Every American is Now a Target in the Middle East: Iran Declares Open War After U.S. Strikes on Nuclear Sites

Published by RYNI Media
Omotayo Oluwaseun

22nd June 2025

The Middle East stands on the precipice of all-out war as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a chilling declaration: every American—civilian or military—within the region is now a “legitimate target.” This provocative statement follows a series of high-precision U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, sparking a volatile escalation in the ongoing conflict.

The declaration , according Jerusalem Post, came shortly after U.S. President Donald J. Trump confirmed that U.S. forces, in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had launched coordinated strikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites—facilities long monitored by Western intelligence for uranium enrichment activities.

In a post published on the IRGC’s official social media channels, the elite paramilitary force declared, “Now the war has begun for us,” a chilling indication that Tehran has abandoned strategic restraint in favour of overt hostility. Iranian state television echoed this sentiment, warning that any American presence within the region—military personnel, diplomats, contractors, or civilians—could now be subject to reprisal.

Initially, Iranian officials downplayed the impact of the strikes, suggesting minimal damage. However, this narrative quickly unraveled. State-run media confirmed mass evacuations at the nuclear sites, while an advisor to the Iranian Parliament told Tasnim News Agency that although Fordow had been partially evacuated in anticipation, it sustained direct hits.

Despite Iran’s attempts to minimize the damage, satellite imagery obtained by Western intelligence revealed plumes of smoke and substantial destruction at both Fordow and Isfahan. Structural integrity of key underground bunkers appeared compromised, according to defense analysts reviewing the data.

President Trump responded with characteristic defiance, praising the operation as a “spectacular military success.” “Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” he said, “has been dismantled in one night.” He warned Iran’s leadership that any further aggression would be met with “devastating, unmatched military force.”

The ripple effect of the strikes is already being felt across the region. A senior Houthi official in Yemen—aligned with Tehran—announced that retaliation against U.S. naval assets in the Red Sea is ‘only a matter of time.’

This marks a grave shift in Tehran’s posture—from defensive deterrence to open confrontation. Experts warn that the IRGC’s declaration effectively tears down any remaining diplomatic backchannels and could trigger a wave of proxy conflict across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and the Gulf states.

As global powers urge de-escalation, the United States and its regional allies are bracing for what could become a multi-theatre conflict, threatening not only regional peace but global energy and security stability.

The world watches as a once-cold standoff now burns red-hot—with the chilling reality that for Americans in the Middle East, the rules have changed.

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