The U.S. and Israel launched an attack Saturday on Iran’s capital, as witnesses reported smoke rising near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, who hasn’t been seen publicly in days.
President Donald Trump said in a video posted on social media that the U.S. had begun “major combat operations in Iran,” claiming that Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program.
The U.S. has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships
in the region. President Donald Trump had wanted a deal on Iran's nuclear program. and saw an opportunity while Tehran is struggling 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, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Here's the latest:
Trump acknowledged that the operations against Iran may lead to U.S. casualties.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” he said in a video posted to social media early Saturday morning. “That often happens in war."
In the video, Trump wore a white baseball cap with the letters USA, a navy suit and white shirt with no necktie. There appeared to be a dark blue curtain behind him as the president announced the war in a video from Mar-a-Lago, his home and club in Palm Beach, Florida.
After the June attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites, Trump said, “We warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons. And we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried.”
He added that Iran “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore.”
Iran has said it hasn’t enriched uranium since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the United States bombed during the 12-day war then.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material there.
Despite claims that last year’s strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities destroyed the country’s nuclear program, Trump said that Iran “attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing the long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland.”
Trump said that Saturday’s strikes would be part of “a massive and ongoing operation” that will aim to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground” as well as “annihilate their navy,” and “ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces.”
Trump called the attacks on Iran “a noble mission,” saying they were necessary because of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile systems that could reach the U.S.
He 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.”
Iraq’s Ministry of Transport said Saturday the country’s airspace has been closed following airstrikes on neighboring Iran.
The ministry’s spokesman, Mitham al-Safi, told state-run Iraqi News Agency that “the closure was preceded by the evacuation of all air traffic from Iraqi airspace.”
The U.S. began “major combat operations in Iran,” President Donald Trump said in a video on Truth Social.
He said the objective is to defend the U.S. by “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
The United States is participating in the strikes, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations. The full extent of U.S. involvement was not immediately clear.
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By Konstantin Toropin in Washington
Two residents reported hearing the sounds of strikes echoing across the Iranian capital. A resident in the area of Mehrabad airport reported the sounds of “two heavy explosions” shaking windows just over half an hour ago.
In central Tehran near Vanak, another resident reported the sounds of “blasts and war” coming at almost the same moment.
Planes that were en route to land in Israel are now being sent to area airports. Passengers who were at the airport awaiting flights are being shuttled back to various locations within Israel.
