What to Know About the Israel-Iran Conflict as U.S. Joins War

The United States bombed three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday, bringing the U.S. military directly into Israel’s war with Iran, a move that could kick off a more dangerous phase in the war.

The attack followed days of uncertainty about whether Mr. Trump would intervene in the conflict, which began with a surprise attack on Iran by Israel on June 13.

President Trump said the sites that were hit on Saturday night included Iran’s two major uranium enrichment centers — the under-mountain facility at Fordo and the larger enrichment plant at Natanz. The third site, near the ancient city of Isfahan, is where Iran is believed to keep its near-bomb-grade enriched uranium.

“All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he said in a social media post on Saturday night, adding that a “full payload” of bombs had been dropped on Fordo. “All planes are safely on their way home.”

Israel has struck Iran’s nuclear facilities in what it says is an effort to stop it from developing a nuclear bomb, though Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. Ambassadors from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, had earlier expressed concern over the safety of nuclear facilities near their borders, and cautioned that any attack on such sites could have serious consequences.