Iran on Monday accused President Trump of being a “gambler” by launching large-scale airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites — warning that the US should expect to pay for joining Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic.
“Mr. Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, vowed in a recorded video statement.
The warning came as Iran and Israel continued to trade airstrikes early Monday as the world braced for Tehran’s response to the US attack on its nuclear facilities over the weekend, which Trump signaled could lead to a change in Iran’s leadership.
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sit in the Situation Room as they monitor the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites, at the White House on June 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. Getty Images
“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???” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday evening.
“MIGA!!!”
Still, Trump’s administration has repeatedly stressed that its decision to drop a barrage of massive bunker-buster bombs early Sunday was solely to destroy Iran’s nuclear program rather than eliminate Iran’s leadership.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had stressed earlier Sunday.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also reiterated that diplomacy was still the goal and that the US was not at war with Iran itself — just its nuclear program.
Still, Trump has also repeatedly warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates against US forces.
The US launched 75 precision-guided munitions, including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, against three Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday.
The strikes — which Trump called a “Bullseye!!!” — appeared to have severely damaged or destroyed Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, experts surveying commercial satellite imagery said.
“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!”
US defense officials have said they are working to determine just how much damage the strikes did.
The Iranian army media office on June 23, 2025, shows army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami (center) speaking during a meeting in the War Command Room. Iranian Army Media Office/AFP via Getty Images
Trump gave the order for the attacks after his push for diplomacy on the Israel-Iran conflict hit a significant snag last week when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei went into hiding amid fears of an assassination attempt by the Jewish state, three US officials told Axios.
Stay up to date on the latest developments in the US airstrike on Iran
Turkey had originally proposed a meeting between US and Iranian officials last week, with the discussions allegedly including Trump’s personal involvement in a cease-fire meeting.
The message was meant to be relayed to Khamenei, but the leader of the Islamic Republic could not be reached to sign off on the deal because he went radio silent, the sources said.
A map of the US bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Toni Misthos/NY Post Design
With no way to strike a nuclear deal with Tehran to avoid military intervention, Trump gave the green light to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday.
Tehran, which denies its nuclear program is for anything other than peaceful purposes, launched a barrage of missiles toward Israel in the aftermath of the US attack — wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv.
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The Israeli military said Monday that about 20 jets had conducted a wave of strikes against military targets in western Iran and Tehran overnight.
In Kermanshah, in western Iran, missile and radar infrastructure was targeted, and in Tehran, a surface-to-air missile launcher was struck, it said.
With Post wires