The U.S. military’s strike on three sites in Iran raised urgent questions about what remains of Tehran’s nuclear program and how its weakened military might respond.
The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
President Donald Trump, who has warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates against U.S. forces, has mused about the possibility of “regime change ″ in Iran, despite administration officials earlier indicating they wanted to restart talks with Iran.
What to know:
How we got here: Israel launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran on June 13, which Israeli officials said was necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran has retaliated with a series of missile and drone strikes in Israel, while Israel has continued to strike sites in Iran.
