US issues ‘worldwide caution’ as tensions in the Middle East escalate: report
The US State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans on Sunday, saying that the conflict in the Middle East could put those traveling or living abroad at an increased security risk, the AFP reported.
The US attacked three key Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday local time. US President Donald Trump claimed the operation “obliterated” the sites, but officials are still assessing how significant of a blow it dealt to Tehran’s program, CNN reported.
CNN said B-2 stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen massive “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz facilities, while Tomahawk missiles struck Isfahan, according to a US timeline of the attack.
Iran is yet to reveal the extent of the damage caused to its nuclear facilities, or outline its full response, the Al Jazeera reported.
But it launched a fresh barrage of missiles into Israel that wounded dozens and flattened buildings in Tel Aviv, according to the media report.
The Al Jazeera also noted that Israel continues attacks on Iran, carrying out another wave of air raids on Tehran and western parts of the country and claiming hits on missile launchers, satellite facilities and military radar sites.
Trump suggested the possibility of regime change in Iran, after his top officials said the administration wasn’t interested in such a move, the Washington Post said.
Iran’s permanent representative to the UN described the US strikes as a “blatant crime” and accused Israel of drawing Trump into the conflict, adding that Iran’s armed forces will decide the “timing, nature, and scale of Iran’s proportionate response,” according to the Washington Post.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday the US attacks on the country's three nuclear facilities indicated that the US is the "main factor" behind Israel's hostile actions against Iran, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Pezeshkian said although the US initially was trying to deny its role in Israeli strikes against Iran, it eventually joined the war, Xinhua said.