Washington, D.C. [USA], June 22 (ANI): Following U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin stated that Iran is unlikely to retaliate in a manner that is expected.
Rubin expressed greater concern about possible attacks on civilian targets within the United States than on U.S. military bases in the Middle East. “Iran oftentimes will react with bluster. However, sometimes their retaliation is then much more limited in a way that signals that they don’t want this to go too much further. I suspect that Ayatollah Khamenei will have to respond simply because his own legitimacy is so tied to this nuclear program,” Rubin told ANI.
“Beyond that, we hear a lot of talk about American bases in the region, whether they could become targeted. I don’t think that Iranians are going to retaliate in a way that we expect. I would be much more worried about a shopping mall in Dallas, Texas or in Iowa than I would be about the U.S. base in Bahrain or in Qatar,” he added.
On Saturday (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States had “successfully” targeted three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—with a full payload of bombs dropped on Fordow as the primary target.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. 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 stated.
“Congratulations to our great American warriors. There is not another military in the world that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
The underground Fordow site and the larger Natanz facility are Iran’s two principal uranium enrichment centers. According to The New York Times, Natanz had already been struck earlier in the week by Israeli forces using smaller weapons.
CNN reported that B-2 bombers were deployed in the operation, uniquely equipped to carry the Massive Ordnance Penetrator—a 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb believed to be the only weapon capable of targeting Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site. Each B-2 can carry two of these powerful bombs.
In a separate post on Truth Social, President Trump warned, “Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight. Thank you! Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.”
According to The New York Times, these strikes mark the first time since Iran’s 1979 revolution that the U.S. Air Force has launched attacks on key Iranian sites—an act widely considered an act of war. This move signifies a major shift, with President Trump directly involving the U.S. military in open conflict with Iran—something that successive presidents, beginning with Jimmy Carter, have avoided.
The conflict between Israel and Iran entered its ninth day on Saturday, with the United States now openly supporting Israel. The hostilities began on June 13, when Israel launched a large-scale airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion.”
In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated a massive drone and missile campaign, “Operation True Promise 3,” targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production sites and energy supply centers. (ANI)
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