Iranian state media has delivered an ominous warning to the United States following a series of US airstrikes that targeted key Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. In a televised broadcast, Iranian anchor displayed graphics of US military bases across the Middle East under the headline “Within the fire range of Iran,” and declared, “Mr. Trump, you started it, and we will end it.”
The anchor further asserted, “They are definitely a legitimate target of Iran. The US has committed a crime against Iran by violating Iran’s airspace. It has no place in the West Asian region. Mr Donald Trump, you started it, and we will end it.”
JUST IN: Iranian state television displays a graphic of U.S. bases in the Middle East titled: "Within the fire range of Iran."
"Mr. Trump, you started it, and we will end it." pic.twitter.com/8eculMnwAG
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 22, 2025
On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US forces had “successfully” struck three major Iranian nuclear sites – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, in what he described as an “extremely successful operation” and a “spectacular military success” that had “utterly and completely destroyed” Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities.
Trump emphasised that the US could target “numerous additional targets” if Iran retaliated, warning that Iran faces a choice between “peace or a catastrophe far more severe than what we’ve experienced in the past eight days”.
The US strikes, which involved the use of bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles, came in direct support of Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran. These actions mark a significant escalation in the conflict, with the US directly intervening after over a week of Israeli air assaults aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear program and military infrastructure.
Iran’s response
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation confirmed the attacks on the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz facilities but insisted that its nuclear program would continue unabated, calling the strikes a “clear infringement of international law” and vowing not to allow its national industry to be obstructed.
Iranian officials have called upon the international community to condemn the US actions and accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of complicity.
State media’s broadcast of US bases as targets underscores the seriousness of Iran’s threats, with officials declaring American forces in the region as “legitimate targets” and vowing to “finish” what the U.S. started.
Years of tension and nuclear dispute
The US-Iran confrontation over nuclear ambitions has deep roots. Iran’s nuclear program, which began in the 1950s, has long been a source of international tension, with Iran insisting its aims are peaceful while the US, Israel and others suspect covert weapons development.
Under President Trump’s first administration, the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sweeping sanctions, leading to repeated escalations, including the 2020 assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and subsequent Iranian missile attacks on US bases.
Israel has consistently viewed Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and has taken covert and overt actions to disrupt it, with the latest military campaign representing the most direct and intense confrontation to date.