On Saturday, President Donald Trump ordered US forces to attack nuclear sites in Iran. The move added to Israel’s continuing war with Iran. Yesterday, Iran struck back, hitting a US military base in Qatar. Despite concerns that the conflict could grow, a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced yesterday evening.
On June 13, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran. The attack hit Iran’s nuclear sites as well as other important military targets. Israel claimed the attack was needed to keep Iran from building nuclear weapons. The US said it wasn’t involved in Israel’s attack.
Iran’s Nuclear Technology
For years Western countries have been worried that Iran is working to build nuclear weapons. Iran claims its plans are peaceful and that it only wants nuclear technology to produce power. But there have also been many signs that Iran is secretly working to create nuclear weapons.
Iran responded to Israel’s attack with attacks of its own on Israel. Over the last week, the fighting has increased, raising concerns that the conflict could grow, and perhaps even involve other countries.
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On June 13, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, hitting Iran’s nuclear sites as well as other important military targets. Iran responded with attacks of its own on Israel. Over the last week, the fighting has increased. Above, smoke rises near Iran’s capital, Tehran after being hit by an Israeli missile yesterday.
The US government had been saying that it was still interested in talking with Iran to try to settle disagreements over nuclear technology.
But last Saturday, Mr. Trump announced that he had ordered US forces to attack three nuclear sites in Iran: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. Some of the sites, like Fordo, are buried deep underground. So the US used powerful bombs which drive deep into the ground before exploding.
Mr. Trump said that the US bombing attack was “very successful”, and he suggested that Iran’s nuclear program was ruined. Many experts say it’s too early to know how much damage was done to the sites. Satellite images suggest that some of the sites may be damaged, but not destroyed.
(Source: US Department of Defense.)
China and Russia both condemned the attacks. The attacks were met with cautious support by most US allies, who were concerned that the conflict could grow.
US politicians were split. Many Republicans – but not all – supported Mr. Trump’s actions. Other politicians criticized the move, pointing out that it’s the US Congress, and not the president, that has the right to declare war.
Iran had promised that it would respond to any attacks on its territory. Yesterday, in response to the US attacks, Iran launched an attack on Al Udeid, a large US military base in Qatar. The base, which is home to roughly 10,000 soldiers, is used by several countries, including the US and Qatar.
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On Monday, in response to the US attacks, Iran launched an attack on Al Udeid, a large US military base in Qatar. Iran’s attack did very little damage, which appeared to be on purpose. Above, the lights seen in the sky are from weapons blocking Iran’s missiles.
Iran’s attack did very little damage and injured no one. That appeared to be on purpose. Iran warned Qatar of the attack ahead of time. Iran’s government pointed out that the number of missiles it used was designed to match the number of bombs the US used on Saturday. The limited attack may have been a sign that Iran did not want things to grow more serious.
Mr. Trump had promised to hit Iran harder if Iran struck back after the US attack. But following yesterday’s attack, Mr. Trump said he hoped Iran would “proceed to peace”.
Late yesterday afternoon, Mr. Trump announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran. He said the ceasefire would happen in stages over the next 24 hours. At the time, Israel and Iran were still attacking each other, and had not yet confirmed the ceasefire.