In the days before Donald Trump decided to order airstrikes, Iran apparently made plain what it would do if America attacked it.

President Trump approved the use of US military to attack Iran on Saturday. Following Trump’s orders, 125 aircraft flew more than 7,000 miles and struck three of the nation’s nuclear sites.

In an national address after the strikes, Trump told Americans: “The US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear assemblies in the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.”

“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.”

The president has also cautioned Iran against retaliating, saying that it “will be met with force far greater” than the attacks from the weekend.

However, in the days before three of its nuclear installations were hit, Iran made statements about what it would do if the United States launched airstrikes, according to sources.

Iran told Trump that if it were attacked, it would trigger sleeper-cell terror inside the United States, according to NBC News. Trump reportedly got such a message last week at the G7 summit in Canada via a middleman.

Spies and/or terrorists who are already in the US but do not act until they get explicit orders to attack are known as “sleeper cells.” According to The Independent, they frequently lead peaceful lives and have ordinary employment.

Authorities in New York are reportedly on ‘heightened alert’ in light of this terrifying warning.

“There are no notable threats directly to the city, but you always want to be conscious of lone wolves,” stated Eric Adams, the mayor of the city.

According to NBC, New York Police would concentrate their efforts on areas associated with the Jewish and Persian communities, as well as well-known tourist destinations like Times Square.

Adams continued, “We want to make sure no lone wolf attacks happen at those locations.”

He added that they’re’stepping up’ for the New Yorkers.

A number of foreign leaders have expressed their opinions on the current tension; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on Iran to resume talks.

Following the attack on Iran, the PM spoke with Trump on Sunday night. Downing Street reported that the leaders agreed that Tehran should not be let to obtain a nuclear weapon and urged the country to resume talks.

“The leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and reiterated the grave risk posed by Iran’s nuclear programme to international security,” Downing Street said.

“They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.”

“They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement.”

“They agreed to stay in close contact in the coming days.”

The Israel-Iran conflict summarised

Israel launches attack

When Israel launched a massive strike on Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 13, murdering nuclear scientists and prominent military officials, the already hostile relations between Israel and Iran reached new heights.

Israel claimed that the attack was motivated by Iran’s rapid development of nuclear weapons.

Iran retaliates

In retaliation, Iran launched a volley of missiles towards Israel, some of which managed to breach Tel Aviv’s Iron Dome air defence system.

At least 950 people have been murdered in Iran as a result of the back-and-forth attacks between the two countries, including 380 civilians, according to human rights activists. Israel, meanwhile, reported that Iranian strikes on the country have killed 24 people.

US wades in

Trump declared Saturday night’s bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz to be a great “success.”

It happened after Trump warned to use the “might” of the US military to strike Iran in any form, claiming that it would do so at “levels never seen before.”

Iran says US will face ‘everlasting consequences’

The US ‘committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the NPT by striking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,’ Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior,” he added.

Trump said the three sites had been “obliterated,” while Iranian officials acknowledged they had been hit in the US attack but denied any significant damage had been done.