President Donald Trump on Saturday said the US military had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, "completely and totally obliterating" Tehran's enrichment capacity.
The development ended days of speculation about whether America would become directly involved in Israel's war against Tehran. Mr Trump said that any retaliation by Iran against the US would be met with overwhelming force.
"Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," Mr Trump said in a three-minute address to the nation from the White House, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated."
Iranian state media, however, said that all three sites had been evacuated and their contents moved before the bombings.
Morteza Heydari, spokesman for the Qom Provincial crisis management department, told the Tasnim news agency that “complete peace prevails in the holy city of Qom and the province".
Earlier, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian had said that his country's "response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating" during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Israel had repeatedly called on its ally America to join its war and Mr Trump has said he would not tolerate Iran developing a nuclear weapons programme.
On Saturday, he said he had worked with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to co-ordinate the strikes.
"We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel," he said, adding that the action was "the most difficult" and the "most lethal".
Calling Iran "the bully of the Middle East," he said that if peace is not achieved soon, the US would go after other targets.
Earlier on Saturday in a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites had been targeted.
“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.”
He also posted a screenshot of a social media account that said: "Fordow is gone."
The US has bunker-busting bombs designed to destroy hardened facilities buried deep underground, including Fordow, which is in a mountain.
Mr Trump went on to call for peace and praise the "great American warriors".
The strikes came after the US President had voiced deepening frustration with Tehran over its failure to come to a deal on putting limits on its nuclear programme.
"This is an historic moment for the United States of America, Israel, and the world. Iran must now agree to end this war," he said in a different post.
B-2 Spirit bombers were reportedly used in the strikes. The stealth jets can carry the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. It weighs 13,600kg and can purportedly go through up to 100 metres of reinforced concrete. Its conventional explosive power is close to that of an atom bomb.
The US has previously lent support to Israel's defence in the conflict, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanking Mr Trump for "support in defending Israel's skies".
Mr Trump spoke to Mr Netanyahu after the strikes, AFP reported, citing a senior White House official.
The US also "gave Israel a heads-up before the strikes," the official said.
America's attack on Iran comes despite deep divisions among Mr Trump's Republicans over whether the US should become involved in another Middle East conflict.
The President campaigned on ending costly foreign wars and vowed to bring the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars, which preceded his term, to a swift end.
"There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first," Marjorie Taylor Greene, a leading Make America Great Again Republican isolationist congresswoman, wrote in a post on X.
"Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer."
Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries criticised the strike.
“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorisation for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East," Mr Jeffries said in a statement.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was gravely alarmed by the US strikes.
"This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security," he said in a statement.
"There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world."
Some Republican leaders, however came out strongly in support of Mr Trump's decision, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that the President "gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement".
And the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicks, said "our commander-in-chief has made a deliberate - and correct - decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime".
Senator Tom Cotton said Mr Trump "made the right call and the ayatollahs should recall his warning not to target Americans".
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
Australia World Cup squad
Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
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RACE CARD
4pm Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m
5.10pm Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
