Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wrote on social media, "Now the war has begun for us," following US President Donald Trump's confirmation of US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday morning.
Additionally, a commentator on Iranian state television stated that every American civilian or military personnel in the region became a legitimate target.
The IRGC initially denied the strikes occurred, stating that "no evidence has been released so far to confirm Trump’s claim," adding "it is possible that his statement is merely a media show."
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Iranian national television later confirmed that three nuclear facilities have been evacuated, and an Iranian official cited by Tasnim News Agency confirmed that part of the Fordow nuclear site was attacked by 'enemy airstrikes.'
"Iran had been expecting attacks on Fordow for several nights. Fordow was evacuated long ago and did not sustain irreversible damage," an adviser said to the speaker of the Iranian parliament.
This comes after the US conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, namely Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, which US President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social on Saturday night.
"All planes are now outside of Iran's airspace. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home," Trump wrote.
"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this," he added.
Houthis respond to US strikes on Iran
A Yemeni Houthi official said on Sunday that the Iran-aligned group's response to the US attack on Iran was "only a matter of time."Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV that its ceasefire deal with Washington was before the "war" on Iran.
Iranian nuclear sites 'obliterated,' Trump says
Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, have been "completely and totally obliterated," Trump confirmed in an address from the White House Saturday night."Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror," he said, adding that the strikes were a "spectacular military success."
"Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace," Trump said. "If they don't, future attacks will be far greater, and a lot easier."
Trump also congratulated the US military and the IDF, along with all the "brilliant minds" behind the strikes. Trump added that there are still many targets left, saying that the choice for Iran was now "peace, or tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days."
