 "Israel says it has launched attack on Iran, as explosions reported in Tehran. Image courtesy; X")
The United States and Israel have launched strikes against Iran on Saturday morning (February 28). They targeted Iranian regime sites and military facilities, according to an official.
Iran has also reportedly retaliated to the attacks. The Israel Defence Forces issued a statement saying that a “short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel”.
As the US and Israel struck Iran, explosions are heard in the north and east of Tehran, as well as in Isfahan, Karaj, and Kermanshah, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports. According to media reports, an apparent strike happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, it was not immediately known whether the 86-year-old was present in his office at the time of the attack.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the preemptive strike on Iran and declared an “immediate state of emergency throughout the entire nation," according to The Times of Israel.
“The State of Israel has launched a preemptive strike against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” says Katz.
What we know
The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday morning. According to the New York Times, a US official says that the US military strikes on Iran are underway, alongside Israeli strikes. Israel’s Channel 12 reports, citing Israeli security, that the attack underway in Iran is a joint US-Israel operation.
The strikes come after US President Donald Trump spent weeks threatening to strike Iran over its nuclear programme, as well as a domestic crackdown in Iran that has killed thousands of protesters.
A US official told CNN that the US strikes are currently focused on military targets, but declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing operation.
Iran has also launched retaliatory strikes.“A short while ago, sirens were sounded in several areas across the country following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel. The public is requested to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command,” said the IDF. “At this time, the Israeli Air Force is operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat.”
US President Donald Trump confirmed the attacks in a video posted to social media. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” the president said in the video. “Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world,” he said in the eight-minute-long message.
“For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries,” he added.
Sirens have been sounded in key Israeli cities after the nation launched a daylight attack today on Iran’s capital, Tehran. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the attack as being done “to remove threats.” However, he did not immediately elaborate.
Witnesses say a blast struck downtown in Tehran, Iran’s capital. Iranian state television later reported on the explosion, without offering a cause. At the same time, sirens were sounded across Israel.
Quick Reads
View AllExplosions have been heard in cities across Iran, according to Iranian media. The Fars news agency reports blasts in Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah.
The Israeli asserted that it had issued a “proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the state of Israel.”
The unconfirmed report says one of the targets is an Iranian presidential facility. It cites Iranian opposition reports that the homes of Iranian leaders are being targeted.
Dozens of targets of the Iranian regime are being bombed in Tehran, including, among others, the presidential compound, the airport, and the intelligence headquarters.
Both Iran and Israel have closed their airspace.
Iran is preparing to retaliate following the joint strikes conducted by Israel and the United States on Saturday, according to state-affiliated media. “Iran is preparing for revenge and a crushing response to the Zionist regime,” said Tasnim, a semi-official news agency linked to Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
This is a developing story.
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With inputs from agencies_