In his first public statement following the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned Washington’s intervention, accusing it of being the driving force behind Israel’s military campaign against Tehran.
Speaking through Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Pezeshkian declared, “The United States joined the battlefield only after witnessing Israel’s impotence.” He alleged that the strikes further exposed America’s central role in supporting what he called the “Zionist regime’s aggression.”
Background to the Escalation
The United States launched precision strikes overnight on Iran’s key nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan—marking a dramatic escalation in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. US President Donald Trump claimed the facilities were “completely obliterated” and issued a stern warning of more strikes if Iran retaliated.
The American involvement comes after a week of high-intensity conflict that began on June 13, when Israeli forces launched major attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Those Israeli strikes reportedly killed several top military officers and nuclear scientists.
Iran responded with a barrage of missiles and drones, some of which reportedly penetrated Israel’s advanced air defense systems, prompting fears of a full-scale regional war.
