Trump hails ‘bullseye’ strikes on Iran and alludes to ‘regime change’

‘Bullseye’ – Trump celebrates hitting Iran’s nuclear sites

• US President Donald Trump has just posted on his Truth Social site saying the US caused “monumental damage” with its strikes on “all nuclear sites in Iran”.
• “Obliteration is an accurate term”, he wrote.
• Referring to a satellite image which he did not share in the post, Trump said a “white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock” and “completely shielded from flame”, while “the biggest damage took place far below ground level.”
• “Bullseye!!!” he added at the end of the post.

State Department issues worldwide caution alert for US citizens

Americans all over the world are asked to stay alert, in the wake of US strikes against Iran.

The US State Department has issued a worldwide security alert for US citizens.

“There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises US citizens worldwirde to exercise increased caution,” it says.

Iran and Israel trade strikes

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted minutes ago on X that sirens were sounding across central Israel because of a missile launch from Iran.

The Israeli military let civilians know a short time afterwards that it was safe to emerge from their shelters, signalling the threat was over for now.

Over the past day, Israel and Iran have been trading attacks.

From Iran to Israel

Earlier on Sunday Tel Aviv was hit by Iranian ballistic missiles. Residential buildings were damaged .

From Israel to Iran

Israel sent 20 fighter jets to conduct what it calls “intelligence-based strikes” across Tehran, Kermanshah and Hamedan.

The targets included missile storage and launch facilities, radar and satellite systems, and a surface-to-air missile launcher near Tehran, said Israeli officials.

Oil prices climb

Energy markets have opened for the first trading session following the US attack on Iran.

The price of the benchmark Brent Crude rose more than 3% in early trading, climbing to over $79 a barrel.

Oil prices were expected to increase following the attack over the weekend, with traders concerned about potential disruptions to the supply chain.

Stock markets in Asia will open over the next few hours.

US President Donald Trump has posted on social media that “it’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”

That’s despite his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying this morning that “this mission was not and has not been about regime change” and Vice-President JD Vance telling ABC on Sunday: “Well, first of all, we don’t want to achieve regime change. We want to achieve the end of the Iranian nuclear programme.”

Regime change has been a point of contention within Trump’s Republican Party.

The last Republican President, George W Bush, focused on regime change in Iraq, based on claims of weapons of mass destruction that turned out to be baseless.

Regime change and American entanglements in Middle East wars have largely fallen out of favour among the Republican base. President Trump capitalised on the unpopularity of the Bush-era neoconservatives, campaigning on a promise of “no new wars”.

But many traditional national security hawks and supporters of Israel’s strikes remain in Republican politics.

Attacking Iran’s nuclear sites wasn’t just a foreign policy decision for President Trump. He has to balance these competing constituencies in his domestic calculations, too.