition had urged Trump not to directly in involve the US military in attacks on Iran.
'Fordow is gone'
Describing the US operation, Caine told the Pentagon press conference it involved 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft,
The central element consisted of seven B-2 Spirit bombers -- capable of carrying the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker-busters -- that flew 18 hours from the US mainland, repeatedly refueling in the air on the way.
"Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise," Caine said.
SEE ALSO: Iran's Fordow Nuclear Facility: A Target Too Deep For Israeli Weapons AloneUS and Israeli officials had previously said that the United States was the only country that had the capacity to carry out a strike on Iranian nuclear sites buried deep underground.
After the attack was carried out, Trump claimed in a social media post reposted on X by Open Source Intel that "Fordow is gone."
At the press conference at the Pentagon on June 22, Hegseth repeated Trump's wording, saying that Iran's "nuclear ambitions have been obliterated."
The initial US assessment is that "all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, said at a press conference with Hegseth.
Particularly at Fordow, Hegseth said, "We believe we achieved the destruction of capabilities."
Israeli military spokeswoman Effie Defrin, however, told reporters it was "too soon" to determine whether Iran had removed enriched uranium from Fordow or if it had been buried under the rubble.
On CBS, Rubio said that "no one will know for days" whether Iran had oved some of its nuclear materials before the strikes.
A comparison of satellite images of the Fordow site from before and after the strikes, obtained by RFE/RL, showed smoke rising from the area and apparent damage to the surface as well as what might have been shafts or entryways in the images from June 22
Before And After: The Iranian Nuclear Sites Targeted By US Airstrikes
Downplaying the strikes, Iranian state TV said nuclear material had been removed from the three sites before they were struck.
Mehdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said Iran had been anticipating attacks on Fordow for several nights.
"The site has been evacuated for a long time and has not suffered irreversible damage in the attack. Two things are certain: first, knowledge is not bombarded, and second, the gambler will lose this time," Mohammadi said on X.
Iran's atomic energy organization confirmed that the country's nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were attacked "by the enemies." It said the attacks were "barbaric" and violates international law, adding that it will not allow its "national industry" to be stopped.
Iran's nuclear regulatory authority said there was no danger to residents living around the targeted nuclear sites, and Saudi Arabia's regulator said no radioactive traces had been detected in the kingdom or in the Arab Gulf states as a result of the strikes.
Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched an aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is not seeking an atomic bomb.