Two military analysts have said Iran could resort to “asymmetric” measures — such as terrorism or cyberattacks — to retaliate against the United States because Israeli attacks have reduced Iran’s military capabilities.

“I think the (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is probably trying to figure out what capabilities it has left,” said CNN national security analyst David Sanger. “It can shoot missiles … But in October, the Israelis took out the equipment that’s needed to actually make new solid fuel for those missiles. So, every one they shoot off is an asset that they can’t really replace.”

The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian military that was established in the aftermath of the country’s revolution in 1979 and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Similarly, retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks, the head of geopolitical strategy at Academy Securities, an investment bank, told CNN Israel “did a pretty good job of damaging Iran’s capacity to launch its rather robust missile inventory.”

However, Marks said, the United States is aware and prepared for that, and could potentially get ahead of it “before any any of those possibilities can be realized.”

Iranians had faced the possibility of US intervention ever since Israel launched its strikes on nuclear and military targets — yet when it came, some said they slept through the strikes.

Qom residents woke to the sounds of emergency vehicles’ sirens blaring and an increased presence on the streets of the Basij militia, a volunteer force made of fighters loyal to Iran’s religious leaders.

But five people living in Qom, a city that lies some 30 kilometers (or about 18 miles) from the Fordow nuclear site that was struck by the US early on Sunday morning, said they were surprised to find out about what happened when they got up in the morning, having heard nothing overnight.

The US bombed the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant just after 2 a.m. local time Sunday. Qom, like other Iranian cities, does not have an aerial attack warning system, so residents would have had no warning before the strikes.

Qom is considered a holy city, home to Iran’s largest and most famous Shia seminary. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei studied at the Qom Seminary, as did several of Iran’s former presidents.

Similarly, people living in a village some 35 kilometers from the Natanz facility, which was also bombed overnight, also said they didn’t hear anything last night.

President Donald Trump made a final decision “minutes before the bombs were dropped” on Saturday, Vice President JD Vance said, adding that the US president “had the ability to call off this attack until the very last minute” and decided to proceed.

The US is now closely watching whether Iran attacks American troops or continues its nuclear weapons program, Vance said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”

He suggested that Iran’s next steps would become clear within the next 24 hours, describing a “very delicate moment.”

So far, Vance said, the US has “received some indirect messages from the Iranians” as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier Sunday that there are “both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels.”

Pressed on what would happen if Iran takes steps to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Vance said that action “would be suicidal” and would “destroy their own economy.”

Vance reiterated that the US has “no interest in boots on the ground” and dismissed concerns that the US involvement would escalate.

US airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility appear to have left at least six large craters, pointing to the use of bunker busting bombs, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery found.

The images captured by satellite company Maxar showed six visible, separate impact craters in two nearby locations at Fordow — a highly secretive site buried deep in the mountains. The craters can be seen along a ridge running over the underground complex.

Earlier Sunday, a US official confirmed to CNN the US had used B-2 bomber planes to drop more than a dozen massive “bunker buster” bombs as part of the attack on Fordow and two other nuclear sites. These weapons can penetrate deep underground before detonating and are seen as essential for targeting the facility, much of which is buried beneath the ground.

Satellite imagery also showed significant changes to the color of the mountainside where the site is housed, indicating a vast area was covered with a layer of grey ash in the aftermath of the strikes.

As of yet, the level of damage to the underground facility is unclear.

This post has been updated with additional imagery.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he talked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning, hours after the United States launched military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Graham said Netanyahu asked him to tell the American public that “Israel is profoundly grateful for all we do for Israel and very grateful for to President (Donald) Trump for what he ordered last night.”

“He wanted me to urge the Iranian people to end this madness, take this regime down and have a better life for yourselves and be part of the region in a new and different way,” Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding that Netanyahu also “wanted me to tell the American people, Israel’s not going to live this way anymore.”

Graham, a close ally of Trump who has been urging the president to take action against Iran, said he doesn’t see US “boots on the ground in our future, but I do see Israel not stopping,” predicting Israel would make Iran’s regime “change, or replace it.”

“This was the right call at the right time. It stopped their program from advancing even further. Iran with a nuclear weapon is an existential threat of the State of Israel,” Graham said. “The country is in the hands of religious Nazis.”

Vice President JD Vance, in his first public comments since President Donald Trump authorized US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, emphasized that the US is “not at war” with Iran as he laid out the president’s decision-making process.

“We’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” Vance said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker,” calling the strikes a “testament to the power of the American military.”

Asked what intelligence led to the decision, Vance described a “narrow window of opportunity.”

Vance added, “Of course we trust our intelligence community, but we also trust our instincts. … The Iranians stopped negotiating in good faith – that was the real catalyst.”

The vice president also suggested that Trump arrived at the conclusion to authorize the strikes after issuing what he described as “private ultimatums” to Iran. He declined to detail those ultimatums.

CNN has previously reported that Trump offered Iran a 60-day window in April to negotiate, asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on striking the country to allow those talks to progress.

Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California on Sunday joined the chorus of lawmakers in his party who say the US strikes on Iran were unconstitutional because President Donald Trump did not seek congressional approval.

Schiff added that lawmakers “will have a vote on a War Powers Resolution,” which seeks to limit the president’s ability to deploy the military.

The House and Senate in the coming the days are expected to take votes on measures related to the limits of the president’s war powers – an already tense debate on Capitol Hill.

Late Saturday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also called for a vote on the resolution, saying, “No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said the president’s actions were “absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”

Schiff stopped short of signing on to Ocasio-Cortez’s comments and said that “the better remedy is” passing the War Powers Resolution.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog praised the White House’s mass bombing on three nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday, saying the “historic” move could lead to a “much better future” in the region.

The Israeli president effusively praised his US counterpart’s “bold” and “outstanding decision,” which directly propelled Washington into the regional fighting.

“We all need to commend President Trump for his bold decision. It’s a historic decision, an outstanding decision that clearly can shift the direction of the Middle East to a much better future,” Herzog told Kasie Hunt on CNN’s State of the Union.

Israel launched a mass assault on Iran on earlier this month that it says are targeting the country’s nuclear systems, triggering retaliatory strikes from Tehran. The brewing war has already wreaked a brutal human cost.

Then early Sunday, the US deployed Air Force assets to target major facilities in Iran for the first time in several decades.

Iran’s nuclear capabilities were “hit very hard,” Herzog said, adding that both US and Israeli attacks have eliminated the program “as an imminent threat.” Analysts say the full impact of recent attacks is unknown.

Trump was in close contact with top Israeli officials over the weekend, including the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog told CNN. “We need to look ahead,” he said.

Explosions were heard in Iran’s southwest city of Bushehr Sunday, Iranian state-affiliated media said without indicating the exact location of the blasts.

The news outlets said Israel had struck the area. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

Bushehr is home to Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant, and the port city is close to a number of capital cities in the Gulf region, located around the Persian Gulf sea. The Fars news agency said the strikes were targeted at two locations in the city, but it did not say that the nuclear plant was targeted.

Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Agency for Atomic Energy, warned last week that a direct attack on the Bushehr nuclear plant would result in “a very high release of radioactivity,” which would affect people within hundreds of kilometers of the plant.

Israel and the United States have both struck Iran’s nuclear facilities over the past week.

Meanwhile, in the city of Yazd in central Iran, two military areas have been hit by Israel, the state-affiliated Mehr News Agency said, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a military group in Iran.

A video geolocated by CNN showed smoke billowing from the IRGC’s Shahid Sadoughi Barracks in Yazd.

The US military’s operation against Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday “had the desired effect,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday, but an assessment of the attack’s full impact is still underway.

In particular, Hegseth said, the US believes the attack on Iran’s underground Fordow facility “achieved destruction of capabilities.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said it would be “way too early” to comment on whether Iran still retains some nuclear capabilities while the assessment is ongoing.

Caine also said the US is taking “proactive” steps to protect US troops in the region.

Tehran’s insistence it is abiding by the United Nations’ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is “littered with lies,” according to a top researcher.

UN officials have so far struggled to taper Iran’s “assuredly ongoing efforts to prepare to build a nuclear weapon,” the chief of the Washington, DC-based non-profit, the Institute for Science and International Security, said Sunday following a wave of US and Israeli attacks deep into Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“(Iran) has created this situation for themselves,” David Albright told CNN’s Becky Anderson on CNN Newsroom, referring to the US’ mass bombing of three key nuclear sites in Iran overnight.

Regional violence flared earlier this month after Israel unleashed a mass assault on Iran that it says is targeting nuclear capabilities, prompting retaliatory strikes from Tehran.

Then late Saturday, Washington further inflamed the fighting — which has already inflicted a bitter human cost — after it dropped huge bombs on the key sites of Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.

While analysts say the initial impact of the US strikes is unknown, initial footage showed huge plumes of smoke billowing over Fordow, where the most clandestine operations have been taking place in the mountains of northwestern Iran.

Albright told CNN that he estimated the US bombs would try to cause “severe damage” along the tunnel entrances, and veneration shaft of the facility which offers a route down to underground enrichment halls.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled David Albright’s last name.

The United Arab Emirates — which neighbors Iran and hosts American troops at a base in Abu Dhabi — has stressed the need for an “immediate de-escalation” to avoid serious repercussions and “spare the region from being pulled into deeper” instability.

A statement from its foreign ministry called on countries to intensify efforts to find a “comprehensive resolution” to safeguard the region.

This comes after Iran threatened to retaliate against the US for attacking its nuclear facilities overnight.

Meanwhile, the UAE’s nuclear regulator issued a statement to “reassure the public” that the relevant national authorities are closely monitoring the developments related to nuclear facilities in Iran, the Emirati state news agency WAM said.

The regulator said its monitoring had confirmed there are no impacts to the UAE resulting from the attack. It also urged the public to rely on official sources for information and to avoid spreading rumors and unverified news.

After the United States’ overnight strikes on Iran’s secretive nuclear program, the most important question is at least a “known unknown” — that is, what remains of it.

The answer could define the region for decades to come, and be the ultimate arbiter of US President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on another conflict in the Middle East.

It is also an answer bedeviled by the elliptical and fickle nature of intelligence. On the one hand, public discussion of nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan should have left Tehran unwilling to let all of its nuclear secrets reside there. (Iran has said its program is entirely peaceful, although the UN’s nuclear watchdog reported finding uranium particles enriched up to 83% – just short of weapons grade).

If, as Israel maintains, Iran’s nuclear program has a hidden element, then surely that would not be housed in the same places where UN inspectors roam, and in the case of Fordow, over which there has been a public discussion for days of what American bombs might penetrate its deep caverns.

Read more analysis from CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh here.

The US is making multiple efforts to communicate with Iranian officials following the US’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as President Donald Trump and his top lieutenants call on the country to negotiate a diplomatic path forward.

“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,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a Pentagon news conference Sunday.

Hegseth continued, “They understand precisely what the American position is, precisely what steps they can take to allow for peace, and we hope they do so.”

CNN has reported that Trump made the decision to proceed with the strikes when it became clear that diplomatic efforts had stalled.

The US and Iran had held five rounds of nuclear talks, led by special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, since April. A sixth round of talks set for last Sunday was canceled following unprecedented Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and military officials. The White House had said the US remained in correspondence with Iran last week.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine offered a timeline of the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, an effort codenamed “Operation Midnight Hammer.”

Midnight ET: The operation began overnight Friday into Saturday morning, Caine said at a Pentagon news conference. As B-2 bombers launched from the US, some headed west as a decoy while the rest “proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications throughout the 18-hour flight.”

Around 5 p.m. ET: Caine said a US submarine “launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets” at the Isfahan nuclear site in Iran.

He added that upon approach of the Natanz and Fordow facilities, the US employed “high-speed suppression weapons” with fighter aircraft to “ensure safe passage” of the B-2 bombers.

Around 6:40 p.m. ET: The lead B-2 bomber launched two massive “bunker-buster” bombs at Fordow nuclear site, Caine said, and the “remaining bombers then hit their targets.”

Those additional targets were struck, Caine said, “between 6:40 p.m. ET and 7:05 p.m. ET.”

That places the timing of these attacks around 2:10 a.m. local time in Iran on Sunday.

In total, Caine said, 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators were dropped.

Flight back to US: The US military then “began its return home,” Caine said, noting that no shots were fired by Iran at the US on the way in or out.

This post has been updated with additional details from Caine’s news conference.

The US military operation against Iran on Saturday, codenamed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” involved more than 125 aircraft and a deception operation that saw bombers deployed over the Pacific as a “decoy,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters on Sunday.

The unprecedented operation involved seven stealth B2 bombers. Bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on two Iranian nuclear facilities, Fordow and Natanz, Caine said. Tomahawk missiles were launched at Isfahan.

All told, more than 125 aircraft were involved, including the B2s, refueling tankers, reconnaissance planes and fighter jets. The bombers struck Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan beginning at 6:40 p.m. ET and were out of Iranian airspace by 7 p.m. ET, Caine said.

Flying from a base in Missouri, the mission was the longest B2 mission since just after the September 11 attacks, Caine said.

Dozens of Tomahawk missiles were also launched at targets inside Iran as part of the operation, Caine said.

“At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States,” Caine said. “As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy — a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa.”

“The main strike package comprised of seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications,” Caine said.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says Iran’s nuclear ambitions “have been obliterated” following US military strikes on the country’s key nuclear facilities.

Top US officials are holding a news conference at the Pentagon after the attack on key Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are briefing reporters on the US operation.

President Donald Trump has claimed the sites were “totally obliterated” and warned in a White House address of more US strikes if Iran does not make peace.

Israel has “a variety of goals” in Iran, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday, noting that the IDF was continuing its military offensive in the country after the United States launched strikes against Iranian nuclear sites overnight.

“We have plans and goals, and we constantly operate to achieve them. We’re also preparing for the campaign to prolong,” IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin said at a media briefing.

Israel still has a “variety of goals” in Iran, he added, without specifying what they are.

He said the IDF is “examining” the results of the US bombing of a key Iranian nuclear site and that Israel is “constantly examining and looking into the situation” at Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, which was struck by the US in its attack along with the facilities of Natanz and Isfahan.

“Our coordination with the American partner has been close over the years and has become even closer more recently,” Defrin said. “Simultaneously, the IDF continues to strike in Iran.”

Concerned by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, world leaders have reacted after the United States struck Iran’s nuclear facilities.

UK: Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged Iran “to show restraint and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis” in a post on X, insisting that the UK did not participate in the US strikes. Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier urged Iran to return to the negotiating table after the US’ strikes, calling Iran’s nuclear program “a grave threat to international security.”

France: Foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France had noted the US strikes overnight “with concern,” adding that it had not participated. “France has repeatedly expressed its very firm opposition to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. France is convinced that a lasting resolution to this issue requires a negotiated solution within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he continued. “It remains ready to contribute to this in collaboration with its partners.”

Germany: Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the German cabinet met on Sunday after American bombs were dropped on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “The Federal Chancellor and the ministers of the Security Cabinet will consult closely with their partners in the EU and the USA on further steps during the course of the day. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated his call on Iran to enter into immediate negotiations with the USA and Israel and to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” he said.

Russia: Russia’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns” the US strikes, calling it an “irresponsible decision” that “flagrantly violates international law,” despite Moscow having repeatedly violated international law in its ongoing, unprovoked war in Ukraine.

“We call for an end to aggression and for increased efforts to create conditions for returning the situation to a political and diplomatic track,” the ministry said, warning that the US strikes mean “a dangerous round of escalation has begun,” which risks “further undermining” security in the region

China: A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said: “China strongly condemns the US attack on Iran and the nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. This move by the US seriously violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and exacerbates tensions in the Middle East.”

“China calls on the parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiations. China is willing to work with the international community to pool efforts, uphold justice, and make efforts to restore peace and stability in the Middle East” it added.

Turkey: Turkey’s foreign ministry said it has “consistently warned about the risk of the conflict, sparked by Israeli aggression, spreading throughout the region and destabilizing the security environment” in a statement Sunday, saying the US strike “has elevated that risk to its highest level.”

“Tukey is deeply concerned about the potential consequences of the US attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The current developments could escalate the regional conflict into a global one. We do not want to see this catastrophic scenario materialize. We call on all relevant parties to act responsibly, to cease the attacks immediately, and to refrain from actions that could lead to further loss of life and destruction. The only way to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program is through negotiations,” the statement read.

The European Union: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said “stability must be the priority” and “respect for international law is critical.” She said: “Now is the moment for Iran to engage in a credible diplomatic solution. The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis.”

European Council President Antonio Costa said he was “deeply alarmed by the news arriving from the Middle East.” He said: “Diplomacy remains the only way to bring peace and security to the Middle East region. Too many civilians will once again be the victims of a further escalation. The EU will continue engaging with the parties and our partners to find a peaceful solution at the negotiating table,” he added.

Canada: Prime Minister Mark Carney said the “situation in the Middle East remains highly volatile” and stressed that “stability in the region is a priority.” He called on parties to return to the negotiating table to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis which “should lead to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Japan: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said “a de-escalation as soon as possible is more important than anything” but that “at the same time, Iran’s nuclear weapons development must be stopped.” He told reporters in Tokyo on Sunday that “we are closely monitoring the situation there with grave concern.”

Pakistan: A foreign ministry spokesperson said Pakistan condemns the US attacks, saying it is “gravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region,” but stated Iran “has the legitimate right to defend itself.” It said: “The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond. We emphasize the imperative need to respect civilian lives and properties and immediately bring the conflict to end.”