The Latest: US seeks to weaken longtime foe Iran striking 3 nuclear sites

The U.S. military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel’s effort to destroy Iran's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe.

The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.

But U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.

President Donald Trump announced the strikes. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country’s Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate.

Here is the latest:

UN nuke chief says damage at Iran’s main uranium enrichment plant at Fordo can't yet be assessed

Rafael Grossi told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by Iran that craters are visible at the Fordo site, indicating the U.S. use of ground penetrating munitions, but the underground damage cannot be assessed yet.

At the Isfahan site, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said additional buildings were hit, some related to converting uranium, and “entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit.”

At the Natanz nuclear enrichment site, Grossi said the fuel enrichment plant has been hit again.

“At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordo,” Grossi said.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the council that Iranian state media reported that the three sites had been evacuated and the highly enriched uranium stockpile was transferred in advance of the U.S. strikes

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 U.S. had taken “the ‘bomb’” away from Iran by striking three nuclear sites.

Trump on Sunday posted an extended censure of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., 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 U.S. 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 U.N. Security Council called by Iran that “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 program to find a verifiable solution with full access by U.N. 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.

France holds emergency security meeting

French President Emmanuel Macron is urging a return to dialogue and diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, after U.S. strikes that herald a ″new phase″ in the wars in the Middle East.

Presiding over an emergency security meeting in Paris on Sunday evening, Macron said, ″We are living through a grave time for the stability and security for the Middle East, and for our own security.″

Macron spoke with Iran’s president Saturday and Sunday as well as with other Mideast and European leaders, and said he called on everyone to avoid escalation.

″No strictly military response will bring the sought-after results,″ he said.

Macron speaks regularly to Trump but did not mention the U.S. president in his remarks. Macron, Trump and other world leaders are expected to meet at a NATO summit in the Netherlands in the coming days.

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 that 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 neighboring 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 U.S. 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.

U.S. 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.

By Nicholas Ingram and Meg Kinnard

Israel’s military chief says the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear sites was a key ‘turning point'

Lt. Gen. Eyal Amir says Israel’s ongoing operation against Iran, coupled with the American attack, has caused “significant damage” to its nuclear program. “We’ve reached a turning point in the campaign, following last night’s very precise and impressive strike by the U.S. military on key nuclear sites,” he says. The army’s spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, adds that Israel and the U.S. are working together to assess the damage to Iran’s nuclear program. “The damage is deep. We’re continuing to gather intelligence together with our partners to assess the depth.”

UN notes ‘chilling pattern’ of Israeli troops firing on crowds seeking food in Gaza

The U.N.’s office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said Sunday that it is witnessing “a chilling pattern of Israeli forces opening fire on crowds gathering to get food” in Gaza.

Israel began allowing food into Gaza this past month after cutting it off completely for 10 weeks. Most of the supplies go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed private contractor, which operates four food distribution points inside Israeli military zones.

A trickle of aid goes to the U.N. and humanitarian groups. Israeli troops open fire in the direction of crowds crossing military zones to get to the aid, they say. So far, 450 people have been killed while trying to access aid, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“Those who are shot are often out of reach of ambulances,” said Jonathan Whittall, OCHA’s Head of Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, adding that some are still missing and presumed dead in militarized zones near U.S.-Israeli distribution points.

Hezbollah condemns US strikes on Iran

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah condemned the U.S. 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 recognize international conventions, humanitarian laws, pledges, or obligations.”

The U.S. 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.

UK, France and Germany urge Iran not to retaliate for US strikes

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Iran’s leaders to enter negotiations and “not to take any further action that could destabilize the region.”

In a joint statement after holding talks Sunday, they said: “We will continue our joint diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions and ensure the conflict does not intensify and spread further.”

The three leaders stressed that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security,” and affirmed support for Israel’s security, but stopped short of endorsing the American strikes.

Just a day before the U.S. struck, top diplomats from the three countries and the European Union met Iran’s foreign minister in an attempt to find a diplomatic way to end the conflict with Israel and ease tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Sen. Tim Kaine chides Trump administration for not notifying Congress before attacks

Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said the act violated the U.S. Constitution.

“The United States should not be in an offensive war against Iran without a vote of Congress,” Kaine said. “The Constitution is completely clear on it. And I am so disappointed that the president has acted so prematurely.“

Kaine said he would force a floor vote in the Senate this week on a resolution that would require a vote ahead of military action against Iran. “This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump’s urging, without any compelling national security interests for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress,” he added.

US official: One of the B-2 pilots was a woman

Hegseth said Sunday that “our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.”

But a U.S. official tells The Associated Press that a woman was among those piloting the seven B-2 bombers that dropped the powerful bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Officials have said each bomber had two crew members aboard. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the mission publicly.

US orders non-essential diplomats to leave Lebanon after US strikes in Iran

The State Department has ordered non-essential personnel and the families of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon to leave as concerns mount about Iranian retaliation for American strikes in Iran.

In a notice issued on Sunday, the department said it had taken the step “due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region.”

The notice made no mention of any potential evacuation flights or other assistance for private Americans wanting to leave Lebanon but said they should try to use existing commercial services to depart. The US has already organized several evacuations of American citizens from Israel and is advising American citizens in Iran on how to leave the country.

Residents fleeing Tehran say many heeded Israeli warnings to leave

At Turkey’s border with Iran, Ferishteh Husseini said many residents had left Tehran following a warning from Israel to evacuate the city.

“Tehran is empty, there is no one,” she said as she crossed into Turkey. The Israeli airstrikes were mainly targeting military facilities, not civilian ones, but many people were still suffering, she said. Husseini said people were living in groups of 10-20 in one house and supplies were running short.

Another Tehran resident, Emir Rustemi, said he arrived at the border by bus and witnessed several roadblocks on the way.

Behnam Puran, from Tabriz, defended his country’s nuclear program. “We were minding our own business,” he said. “We were doing these procedures to gain electricity, not to produce bombs.”

Rubio discounts criticism of US strikes from other countries

“And a bunch of these countries putting out statements condemning us, privately, they all agree with us that this needed to be done. They got to do what they got to do for their own public relations purposes. But the only people in the world that are unhappy about what happened in Iran last night is the regime in Iran,” Rubio said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

He urged Iran to enter direct talks with the U.S. and said Trump’s administration has no objection to a civilian nuclear program.

“They don’t even talk to us directly. We always have to have a middleman. They want to pass messages and notes like we’re in third grade. We’re not doing that anymore. Direct negotiations,” Rubio said.

“Let’s talk about how we peacefully resolve this problem.” He thanked Washington’s European allies for pressing Iran to engage in face-to-face talks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the next steps are up to the Iranian government

“If the regime wants peace, we’re ready for peace. If they want to do something else, they’re incredibly vulnerable. They can’t even protect their own airspace,” Rubio said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.

Rubio also warned against Iranian attacks on countries in the region that host American military forces.

“That’s exactly why they are there. All those bases are there because those countries are afraid Iran will attack them,” Rubio said. “Those bases are there because those countries are petrified.”

3 Revolutionary Guards killed in an Israeli strike, Iranian media say

An Israeli airstrike killed three members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, semiofficial news agencies in the Islamic Republic reported Sunday.

The Mehr and Tasnim news agencies reported the attack took place in Zanjan province.

Israel’s military said it struck sites around multiple cities in Iran

One major target claimed by the Israelis was the Imam Hussein Strategic Missile Command Center in Yazd. Social media footage showed orange smoke rising after one Israeli strike on the area. It could be the result of ammonium perchlorate, a missile fuel component, burning.

The Israeli military said other strikes targeted missile launchers in Ahvaz, Bushehr and Isfahan.

Iran has not offered any details on the damage it has sustained in the Israeli bombardment.

Ex-US diplomat in charge of Mideast believes there’s still a chance for negotiations

Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near-Eastern affairs under President Joe Biden, told The Associated Press that the top priority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been “the preservation of the Islamic Republic, preservation of the theocratic style of governance and the regime itself.”

“If the regime feels that its existence is at stake, it will use any weapons that come to hand, whether the arsenal of ballistic missiles, depleted conventional forces, terrorism, asymmetrical attacks,” she said.

“But it has clearly signaled throughout the nine days of this conflict with Israel that it is trying to avoid a second front, and that is a front with the U.S. So really at this moment, how the U.S. comports itself, I think will be the decisive factor.”

UK is focused on de-escalation but also sent equipment to protect its interests

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his focus was on curbing the war and negotiating a solution, as he warned of escalation spreading beyond the Middle East.

Starmer would not say whether the U.K. would be drawn into the war if Iran targets U.S. bases, but said it was moving military equipment into the area to protect its interests, people and allies.

“I’m not going to speculate about what may happen, because all of my focus is on de-escalation,” he said.

The U.K. has sent additional Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran war started more than a week ago. Iran had threatened to attack U.S., French and British bases in the region if those countries helped Israel.

Vance says he isn’t worried about a ‘protracted conflict’ with Iran

U.S. Vice President JD Vance says America has “no interest in boots on the ground” in Iran, saying that he doesn’t believe the strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites would lead to a wider war.

“We have no interest in boots on the ground,” Vance said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I don’t fear that this is going to become a protracted conflict.”

Vance still stressed that there is a chance for Iran to engage in talks about its future, saying that the attacks created the environment for a “reset” of relations.

“We want to end their nuclear program and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here,” Vance said. “This a reset. This is an opportunity for the Iranians to take the smart path. We certainly hope that they will.”

Vance presses Iran to ‘go down the path of peace’

U.S. Vice President JD Vance says that the U.S. “didn’t blow up” diplomacy with its attack on Iranian nuclear sites.

He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that talks over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program were never given a real chance by Tehran.

“And our hope … is that this maybe can reset here. The Iranians can go down the path of peace or they can go down the path of this ridiculous brinksmanship of funding terrorism, of trying to build a nuclear weapon and that’s just not something the United States can accept,” Vance said.

He reiterated that the U.S. wasn’t at war with Iran, has no interest in a protracted conflict or boots on the ground. Vance says he felt “very confident that we’ve substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon,” and it would be “many, many years” before Iran could develop a nuclear weapon.

BA cancels flights to the UAE and Qatar

British Airways canceled flights on Sunday from London to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar after the U.S. attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities.

All flights from Heathrow Airport to Dubai and Doha were canceled for the day. The airline diverted a Dubai-bound airliner Saturday night to Zurich. Flight BA109 was turned around after reaching Saudi Arabia, the airline said.

The airline said it was offering flexible rebooking for customers scheduled to fly to the two cities through Tuesday.

Hegseth says US intervention in Israel’s war with Iran is not open-ended

In concluding his briefing, the U.S. defense chief attempted to once again reiterate an unwillingness for America’s intervention in Iran to turn into a protracted war and labeled the overnight strikes as “intentionally limited.”

“I would just say, as the president has directed and made clear, this is most certainly not open-ended,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding that it doesn’t limit U.S. ability to respond and it will do so if necessary.

“The most powerful military in the world is postured and prepared to defend our people,” Hegseth said.

A Pentagon-provided map shows the path of B-2 bombers

A Pentagon-provided map of the flight path taken by B-2 stealth bombers indicates that their approach to Iran took them over the Mediterranean and then over Israel, Jordan and Iraq.

It is not immediately clear when those three countries were made aware of the flights. Israel has said the U.S. strikes were carried out in coordination with its military. The U.S. said the strikes did not involve Israeli jets.

The Pentagon released the map to journalists as it gave details of the mission, which it described as causing “extremely severe damage and destruction” to three Iranian nuclear sites.

US and Iranian officials say both countries are exchanging messages

Hours after Iran’s top diplomat disclosed that the line of communication between Washington and Tehran remains open, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed his remarks in a press conference.

“I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,” Hegseth said.

US military increases protective measures for US troops in the Middle East

As the U.S. and the region await Iran’s response to the overnight strikes, Hegseth said that military generals have elevated force protection measures across the region, especially in Iraq, Syria, and the Persian Gulf.

“Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice,” Hegseth told reporters.

A maritime center warns of risks to US-linked ships

A Mideast-based maritime center overseen by the U.S. military warned Sunday that there’s a “high” risk to U.S.-associated ships after the American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“The threat to U.S.-associated commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is currently assessed as HIGH,” the Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the U.S. Navy, wrote in an advisory to shippers.

“This categorization follows U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and Houthi rhetoric directly targeting the U.S.-associated maritime assets,” it said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saturday said they would attack U.S.-associated ships if America attacked Iran.

Pentagon stresses that ‘regime change’ was not goal of Iranian strike

The Trump administration said that its attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities was not about toppling the country’s government.

“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Sunday news briefing.

Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed that the goal of “Operation Midnight Hammer” had destroyed the nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.

Hegseth says US military used decoys and deception in Iran attack

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that despite a surprise attack overnight on Iranian nuclear sites, America “does not seek war.”

Hegseth said it was important to note that U.S. strikes did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, a veiled effort to indicate to Iran that they don’t want retaliation on American targets in the region.

Hegseth said that a choice to move a number of B-2 bombers from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday was meant to be a decoy to throw off Iranians.

He added that the U.S. used other methods of deception as well, deploying fighters to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s most powerful nuclear site. He said that all of these tactics helped the U.S. drop the bombs without tipping off Iran’s fighter jets or its air missile systems.

Iranian president condemns US strikes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday condemned the U.S. attacks on three Iranian nuclear sites.

“This aggression showed that the United States is the primary instigator of the Zionist regime’s hostile actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pezeshkian said Sunday. “Although they initially tried to deny their role, after our armed forces’ decisive and deterrent response and the Zionist regime’s clear incapacity, they were inevitably forced to enter the field themselves.”

Pezeshkian urged the public to come together in the face of the attacks from Israel and the U.S.

Explosions heard in Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear plant

Explosions boomed Sunday afternoon in the Iranian port city of Bushehr, three semiofficial Iranian media outlets reported. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts.

Bushehr is home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant, which is run with Russian assistance. Iranian authorities have not reported any problem at the plant.

Meanwhile, explosions also struck the city of Yazd in central Iran, with some suggesting it came from Israeli airstrikes targeting a power plant and a military garrison.

Gaza medics report 51 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in last 24 hours

The Gaza Health Ministry says hospitals have received the bodies of 51 people killed by Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours. Another 104 have been wounded.

The new deaths brought the toll from the Israel-Hamas war to 55,959 since Oct. 7, 2023, the ministry said. Another 131,242 have been wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says more than half of the dead were women and children.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack. More than half the hostages have been returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals, eight have been rescued alive and Israeli forces have recovered dozens of bodies.

Israel assessing damage from US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites

Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israel was still assessing damage from U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

At a press briefing, Defrin was asked whether enriched material had been removed from the Fordo site before the U.S. strike, and he replied that it was too early to know. Defrin said the strikes were carried out in coordination with the Israeli military.

France ‘has learned with concern’ about US strikes in Iran

The French foreign minister says his country did not take part in the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Jean-Noel Barrot said in a message on social media on Sunday that France “has learned with concern” of the U.S. military action against three nuclear sites.

“It was neither involved in these strikes nor in their planning,” Barrot said, adding that France “urges the parties to show restraint in order to avoid any escalation that could lead to an extension of the conflict.”

Barrot also reiterated France’s opposition to Iran gaining access to nuclear weapons. “France is convinced that a lasting solution to this issue requires a negotiated solution within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he said. “It remains ready to contribute to this in conjunction with its partners.”

Iran's top diplomat says he'll meet Putin in Moscow on Sunday

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, responding to a question from a Russian outlet, said he’ll travel to Moscow later on Sunday to meet with President Vladimir Putin, after the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites.

“We enjoy a strategic partnership and we always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” he said, referring to Russia.

Iran's foreign minister says diplomacy not an option after US strikes

“The warmongering and a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far reaching implications of its act of aggression,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a news briefing at a conference in Turkey.

Araghchi said while the “door to diplomacy” should always be open, “this is not the case right now.

Araghchi said that there is “no red line” that the U.S. has not crossed in its recent actions against the Islamic Republic.

“And the last one and the most dangerous one was what happened only last night when they crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities only,” he said.

Head of the Red Cross says ‘the world cannot absorb limitless war’

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the escalation in the Middle East risks “engulfing the region — and the world — in a war with irreversible consequences.”

“The world cannot absorb limitless war. Upholding international humanitarian law is not a choice — it is an obligation,” Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement.

Images show damage on the mountainside at Iran’s underground nuclear site at Fordo

Satellite images taken Sunday analyzed by The Associated Press show damage on the mountainside at Iran’s underground nuclear site at Fordo after U.S. airstrikes targeted the facility.

The images by Planet Labs PBC show the once-brown mountain had parts turned gray and its contours appeared slightly different than in previous images, suggesting a blast threw up debris around the site. That suggests the use of specialized American bunker buster bombs on the facility. Light gray smoke also hung in the air.

Iran has yet to offer a damage assessment of the site.

Other satellite images suggest Iran before the strike sealed up its tunnel entrances at Fordo.

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This entry has been corrected to show Iran likely sealed up the tunnel entries to Fordo before the Sunday strike by the U.S.