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US Airstrikes Hit Iran; Trump Says Nuclear Ambitions Impossible

7/21/2026

48 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Central Command carried out waves of airstrikes against Iranian military targets in recent days.
President Donald Trump said Iran wants to “desperately meet” after those airstrikes.
Trump asserted Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and has no chance of doing so.
He claimed the United States is degrading Iran’s capabilities at levels “nobody thought was possible,” noting a slip in Jordan that killed two American service members.

History

Historical Context

In April 1988, Ronald Reagan ordered Operation Praying Mantis, a strike that sank two Iranian frigates, destroyed two oil platforms and crippled more than 40 naval assets after the mine-damaged USS Samuel B. Roberts. The attack forced Iran into July cease-fire ending the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, and U.S. Central Command, on President Donald Trump’s orders, cites it as a precedent for airstrikes on Iranian targets.

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Story summary

U.S. Central Command carried out waves of airstrikes against Iranian military targets in recent days.
President Donald Trump said Iran wants to “desperately meet” after those airstrikes.
Trump asserted Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and has no chance of doing so.
He claimed the United States is degrading Iran’s capabilities at levels “nobody thought was possible,” noting a slip in Jordan that killed two American service members.

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