Trump compares US strikes on Iran to Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombings

US President Donald Trump compared the recent US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

Trump stated, “I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended the Israel-Iran war.”

He emphasized that without the US strikes, the conflict would still be ongoing, saying, “If we did not take that out, they would still be fighting right now”.

The tensions between Iran and Israel escalated on June 13 when Israel launched a large-scale operation against Iran, accusing it of implementing a secret military nuclear program. Tehran retaliated with Operation “True Promise III”, targeting military sites inside Israel. The US later joined Israel’s campaign, striking three Iranian nuclear sites on June 22.

Trump claimed that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, stating on Monday that the two countries had reached an agreement. However, Iran denied the military dimension of its nuclear program, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not seen concrete evidence of an active nuclear weapons program.

Trump’s comparison of the US strikes to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings has sparked intense debate. Critics argue that the comparison is insensitive and inaccurate, given the devastating impact of the atomic bombings on civilians. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in massive loss of life, with 140,000 people killed in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, mostly civilians.

While Trump claimed that the US strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities, Pentagon analysts suggested that the impact may be limited, potentially delaying Iran’s nuclear ambitions by only a few months.