Early in the morning of June 22, 2025, Iran time, U.S. bombers dropped bunker buster bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

President Donald Trump warned Iran that the United States could hit several other targets if Iran did not stand down.

Despite the Iranian government’s bluster—and its warning that it could target American bases in the region and Americans worldwide—there is no mitigating the damage Trump’s actions did to the Islamic Republic, its ambitions, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s legitimacy.