International Relations Current Affairs Analysis
Context
• Prompting fears of a wider regional conflict, the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran early on Sunday by dropping 30,000-pound bombs on a uranium enrichment site buried under a mountain, a risky gambit that aimed at destroying the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme after months of failed diplomacy.
• The U.S. also fired dozens of missiles, and President Donald Trump said that the combination of strikes “completely and fully obliterated” three nuclear sites. However, U.S. defence officials said an assessment of the damage was ongoing.
• The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed that attacks took place on the Fordow and Natanz enrichment facilities as well as its Isfahan nuclear site, but it insisted that its nuclear programme will not be stopped.
• Both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination following the strikes.
• Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, has reportedly approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks by the U.S. on Iranian nuclear facilities, the country’s state-owned media PressTV reported on Sunday.
• The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and is one of the world’s most important oil trade routes.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, and called for “immediate de-escalation” on Sunday, hours after the U.S. struck three prominent nuclear sites in Iran.