Politics
Trump Likens Iran Strikes to Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings: ‘Not Drawing a Parallel, But…’
Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, has vehemently justified the recent airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, claiming they destroyed everything and even drawing comparisons to the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Donald Trump said, “I don’t want to draw parallels with Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but it’s basically something similar that ended that war,” at the NATO summit in The Hague. The conflict ended as a result. His remarks come as debate over whether the bombings have seriously harmed Tehran’s nuclear program is intensifying.
According to reports, the US targeted important Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The White House said the operation was a turning point in halting Iran’s nuclear aspirations.
Trump Slams Pentagon Intelligence as ‘Fake News’
Trump also took issue with media reports that referenced preliminary Pentagon evaluations that indicated Iran’s key nuclear infrastructure was mostly unharmed by the strikes. The bombings may have only momentarily slowed Iran’s nuclear development—by a few months at most, according to reports from CNN and The New York Times.
Trump responded on his Truth Social platform, writing: “The failing New York Times and fake news CNN have joined forces to try to discredit one of the most successful military operations in history. Iran’s nuclear installations have been totally demolished!
White House Backs Trump’s Statement
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s assertions, calling the intelligence reports “flat-out wrong.” “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs on their targets exactly: complete obliteration,” she continued. Despite differing assessments from the intelligence community, the administration has insisted that the operation’s scope and accuracy left Iran’s facilities in ruins.
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Trump’s comparison reintroduced the tragic atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 to the public’s attention. Little Boy, the bomb exploded in Hiroshima on August 6, resulted in the deaths of around 140,000 individuals, whereas Fat Man, released on Nagasaki three days afterward, caused approximately 70,000 fatalities. The bombings almost obliterated both cities, and Japan’s unconditional capitulation ended World War II.
Trump clarified that he wasn’t precisely equating the two events, but his remark underscored the degree of damage he believes the Iran attacks inflicted
