WASHINGTON, United States
U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing active U.S. military involvement in the war, and was set to meet with his national security team Saturday evening. He has said he would put off his decision for up to two weeks.
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said U.S. military involvement “would be very, very dangerous for everyone.”
He spoke on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkey.
Araghchi was open to further dialogue but emphasized that Iran had no interest in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continues to attack.
Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran’s underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs.
The U.S. has only configured and programmed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force.
On Saturday, multiple U.S. aerial refueling tankers were spotted on commercial flight trackers flying patterns consistent with escorting aircraft from the central U.S. to the Pacific. B-2 bombers are based in Missouri.
It was not clear whether the aircraft were a show of force or prepared for an operation. The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.
The war erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
One Tehran resident, Nasrin, writhed in her hospital bed as she described how a blast threw her against a wall in her apartment.
“I’ve had five surgeries. I think I have nothing right here that is intact,” she said Saturday. Another patient, Shahram Nourmohammadi, said he had been making deliveries when “something blew up right in front of me” at an intersection.
A number of Iranians fled the country. “Everyone is leaving Tehran right now,” said one who did not give his name after crossing into Armenia.
For many Iranians, updates remained difficult. Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org said Saturday that limited internet access had again “collapsed.” A nationwide internet shutdown has been in place for several days.
Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates.
Israel’s multitiered air defenses have shot down most of them, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and over 1,000 wounded.
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel’s military operation will continue “for as long as it takes” to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal.
No date was set for a new round of talks after ones in Geneva on Friday failed to produce a breakthrough.
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