US president Donald Trump on Saturday night boasted of ordering the bombing run that he said destroyed Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles, praising American pilots for carrying out the long-planned mission.
“I also obliterated Iran's nuclear hopes by totally annihilating their enriched uranium,” Trump told a dinner hosted by the conservative American Cornerstone Institute. He described the B-2 stealth bombers that executed the raid as “beautiful” and said the pilots flew for 37 hours with the support of 52 refueling tankers.
“Every single one of those bombs hit its targets. It was absolutely amazing and they were the heroes,” he said.
Trump recounted meeting the pilots and mechanics after the mission, comparing them to film star Tom Cruise. According to his account, the airmen said they had practiced the strike for more than two decades and told him he was “the only president that had the courage to let us go and do our thing.”
His remarks come as the dispute over uranium enrichment remains the central obstacle in nuclear talks. Iranian officials insist their country’s right to enrich uranium on its own soil is non-negotiable under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, framing it as a matter of sovereignty. The United States argues that enrichment inside Iran poses an unacceptable proliferation risk and maintains Tehran can meet civilian nuclear needs through international supply.
Negotiations have stalled over this gap, with Tehran refusing to sign any accord without recognition of its enrichment rights, while Washington and European allies see such recognition as legitimizing a path to weaponization.
The deadlock has deepened after US strikes in June shut down Iran’s nuclear facilities, halting production and leaving the fate of hundreds of kilograms of enriched uranium unclear.
The European push to trigger the UN snapback mechanism this month means sanctions suspended under the 2015 deal will now return, further isolating Tehran.
