US residents were fleeing Israel following President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s three main nuclear facilities.
In anticipation of an Iranian counterattack, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged US citizens in the country to evacuate.
‘The Department of State has begun assisted departure flights from Israel,’ Huckabee said. ‘With airspace mostly closed, the challenges are great. If given an option, TAKE IT.’
Israeli airline El Al said on Saturday that as of Monday they would be offering 50 seats on flights departing from Tel Aviv to eight destinations including New York and Los Angeles to those looking to flee the region.
President Trump said Saturday that the US has completed strikes on the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear facilities after deploying B-2 stealth bombers to the region.
‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors.’
Trump was prepared to address the nation at 10 pm on Saturday night.
Trump had previously indicated that he would give Iran a two week deadline to abandon their nuclear project.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, told his administration that they refused to wait two weeks for Trump to make up his mind.
Sources who spoke with The Times of Israel said Israel communicated this to officials in the US on Thursday, in what was described as a tense phone call.
Vice President JD Vance had been on the call, and said he didn’t want the US directly involved in the conflict, suggesting Israel was pulling the US into war.
Four sources told the Times that it is now likely that Israel will launch their own operation to hit the facility, despite not having the munitions necessary.
Netanyahu has frequently said the goal of the attacks on Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces also shared a clip of them striking F-14 fighter jets belonging to the Iranian Armed Forces.
The bomb capable of hitting the facility is configured and programed to the B-2 spirit stealth bomber, according to the Air Force.
On Saturday, six of those bombers left from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri destined for another base in Guam.
There are possible complications that could arise now the US has hit Fordow, located 60 miles southwest of Tehran, with the bunker-buster bomb.
As well as being some 260 feet under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems.
Those air defenses, however, are believed to have been weakened by recent Israeli attacks.
Additionally, any US strike carries significant political and diplomatic risks for Trump, who has long warned against entangling the US in overseas conflicts.
For example, Russia has warned that US involvement could ‘radically destabilize the Middle East.’
Military engagement could also jeopardize any chance of Trump’s desired talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
President Trump was scheduled to meet with his national security team at the White House on Saturday to discuss joining the Israeli attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said U.S. military involvement ‘would be very, very dangerous for everyone.’
Trump warned that Tehran has a ‘maximum’ of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes if they don’t abandon their nuclear ambitions.
Trump publicly disagreed with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who testified in March that there is ‘no evidence’ Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
‘She’s wrong,’ Trump said Friday in New Jersey just off to the side of Air Force One. ‘My intelligence community is wrong.’
Gabbard has since reversed course and clarified that Iran could produce nukes ‘within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly.’
‘President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree,’ she added.
The war between the two countries began when Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion on Friday, June 13.
Israel targeted nuclear sites and military sites within Iran, while also killing many of Iran’s top military commanders.
At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. The strikes killed at least 24 people.
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60% – a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it.
