By: Fern Sidman

In the aftermath of a dramatic overnight U.S. strike on Iran’s fortified Fordow nuclear facility, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a blistering response Sunday morning, accusing the United States of violating international law and threatening both Washington and Jerusalem with unspecified consequences. The statement follows a U.S.-led offensive that, according to multiple defense sources cited by Israel National News (INN), was conducted in close coordination with Israel and included the deployment of America’s most formidable bunker-busting arsenal.

“The United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by attacking Iran’s civilian nuclear installations,” Araghchi declared in a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “This morning’s events are outrageous and will have dire consequences for the future. All UN member states must be deeply concerned by this dangerous and criminal conduct.”

According to the information provided in the Israel National News (INN) report, senior Israeli officials confirmed on Sunday that the strike had been thoroughly coordinated between the United States and Israel. One Israeli defense source said that Washington had informed Israel of its operational intentions “well in advance” and described the strike as “a milestone in the strategic partnership between the two nations.”

American military sources quoted by Reuters and confirmed by INN revealed that B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were utilized in the operation, which specifically targeted the heavily reinforced Fordow facility—a site long believed to be immune to conventional aerial bombardment. Built into a mountainside near the holy city of Qom, the Fordow plant has been regarded as the crown jewel of Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure.

The U.S. strike, as detailed in the INN report, involved the deployment of six GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds and designed specifically to penetrate deep underground bunkers. The MOPs were dropped on the suspected entrances and structural chokepoints of the Fordow complex. Simultaneously, U.S. naval forces launched 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles at key nuclear infrastructure in Natanz and Isfahan, two other prominent hubs of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Reports from the Iranian Sabine News agency stated that “American bombers struck the entrance to the Fordow nuclear site at 2:10 a.m.” Although the report emphasized that the intensity of the explosions was “not strong enough to be felt in the city of Qom,” satellite imagery analyzed by Western defense analysts indicates substantial above-ground and sub-surface structural damage.

Foreign Minister Araghchi’s statement marked the first official Iranian government response to the strike and signaled Tehran’s intent to frame the attack not merely as an act of aggression, but as an international crisis requiring a collective global response.

“In accordance with the UN Charter and the clauses permitting legitimate self-defense, Iran reserves all options to protect its sovereignty, interests, and people,” Araghchi said, invoking Article 51 of the Charter. His remarks, disseminated across Iranian state media and diplomatic channels, stopped short of specifying what form Iran’s retaliation might take but included strong language implying the potential for military escalation.

Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen—particularly Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels—have also issued statements vowing to “stand with Iran in its time of need,” further fueling concerns in Jerusalem and Washington of a multi-front response.

As noted in multiple reports from INN over the past 72 hours, Israeli officials have described the current phase of the Iran conflict as a “decisive moment” in the regional security equation. Israel’s own preemptive strikes earlier this month on Iranian nuclear and missile sites set the tone for an escalation that has now drawn in the full might of the U.S. Air Force.

A senior IDF source quoted by INN praised the U.S. strike as “transformational” and noted that “this action significantly degrades Iran’s ability to continue its nuclear weapons program.” According to the INN report, Israeli intelligence played a pivotal role in identifying precise vulnerabilities in the Fordow facility’s hardened structure—intelligence that was then shared with U.S. CENTCOM ahead of the coordinated mission.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will “not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, with or without American support.”

The airstrike has already sent ripples across international diplomatic circles. Russia’s foreign ministry condemned the U.S. action, calling it a “dangerous provocation with global ramifications,” while the European Union urged restraint and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to assess the legality and fallout of the strike.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has remained largely silent on operational specifics. However, in a brief statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the strike as “necessary, lawful, and proportionate,” citing Iran’s “clear and continuing violations of its obligations under the NPT.”

Leavitt reiterated that the U.S. remains open to diplomacy but “will not tolerate the advancement of nuclear weapons by a regime that threatens regional and global peace.”

With the destruction of key Iranian nuclear infrastructure now confirmed by independent analysts and U.S. officials, the international community is bracing for Tehran’s next move. Security alerts have been raised across the Gulf and Levant, and Israel’s Home Front Command has issued updated shelter guidelines in anticipation of potential missile attacks or terror reprisals by Iranian proxies.

According to the information contained in the INN report, IDF intelligence units are now on “maximum alert” as Iranian cyber capabilities and terrorist cells in neighboring countries could be activated as part of a retaliatory campaign. In addition, Israel has repositioned Iron Dome batteries and mobilized reserve units to reinforce strategic installations across the country.

As the world awaits Iran’s next steps, one thing is clear: the covert confrontation over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions has now erupted into a direct and dangerous clash between two nation-states—one that could reshape the future of the Middle East for decades to come.