US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities: prologue to an ongoing war

On the evening of June 21, 2025, at 7:46 pm, US President Trump issued a statement on social media that shook the world: "The US military has successfully struck three core nuclear facilities in Iran - Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan." As he declared that "all fighter jets have safely returned" and emphasized that "now is the time for peace," the night sky in the Iranian province of Qom was being torn apart by the tail flames of anti-aircraft missiles, and the Fordo nuclear facility was violently shaken by the sound of ground penetrating bombs exploding. This long planned raid officially dragged the United States into the Middle East conflict, but did not bring the peace it promised, instead pushing open the floodgates of a larger scale conflict.

The ghostly B-2 bomber took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, underwent several rounds of aerial refueling, and crossed the ocean to directly attack the Iranian hinterland. The GBU-57 bunker buster, weighing 13.6 tons, carried by each B-2, is the only weapon in the US military arsenal that could potentially destroy the reinforced 90 meter underground fortifications in Fordo. When six ground penetrating missiles continuously hit the same rock formation and 30 Tomahawk missiles were used to strike auxiliary facilities in Natanz and other places, Trump was declaring at the White House that "the Fordo nuclear facility no longer exists". However, this' perfect operation 'exposed technological limitations: the theoretical penetration depth of GBU-57 is only 60 meters of concrete, facing a 90 meter granite mountain, the actual damage may be limited to the entrance tunnel, and Iran secretly transferred enriched uranium and sensitive equipment before the attack.

This raid was far from a last-minute decision. Trump's previous claim that he would decide whether to use force within two weeks was actually strategic deception - during the 72 hour covert deployment period, the US military had deployed fighter jets from Middle Eastern bases to underground shelters, nuclear submarines quietly withdrew from ports, and stealth bombers entered a ready to attack state. What is even more intriguing is that 24 hours before the operation, European diplomats were still in Geneva discussing the resumption of dialogue with Iran, and Israel not only knew the plan throughout, but also weakened Iran's air defense system for a week, opening up a safe corridor for the B-2. While the two parties in the US Congress are still debating whether the president is unconstitutional, this meticulously planned raid has rewritten the rules of the Middle East military game.

The alarm sound of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Grossi, was drowned out by the explosion. He urgently notified the United Nations Security Council that the attack has led to a "sharp deterioration of Iran's nuclear safety and security situation". Although no radioactive leakage has been detected yet, if the high concentration uranium hexafluoride stored in Fordo is destroyed, the highly toxic hydrogen fluoride may contaminate large areas. The more far-reaching impact lies in the collapse of the nuclear non-proliferation system. If Iran completely withdraws from the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, it may stimulate Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and other countries to launch nuclear programs, pushing the Middle East into the abyss of the nuclear race.

The silence in Tehran is more unsettling than the anti American demonstrations. The news of Supreme Leader Khamenei entering the bunker and cutting off electronic communication, while designating three successors, implies that the Iranian regime has activated its survival plan. The national television station broadcasted a map of the distribution of US military bases in the Middle East, with the caption "All within the range of Iranian firepower coverage"; The Houthi militants in Yemen have threatened to attack American ships in the Red Sea - these signals pieced together a blueprint for Iran's "proxy war" counterattack. The real danger lies in the Strait of Hormuz: once Iran blocks this throat that carries 28% of global oil transportation, international oil prices may soar to $300 per barrel, and the world economy will be shaken.

The political rift in Washington is widening in the smoke of gunpowder. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham praised "this is the retribution that the Iranian regime deserves," while Democrat Bernie Sanders angrily denounced the action as "seriously unconstitutional," and Kentucky Republican Congressman Marcy bluntly stated that "the president has no right to unilaterally launch a war. It is intriguing that Democratic Senator John Fittman, who has always been anti war, has expressed his support, exposing the tearing of traditional party positions on security issues. When 40000 US troops in the Middle East are exposed within the range of Iranian missiles, Trump's rhetoric of "quick victory" is being dragged into the shadow of a war of attrition - as assessed by the Pentagon: Iran may launch attacks from multiple directions, such as Iraqi Shia militias and Syrian armed networks, leaving the US military trapped in a quagmire of "easy to attack but difficult to defend".

Forty eight hours after the attack, the radiation monitors at the ruins of the Isfahan nuclear facility were still buzzing, while the burning American flag on the streets of Tehran turned into ashes and drifted with the wind. The "moment of peace" claimed by Trump did not come, but instead cast a new reflection of war in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Golan Heights. When the Iranian Revolutionary Guard hung their fingers on the missile launch button and a group of Houthi armed drones flew over the Strait of Mandeb, the conflict that began with nuclear facilities had broken free from its cage - it was no longer about the survival of a few underground factories, but became a melting pot that tested the will of great powers, religious grievances, and geopolitical balance, hot and with no way out.