US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites caused severe damage but full impact unclear

Washington, Jun 23 (AP) The US military's strike on Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites in Iran has raised urgent questions about what remains of Tehran's nuclear programm and how its weakened military might respond.
     The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
     US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound (13,600-kg) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground.
     “At this time, no one, including the (International Atomic Energy Agency), is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordo,” said UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi.
     Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate.
    
     Here is the latest:
    
     Social media account associated with Iran's supreme leader publishes post portraying missile strikes
    
     A social media account associated with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published a propaganda post early Monday portraying missile strikes on a darkened city with a giant skull bearing the Star of David on it.
     “The punishment continues,” the poster read.
     Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that air defense systems were firing in Tehran, Iran's capital, while explosions could be heard in the nearby city of Karaj.
     Satellite images appear to show at least one crater at Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site
     Satellite images analysed Monday by The Associated Press appear to show at least one crater at Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site after the United States targeted the underground portion of the facility.
     A hole of around 5 metres (16 feet) could be seen in images taken by Planet Labs PBC and Maxar Technologies on Sunday after the American strikes. That hole sits directly over the underground portion of the site, which includes centrifuge halls.
     Iran has offered no assessment of how much damage has been done at the site. Previous Israeli strikes destroyed an above-ground centrifuge hall, as well as all of the power equipment at the site, likely cutting its electrical supply.
    
     France mobilises military planes to evacuate its citizens in Israel
    
     France is mobilising military planes to help evacuate its citizens from Israel to Cyprus if the Israeli government allows it, the French Foreign Ministry said Sunday night.
     The French government repatriated 160 French citizens in emergency or vulnerable condition on an evacuation flight from Jordan on Sunday, and plans similar flights Monday and Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement.
     The flights were announced after French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency security meeting about the Mideast wars Sunday night.
     France has warned its citizens against travelling to Israel, and urged all French citizens in Iran to leave.
     France's government faced some criticism for not arranging repatriation flights immediately after Israel's strikes on Iran earlier this month.
     Trump says US with its strikes took a nuclear bomb out of 'Iran's hands'
     Pushing back against criticism by a Republican lawmaker, President Donald Trump said the US had taken “the bomb'” away from Iran by striking three nuclear sites.
     Trump on Sunday posted an extended censure of Rep Thomas Massie, who has said that Trump needed congressional approval to launch the aerial attack.
     “We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the “bomb” right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!),” Trump said on Truth Social.
     The US president said Massie is not part of his “Make America Great Again” movement.
     Massie “is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is. Actually, MAGA doesn't want him, doesn't know him, and doesn't respect him.”
    
     UN chief warns the world risks 'descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation'
    
     Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Iran: “We cannot – and must not – give up on peace.”
     He urged immediate and decisive action to halt the fighting and return to “serious, sustained negotiations” on Iran's nuclear programme to find a verifiable solution with full access by UN nuclear inspectors and a restoration of trust.
     In urging a return to diplomacy and a peaceful solution, Guterres stressed Sunday that one path leads to wider war and the other to de-escalation and dialogue. “We know which path is right,” he said.
    
     New Revolutionary Guard commander says Iran going through sensitive phase
    
     A new commander of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says that “today, we are truly going through a sensitive phase.”
     Maj Gen Mohammad Pakpour spoke in a video released Sunday by Iran's military.
     Pakpour asserted that with the bombings, “the people's solidarity increases. This is a divine blessing.”
     He spoke of “martyrs” but without specifics on a toll.
    
     Israel to resume outgoing flights
    
     The Israel Airports Authority says 24 daily outgoing flights will start operating on Monday, after the country's airspace was closed for departures since the start of the war with Iran. For the past week, a similar number of daily incoming flights has been bringing back Israelis stranded abroad.
     In a briefing with reporters, Transportation Minister Miri Regev said that out of safety concerns, each departing flight will carry no more than 50 passengers, allowing roughly 1000 people to leave each day.
     It wasn't clear who will be eligible for the flights, but she says an exceptions committee will ensure priority for “humanitarian cases.”
     The Tourism Ministry said as of Thursday, some 22,000 foreign tourists had requested help in leaving Israel. Those who do not want to wait for flights can cross into neighbouring Jordan or Egypt.
     Israel's Population and Immigration Authority says some 65,000 Israelis have have returned to Israel since the start of the war by air, sea, and through the land crossings from Egypt and Jordan.
    
     B-2 bombers returning to US base
    
     The stealth bombers that dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities have begun returning to a US base in Missouri.
     An Associated Press journalist watched on a clear but windy Sunday afternoon as at least seven of the B-2 Spirit bombers came in for landing at Whiteman Air Force Base.
     A first group of four of the stealth aircraft did a loop around the base before approaching a runway from the north. A final group of three arrived within 10 minutes.
     US officials have said that one B-2 group headed west from the Missouri base on Saturday, intended as a decoy to throw off Iranians. Another flight of seven quietly flew off eastward, ultimately engaging in the Iran mission.
    
     Hezbollah condemns US strikes on Iran
    
     The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah condemned the US strikes on Iran in a statement Sunday but did not threaten to join in Tehran's retaliation.
     “The blatant deceit and deception practiced by US President Donald Trump, driven by illusions of control and arrogance... confirms that the United States of America, along with the tyrants of arrogance, is a threat to the security and stability of the Islamic Republic,” the statement said.
     "This proves to the entire world that America is the official sponsor of terrorism and does not recognise international conventions, humanitarian laws, pledges, or obligations,” it said.
     The US considers Hezbollah to be a terrorist group.
     It called for “Arab and Islamic countries and the free peoples of the world” to stand with Iran. (AP) SCY
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)