The United States and Israel have launched coordinated strikes against Iran, with Israel shutting its airspace to civilian flights as tensions rapidly escalated across the region.
Early reports indicate at least one U.S. official described the operation as “not a small strike,” and in response, U.S. bases in Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait have been targeted.
The action followed an announcement from Israel’s defense ministry of a “pre-emptive strike” against Iran. Sirens sounded in Jerusalem, and residents nationwide received mobile alerts warning of an “extremely serious” threat.
A statement from the Israeli defense ministry read: “The State of Israel has launched a pre-emptive strike against Iran. Defense Minister Israel Katz has declared a special and immediate state of emergency throughout the country.”
Iranian state television characterized the operation as an “aerial aggression by the Zionist regime” targeting the country.
Reports from Tehran indicated seven missile impacts in the Keshvardoost and Pasteur districts, areas that include the residence of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Witnesses described two loud blasts heard on Saturday morning with thick smoke rising over central and eastern parts of the capital.
The type of explosions suggested a missile attack, though further details were not immediately available.
Separately, the Israeli military announced via Telegram that it was striking Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon in response to repeated violations of ceasefire agreements.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed American involvement in a video posted to Truth Social, stating that the military had begun “major combat operations” in Iran. Trump described the Iranian regime as “a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” noting that its “menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.”
Trump added: “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 innocent people in many countries.”
