White House Releases X Photo:
Red Cap and Tie in the Situation Room
On the 21st (local time), the White House released a photo of the so-called "War Room," the White House Situation Room, immediately after President Donald Trump announced a "successful bombing" of three Iranian nuclear facilities.
On this day, the White House posted the related photo on White House X (formerly Twitter) immediately following President Trump's address to the nation.
In the released photo, President Trump is seen wearing a red cap with the slogan "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) and a red tie, watching as a US B-2 stealth bomber drops a bunker buster on Fordow, an Iranian nuclear development facility.
The B-2 is the only aircraft capable of dropping the 30,000-pound "bunker buster" bomb (GBU-57), and is specialized for striking underground nuclear facilities.
Attendees in the War Room included Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cane, Vice President J D Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Trump delivered a national address announcing the airstrikes from the East Room, with Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio standing in a row behind him. From June 18, when military conflict between Israel and Iran escalated, through this day, Trump convened his national security team for meetings and intelligence briefings for four consecutive days. On the day of the airstrike, June 21, he returned to the White House from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to hold meetings with his aides.
On this day, Trump stated on his social networking service, Truth Social, "We have completed a very successful attack on Iran's three nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. All aircraft are now out of Iranian airspace."
On the 21st, John Ratcliffe, CIA Director, was monitoring the US Air Force's airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities in the White House Situation Room in Washington DC. Photo by X
He added, "We dropped every bomb we could carry on our primary target, Fordow. All aircraft are returning safely. Congratulations to our great American warriors. No military in the world could have accomplished this except the US military. Now is the time for peace. Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Meanwhile, US media outlets focused extensively on the news of the nuclear facility strikes, reporting that the United States has now directly intervened in the war between Israel and Iran, and warning that the possibility of a wider Middle East war has increased.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "The United States has put additional pressure on Iran's weakened regime, risking further escalation of the conflict." The New York Times (NYT) also stated that US involvement "heightens fears of a broader regional war" and predicted that "the war is likely entering a more dangerous phase."
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