U.S. President Donald Trump gave the final authorization to launch airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday evening, a senior White House official confirmed to CNN.
Trump had spent several days weighing the U.S. role in the escalating conflict with Iran and reportedly discussed military coordination with Israeli officials in private briefings. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had been pursuing diplomatic options in parallel, but ultimately Trump opted for direct military engagement.
According to the official, Trump gave the go-ahead to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Saturday. Shortly after, “bunker buster” bombs were dropped on two major Iranian nuclear sites around 6:40 PM ET, which corresponds to 2:10 AM Sunday local time in Iran.
Vice President JD Vance stated during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press that Trump made the decision “minutes before the bombs dropped”, and emphasized that he had the option to abort the mission until the last moment, but chose to proceed.
The strike marks a dramatic escalation in the conflict and raises the possibility of broader regional fallout, even as U.S. officials insist the goal is limited to disabling Iran’s nuclear capability, not regime change.
