US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that American planes targeted and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, declaring that “now is the time for peace.”

Warplanes struck nuclear sites at Fordow, Nantaz, and Esfahan, with a “full payload” of bombs dropped at the primary target in Fordow. Trump said that the planes then evacuated Iranian airspace unharmed.

Trump followed his announcement with a national address defending the action, stating that the bombings mitigated Iranian military threats against Israel and served to deter Iranian aggression in the Middle East. Trump also indicated a willingness to pursue further military action against Iran. The president voiced strong support for Israeli military forces and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump also lauded US military capabilities, saying the operation was one “the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.”

On Sunday morning, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth followed the president’s address with further details on the operation. Hegseth said the military action signaled a return of “American deterrence” and warned that “when [Trump] speaks, the world should listen.”

Democratic congressional leaders quickly denounced the attack as rash and dangerous for U.S. interests. Following the announcement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies released a statement that condemned the unilateral military action and warned of potential war between the nations:

Donald Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East. He has failed to deliver on that promise. The risk of war has now dramatically increased, and I pray for the safety of our troops in the region who have been put in harm’s way. President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.

The US bombing operation signals an escalation of a decades-long buildup of hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran. The US and Israel have long professed fear over the prospect of Iran developing nuclear weapons. On June 15, Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran, targeting senior military personnel and nuclear scientists, killing hundreds, including civilians, according to Iran’s health ministry. Iran responded with a series of retaliatory strikes against Israel, killing and injuring a number of Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Forces defended the action as morally just and claimed it was a necessary measure to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The US has internally wrestled with how to contain Iran’s nuclear weapons capacity for years. In 2015, the Obama administration and the EU entered into a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, which lifted certain sanctions from Iran in return for the nation’s commitment to limit its nuclear research to peaceful uses. In 2018, the first Trump administration went back on the deal and reimposed lifted sanctions.

In 2022, the Biden administration reversed the first Trump administration’s action in an attempt to reinstate the nuclear deal. However, Iran refused to reenter the agreement, relying on a 2020 Iranian law implementing a high-Uranium enrichment policy regardless of international sanctions. The policy came as a response to a US drone strike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, for which Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed a “forceful revenge” against the US.