By Tarini Parti
President Trump hailed U.S. strikes in Iran a "spectacular military success" in an address Saturday night, while warning that more could follow if "peace does not come quickly."
The U.S. attacked three of Iran's nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which represent the core of the Iranian nuclear infrastructure. In his address, Trump said the sites had been "completely and totally obliterated."
"Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace," he said from the White House. "If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier."
Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear sites was a stunning shift in the president's longtime reluctance to get involved in foreign conflicts -- and from the White House's rhetoric just two days ago.
Seemingly delaying military action, the White House said on Thursday the president would make the call on strikes "within two weeks." On Friday, Trump explained his rationale for the two-week timeline, saying he was waiting to see "whether or not people come to their senses."
The president, however, has publicly and privately also been laying the groundwork for explaining U.S. strikes on Iran to his supporters for weeks.
As he traveled Friday to his golf club in New Jersey, Trump made the distinction between his opposition to the U.S.'s war in Iraq and possible action in Iran. "I think within a matter of weeks, or certainly within a matter of months, they're going to be able to have a nuclear weapon," he told reporters. "We can't let that happen."
Trump's advisers have insisted that although the president doesn't want the U.S. involved in another conflict, he has been consistent in saying Iran couldn't have nuclear capabilities.
Their message was amplified in recent days by some prominent personalities in Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement, which was divided over the president considering military action. The White House reached out to influential activists like Charlie Kirk to get them on board with possible strikes, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
Ahead of Trump's speech on Saturday, Kirk posted on X, "When Trump speaks, you should listen," including a post from Trump in 2011 calling Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon "a major threat to our nation's national security interests."
Trump also had lunch on Thursday with Steve Bannon, a former adviser who opposes military intervention, and said he had spoken with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox personality who, after Israel began its strikes, accused Trump of being "complicit in the act of war."
"My supporters are more in love with me today than they were even at the election," Trump said earlier this week.
After pushing for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program for much of the year, Trump recently escalated his rhetoric against Iran, calling for an unconditional surrender and suggesting the U.S. knew Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's location but wouldn't kill him, "at least for now."
Aides said Trump had concluded a diplomatic deal with Iran appeared increasingly unlikely. When Israel launched attacks against Iran, he aligned himself more closely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for the destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities.
Following Saturday's strikes, Trump continued his bellicose rhetoric. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days," he said.
Write to Tarini Parti at tarini.parti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2025 23:06 ET (03:06 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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