The ultimate success of the U.S. and Israeli strikes, and so Trump's decision to intervene militarily, depends on how Iran chooses to react. Some analysts fear this action will accelerate Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon, with hardliners in Tehran now viewing it as an urgent priority.

U.S. strikes on multiple Iranian nuclear facilities last month set back Tehran's nuclear program by about two years, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell disclosed during a press briefing. "Iran is much further away today from a nuclear weapon than they were before the president took bold action to fulfill his promise to the American people,