The US military attacked three sites in Iran on Sunday -- Natanz, Isfahan and the mountain-buried Fordo, all key parts of Tehran's nuclear programme, which it maintains is purely for civilian purposes.

American planes launched a "very successful attack", US President Donald Trump said, claiming Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated".

Trump has said Tehran must never get a nuclear weapon, and ally Israel has claimed its attacks on Iran have set back the country's nuclear weapons progress by several years.

Iran has always denied any ambition to develop nuclear weapons and maintained its right to a civilian nuclear programme.

Iran has significantly ramped up its nuclear programme in recent years, after a landmark deal with world powers curbing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanction relief began to unravel in 2018 when the United States under Trump unilaterally withdrew.

As of mid-May, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was estimated at 9,247.6 kilograms -- or more than 45 times the limit set out in the 2015 deal -- according to the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Among its stockpiles, Iran has an estimated 408.6 kilograms (901 pounds)........

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