Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, and Solana crash as US drops bombs on Iran's nuclear sites

Bitcoin crashed below six figures for the first time in over a month on Saturday, falling to $99,822, after US President Donald Trump announced American fighter jets had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:

“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 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!”

The impact on crypto was instant. Traders dumped risk as the US joined Israel’s nine-day bombing campaign against Iran. The market panic came after days of speculation that Washington would side with Tel Aviv following Israel’s unilateral strike on Iranian territory — once again citing half a century of unproven nuclear weapons claims. The new US airstrikes have now confirmed its involvement.

XRP drops, Ether struggles, Solana hit hardest

As Bitcoin slid under the $100,000 line, XRP dropped to $1.8, a 3.1% hit. Ether fell to $2,201, while Solana tumbled harder than the others, now sitting at $121, down over 5%. These moves erased all gains from earlier in the week.

Meanwhile shortly after Trump’s post, Israel said it had killed Saeed Izadi, a senior commander in Iran’s Quds Force, during an airstrike on an apartment in Qom. Defense Minister Israel Katz called Izadi’s killing “a major achievement,” claiming he had supplied weapons and money to Hamas before its October 7 attack that launched the war in Gaza. Izadi had been on both US and British sanctions lists.

While Israeli forces targeted Izadi in Qom, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed that five of its members died in separate strikes on Khorramabad, though Izadi was not named in their statement. Iranian outlets reported that a 16-year-old was killed and two others wounded in the Qom strike.

Iranian state news agency Nour News said that 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured inside Iran since Israel began bombing on June 13. In retaliation, Iranian missile strikes have killed 24 civilians in Israel, according to Israeli officials. The air war is now dragging both sides into their worst conflict in decades.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there will be no negotiations with Washington as long as the attacks continue. Speaking in Istanbul during a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Araqchi said, “It is obvious that I can’t go to negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardments under the support of the US.”

A day earlier, Araqchi had met with European foreign ministers in Geneva in a last-ditch diplomatic attempt. That effort appears dead now. Trump, speaking Friday, said he would decide “within two weeks” whether to send more US forces to the conflict, depending on whether “people come to their senses.” He also claimed Iran could build a nuclear weapon in weeks, saying, “We can’t let that happen.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that Israel struck the Isfahan nuclear facility, one of the country’s most important atomic sites. It said there were no radioactive leaks, but damage assessments are still underway. Israel also said it launched a wave of attacks on missile storage and launch infrastructure, hitting multiple locations across Iran in a wider campaign.

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