By Reena Bhardwaj

Washington, DC [USA], June 22 (ANI): Following the US strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has said that Iranians will not retaliate in a manner, which is expected.

Rubin said that he would be much more worried about attacks on a shopping mall in Dallas, Texas or in Iowa than about the US bases in Bahrain in the West Asian region.

'Iran oftentimes will react with bluster. However, sometimes their retaliation is then much more limited in a way that signals that they don't want this to go too much further. I suspect that Ayatollah Khamenei will have to respond simply because his own legitimacy is so tied to this nuclear program,' the former Pentagon official told ANI.

'Beyond that, we hear a lot of talk about American bases in the region, whether they could become targeted. I don't think that Iranians are going to retaliate in a way that we expect. I would be much more worried about a shopping mall in Dallas, Texas or in Iowa than I would be about the US space in Bahrain or in Qatar,' Rubin said.

On Saturday (local time) US President Donald Trump said that the United States had 'successfully' hit three of Iran's key nuclear facilities--Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan--with a 'full payload of bombs' being dropped on Fordow as the primary target.

'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran's airspace. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home,' Trump stated.

'Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,' he added.

The underground site at Fordow and the larger Natanz plant were Iran's two primary uranium enrichment facilities, out of which Natanz had already been hit by Israel with smaller weapons earlier in the week, the New York Times reported.

According to CNN, the B-2 bombers are uniquely equipped to carry the Massive Ordnance Penetrator - a 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bomb believed to be the only weapon capable of targeting Iran's underground Fordow nuclear site. Each B-2 can carry two of these powerful bombs.

The US President in another post on Truth Social said, 'Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight. Thank you! Donald J. Trump, President of the United States'

As per the NYT, the strikes on these facilities represent the first time since Iran's 1979 revolution that the US Air Force has launched attacks on key sites within the country--an act considered an act of war. With this move, Trump has directly involved the US military in an open conflict with Iran, a step that successive American presidents, starting with Jimmy Carter, had deliberately avoided.

The conflict between Israel and Iran entered its ninth day on Saturday, with the US now joining in support of Israel. The conflict started after Israel, on June 13, launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, dubbed 'Operation Rising Lion'.

In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a large-scale drone and missile operation, 'Operation True Promise 3', targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centres. (ANI)