Trump's decision came after Israel and Iran have exchanged consistent strikes since June 13. Israel had urged the U.S. to target Iran's nuclear facilities, saying that Tehran was moving close to creating a nuclear weapon. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian, not military, purposes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that "unjustified" U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites were pushing the world towards great danger and he promised to try to help the Iranian people, although did not spell out how.