President Donald Trump on Saturday evening confirmed that the United States military launched a direct aerial assault on Iran, targeting three of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

The announcement, made via his official social media handle, marks a profound shift in Washington’s role in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran—and could plunge the region into a broader war.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. 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!”

Trump added that he will address the nation at 10 p.m. ET Saturday, suggesting that more details could follow about what is now the most significant direct military engagement between the U.S. and Iran in years.

From “Two Weeks” to Total Strike

The airstrikes come just two days after Trump publicly stated that he was holding off on a military decision, citing “a substantial chance of negotiations” with Iran. In that statement, issued Thursday by the White House, he said he would wait “two weeks” before deciding whether military force was necessary.

Behind the scenes, senior administration officials were working to keep diplomatic channels with Iran open—even as Israel intensified pressure on the White House to join its military efforts. Trump had reportedly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a strike, in hopes that Washington could broker a new nuclear deal.

That cautious approach appears to have been abandoned.

In recent weeks, Trump has become more aggressive in his public rhetoric. On Tuesday, he warned Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that he was “an easy target” and declared America’s “patience is wearing thin.” The threat was widely interpreted as a signal that Washington was inching closer to a strike.

Now, that threat has been carried out.

A Historic Shift—and a New War Front

The attack brings the United States into direct armed conflict with Iran for the first time in Trump’s second term—a dramatic escalation in a region already convulsing from conflict. It also re-engages American forces in large-scale combat operations in the Middle East, a prospect Trump had campaigned against.

The targeted sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan—are central to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Natanz is home to uranium enrichment facilities, while Fordow, buried deep in a mountain, has long been seen as one of Iran’s most hardened and sensitive sites.

Details of the damage are still emerging, but Trump’s claim that a “full payload” of bombs was dropped on Fordow suggests the operation was designed to deliver a crippling blow to Iran’s nuclear capacity.

Iran has yet to issue an official response, but its leadership has repeatedly warned that any military incursion by the U.S. would be met with force.

Ayatollah Khamenei last week vowed that “any American military entry will undoubtedly be met with irreparable damage.” Iranian state TV amplified that message, saying any attack would trigger a “devastating response.”

What makes the attack even more striking is that it contradicts testimony given to Congress just months ago. In March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers that the U.S. intelligence community still believed Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon.

“We continue to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003,” Gabbard told a congressional panel.

Trump dismissed her assessment outright on Tuesday. “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

His rebuke highlights internal divisions within the administration—and underscores how quickly the president is willing to bypass his intelligence officials when acting on perceived threats.

High Stakes Gamble With Potential Fallout

The global response to the U.S. strike is expected to be swift and divided. European allies, many of whom remain signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump pulled out of in his first term, are likely to urge de-escalation and call for an emergency diplomatic solution.

China and Russia, both aligned to varying degrees with Tehran, may issue strong condemnations. NATO, meanwhile, is expected to hold urgent consultations.

In Israel, the strike will be seen as a vindication of its long-held claims that Iran was approaching nuclear weapons capability and that time was running out for preventive action. Netanyahu’s government has repeatedly pushed the U.S. to take the lead in confronting Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

But questions remain: Will Iran retaliate militarily against U.S. interests in the region? Will its proxies—particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon or armed factions in Iraq and Syria—begin targeting American personnel or facilities? And what does this mean for oil markets, shipping lanes, and stability across the Middle East?

Trump’s declaration that “now is the time for peace” echoes his previous claims that military action is often a prelude to negotiation. But his critics say launching airstrikes on nuclear sites in a sovereign nation risks igniting a broader regional war with unpredictable consequences.

There’s also the risk of further isolating the United States internationally, particularly if no evidence is presented to support the claim that Iran was imminently building a nuclear weapon.

The decision by Microsoft to abruptly suspend the official email account of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has done more than disrupt communication within the court—it has triggered a continental alarm in Europe, forcing governments and institutions to confront a long-ignored vulnerability: the overwhelming reliance on American technology.

According to The New York Times, the move followed a February executive order from United States President Donald Trump, who imposed sanctions on Khan over his investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel in Gaza. Microsoft, a key digital service provider for the ICC for years, complied swiftly—cutting off Khan’s court email and effectively freezing him out of internal communications. The decision came just months after the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Though Microsoft said it acted after consultation with the court, the broader message sent across Europe was unmistakable. The episode highlighted how deeply European institutions remain entangled in US-controlled digital systems—and how easily those tools can be leveraged or withdrawn based on political calculations in Washington.

“The ICC showed this can happen,” said Bart Groothuis, a Dutch member of the European Parliament and former cybersecurity chief at the Dutch Ministry of Defense. “It’s not just fantasy.”

The fallout from Microsoft’s action touched a nerve that has been raw since Donald Trump’s first presidency. From sudden tariffs on European steel and aluminum to threats against NATO and now, executive orders targeting international institutions, the pattern has left Europe feeling more exposed than ever.

Trump’s actions have reshaped the transatlantic relationship, injecting unpredictability and pushing European governments to question the wisdom of digital dependence on companies bound by US law. The ICC episode simply brought the issue into sharp focus.

Karim Khan, now on leave from the ICC pending an unrelated sexual misconduct investigation—which he denies—had been using Microsoft’s email services as part of broader digital support provided by the company. Microsoft also supplies the court with Office software, data storage tools, and cyber-defense systems to fend off attacks, including those reportedly from Russia, which is also under ICC scrutiny.

Following the sanctions, the company met with ICC officials and agreed to suspend Khan’s access but continue its broader services to the court. Khan shifted his communications to a different platform, while some court officials began using encrypted Swiss-based Proton Mail, The Times cited sources as saying.

Microsoft has since revised its internal policies to better protect clients caught in geopolitical conflicts. When the Trump administration imposed sanctions on four other ICC judges in June, the company did not cut off their email access.

Fueling a Push for European Tech Sovereignty

For many European leaders, the event was more than a warning—it was the evidence they needed to justify calls for technological self-reliance.

“This was the smoking gun that many Europeans had been looking for,” said Casper Klynge, a former Danish and EU diplomat who once worked at Microsoft. “The fear is that American companies will be obligated to comply if the US government targets a country, organization, or individual.”

That fear is now driving real action. Across the continent, efforts are accelerating to develop independent digital infrastructure, secure cloud services, and reduce the reach of Silicon Valley in Europe’s public sector.

Denmark’s digital ministry is testing alternatives to Microsoft Office. Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein region has begun cutting Microsoft from its systems. The Netherlands has declared digital autonomy a matter of national interest. At the EU level, plans are underway to invest billions of euros in AI data centers and sovereign cloud networks that avoid American servers entirely.

Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and other US firms control more than 70% of the European cloud market, according to Synergy Research Group. Their services power everything from law enforcement databases to hospital records and judicial systems.

Despite this dominance, American tech firms have come under increasing scrutiny in Europe. The European Commission has launched multiple antitrust and data privacy cases against Meta, Apple, and Google. But enforcement has done little to address the deeper problem: when political decisions are made in Washington, European access to US-based digital infrastructure can be curtailed with little warning.

Microsoft President Brad Smith acknowledged this imbalance, saying the ICC incident “added fuel to a fire that was already burning.” CEO Satya Nadella traveled to the Netherlands in June to unveil new “sovereign solutions” for European clients—legal and data protections meant to shield institutions during geopolitical crises.

But trust has already been shaken.

“If we don’t build adequate capacity within Europe, then we won’t be able to make political choices anymore,” warned Alexandra Geese, a member of the European Parliament involved in digital policy.

An Opening for Local Alternatives

The drive for sovereignty is already creating opportunities for European companies. Proton Mail reported increased uptake. Dutch-based Intermax Group and Swiss cloud provider Exoscale said demand for local cloud services is growing.

“The situation is not tenable, and we see a big push from European governments to become more independent and more resilient,” said Mr Andy Yen, CEO of Proton.

Ludo Baauw, CEO of Intermax, echoed that shift in sentiment. “A few years ago, everyone was saying, ‘They’re our trusted partners,’” he said, referring to US tech firms. “There’s been a radical change.”

The Next Front in a Fraying Alliance

At its core, the Microsoft-ICC email shutdown has done more than disrupt one prosecutor’s workflow. It has highlighted the fragility of Europe’s digital ecosystem and how vulnerable it remains to American political winds.

Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump have made no secret of their disdain for European regulatory pressures on US tech. Digital governance is now a front-line issue in EU-US trade talks, with American officials urging Brussels to loosen restrictions on companies like Amazon and Meta.

Meanwhile, Europe is rushing to decouple—building new systems, tightening procurement laws, and encouraging public institutions to favor local providers.

Mr Groothuis, who once supported US tech firms but has done a “180-degree flip-flop”, said, “We have to take steps as Europe to do more for our sovereignty.”

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A bug in Microsoft’s Family Safety feature has rendered Google Chrome unusable for many Windows users since early June, sparking accusations that the tech giant is once again undermining its biggest rival to boost its own struggling browser, Edge.

The issue first surfaced on June 3, with users reporting that Chrome either refused to launch or immediately crashed. The problem traced to Microsoft’s Family Safety tool — a parental control feature bundled with Windows and Microsoft 365 — appears to affect only Chrome. Competing browsers like Firefox and Opera remain unaffected, fueling speculation that the glitch may be more than a technical hiccup.

“Our team has investigated these reports and determined the cause of this behavior,” confirmed Ellen T., a Chrome support manager. “For some users, Chrome is unable to run when Microsoft Family Safety is enabled.”

Workarounds That Undermine Safety

With no formal fix from Microsoft for over two weeks, users have resorted to temporary and sometimes unsafe workarounds. These include renaming the Chrome executable file from chrome.exe to chrome1.exe, or disabling the “filter inappropriate websites” setting within Family Safety — a move that essentially turns off all content filtering and defeats the feature’s core purpose.

In a bug-tracking thread dated June 10, a Chromium engineer wrote, “We’ve not heard anything from Microsoft about a fix being rolled out. They have provided guidance to users who contact them about how to get Chrome working again, but I wouldn’t think that would have a large effect.”

Despite user frustration and public requests, Microsoft has remained silent. The company has not issued a statement, leaving many to wonder whether the bug is simply a case of negligence — or a more deliberate strategy.

A Pattern of Interference?

Microsoft’s long history of trying to steer users toward its own browser gives skeptics plenty of ammunition. While Family Safety’s Chrome-blocking bug might be accidental, it comes after years of the company aggressively nudging, prompting, and even tricking users into choosing Edge over Google Chrome.

These tactics have included:

• Injecting popups and AI-generated “warnings” into Bing results that discourage downloading Chrome
• Hijacking the Chrome download page with fake surveys or messages promoting Edge
• Defaulting to Edge in new Windows installations, requiring several steps to change
• Suggesting that Edge is “faster and safer” than Chrome when users try to switch defaults

Earlier this year, Microsoft even manipulated Bing’s search results to mimic Google’s interface, confusing users trying to download Chrome.

Edge’s Long Battle with Chrome

Microsoft has spent over a decade trying to claw back the browser market share it once dominated. Internet Explorer, once the default for billions, steadily lost relevance through the 2010s. In 2015, Microsoft replaced it with Edge, promising a sleeker, faster, more secure browser.

But users didn’t bite.

Despite being bundled with Windows 10 and 11, Edge has failed to compete with Chrome’s dominance. According to StatCounter, Chrome holds over 64% of the global desktop browser market, while Microsoft Edge trails far behind with around 12% — a figure inflated mostly by default installations rather than voluntary adoption.

Even after switching Edge’s underlying engine to Chromium (the same open-source project that powers Chrome), Microsoft has failed to reverse its browser’s image as a fallback, not a favorite.

Chrome: A Threat Microsoft Can’t Ignore

Google Chrome, launched in 2008, quickly rose to dominance with a clean interface, fast performance, and a vast extension ecosystem. It became the browser of choice not just for individuals but also for businesses, schools, and developers.

As such, any disruption to Chrome’s usability on Windows — especially one tied to Microsoft’s own software — raises alarms.

Even if unintentional, the Chrome-blocking bug in Family Safety conveniently disadvantages Microsoft’s top rival and nudges frustrated users toward Edge. And given Microsoft’s track record, critics argue the company has little benefit of the doubt left.

The lack of urgency in fixing the problem only adds to user skepticism. Without a clear timeline or public explanation, Microsoft is facing a growing backlash from users, parents, educators, and developers who rely on Chrome daily.

Whether the issue is resolved quickly or drags on, the damage is already being done — not just to Microsoft’s reputation, but to the trust consumers place in an operating system that once claimed neutrality in the browser wars.