Trump meets gratitude, criticism after claiming total destruction of Iran’s nuclear program
Israel hails the U.S. attack as a spectacular military success, while Democrats warn of unauthorized war escalation
President Donald Trump during an address to the nation on June 21. Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh June 21, 2025
President Donald Trump claimed that American combat aircraft totally destroyed Iran’s nuclear program, an action Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would “change history.”
“Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,” Trump said in a short address on Saturday to the nation from the White House’s East Room. “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
Iranian officials said the damage was not as extensive as Trump described. The strike marked a historical first: the United States and Israel, joined in an active war.
Trump, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said Iran must now choose a path towards peace. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier,” he said.
Fox News host Sean Hannity reported that Trump, who is close to Hannity, had told him stealth B2 bombers dropped six bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s key underground nuclear site in Fordow, destroying the facility. Thirty Tomahawk missiles launched by U.S. submarines also struck nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz from a distance of 400 miles.
Israel has encouraged the U.S. to join the military campaign against Iran since June 13, when it launched air strikes to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities and remove the ballistic missile threat over Israel. Netanyahu told U.S. media earlier in the week that he trusted Trump’s judgment on the matter. Trump informed Israel ahead of the U.S. strike and spoke with Netanyahu afterward.
ABC News reported that the U.S. attack was first conceptualized under former President Joe Biden’s administration last year, and practiced in a joint military exercise with Israel, although a U.S. official told the outlet that “we did not think a year ago that this would happen now.” Brett McGurk, Biden’s national security council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, said on CNN, “I think it’s a good thing for the world if Iran does not have these enrichment facilities, if this was successful.”
“Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted minutes before Trump spoke. “History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime, the world’s most dangerous weapons.”
In his remarks, Trump congratulated Netanyahu and thanked the Israeli military for its work. He ended his speech with a “God Bless America, God Bless Israel.”
Jewish and Democratic reaction
Top Democrats criticized Trump for launching a potential war with Iran without congressional authorization, risking escalation.
“Donald Trump shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader and a staunch supporter of Israel, said in a statement.
In February, Jeffries told Jewish leaders in New York that in the wake of Israel’s success in the war against Hamas and Hezbollah, “we can’t take our foot off the gas pedal until Iran is brought to its knees for the good of the world.”
Mainstream American Jewish organizations applauded the “decisive” action by the U.S. “We could not be prouder to have the United States join together with the State of Israel in defense of the free world,” the Jewish Federations of North America said.
“We commend President Trump in particular for his clear-eyed recognition of the danger and for taking bold, preventative steps that may reshape the strategic landscape for generations,” the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations said.
