Menna Alaa El-Din
Updated ,first published
US President Donald Trump has announced the start of “major combat operations” in Iran, with Israel and the US launching multiple attacks on Iran.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video shared on social media,
He called the attacks “a noble mission”, saying they were necessary because of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile systems that could reach the US.
Trump also called on Iranian officials to “lay down your arms” or “you will face certain death”, and encouraged the Iranian people to “take over your government – it will be yours to take”.
Israel along with the US launched a daylight attack on Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Saturday, with a cloud of smoke rising from the city’s downtown.
The first apparent strike happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei had been in his offices at the time. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the US have grown. A regime official told Reuters that Khamenei was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location.
Roads to Khamenei’s compound in downtown Tehran had been shut down by authorities as other blasts rang out across the capital. Neighbouring Iraq closed its airspace, the Ministry of Transport said.
Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public information on the attack.
Authorities have offered no casualty information from the strikes.
Iran shut down its airspace after the attack. The warning to pilots came out as explosions rang out across Tehran.
Sirens sounded across Israel at the same time. The Israeli military said that the “proactive alert [was] to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched towards the state of Israel”.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Iran would strike back, but it had warned that US military personnel and bases spread across the region would be targets for any retaliation. It had also warned neighbouring countries hosting US troops that it would retaliate against US bases if Washington struck Iran.
Trump conceded in his video message that “we may have casualties” as a result of the military operation.
The New York Times also reported that General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and one of Trump’s most trusted advisers, warned the president that US troops could be killed if he attacked Iran.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the attack as being done “to remove threats”. He did not elaborate.
Several hospitals in Israel launched their emergency protocols, including moving patients and surgeries to underground facilities.
The attack comes as tensions are high between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The US and Iran renewed negotiations in February in a bid to resolve the decades-long dispute through diplomacy and avert the threat of a military confrontation that could destabilise the region.
Israel, however, insisted that any US deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process, and lobbied Washington to include restrictions on Iran’s missile programme in the talks.
Trump had wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests.
Iran had hoped to avert a war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, such as its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
AP, Reuters, with staff reporter
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