My fellow Americans, I speak to you tonight with the heaviest of hearts. One hour ago, at 8.30 p.m. East Coast time, pursuant to my constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief and in accordance with the laws of war, I authorized strikes by the United States military on the principal cities of the state of Iran, including the capital, Tehran. These attacks were nuclear in nature. They achieved their objectives in full. You will recall that, three years ago at my inauguration, I stated clearly and unequivocally that it would be the policy of the United States to regard any attack on its territory with weapons of mass destruction as an act of war and that my administration would not hesitate to hold those responsible to full, direct and draconian account. I made clear then, as I make clear again now, that whether attacks on the United States be committed by an outlaw state or by a terrorist group to whom the weapons had been supplied or sold by such a state, I would hold all relevant parties accountable. As you know, these past four weeks have seen the agencies of the federal government seek to deal with the emergency response to the vicious and unprovoked attacks in Washington, Los Angeles, and New York. […]