Israel has launched a pre-emptive missile strike against Iran, the Defence Minister said on Saturday, as the military sounded air raid sirens to prepare the public for possible retaliation.
An Israeli defence official told Reuters that the operation was coordinated with the United States. The official said the strike had been planned for months and that the launch date was decided weeks ago.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States had begun “major combat operations” in Iran, warning that there could be American casualties.
The strikes, which Trump said were aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and “annihilating” its navy, follow repeated U.S.-Israeli warnings that further action would be taken if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
“I do not make this statement lightly. The Iranian regime seeks to kill,” Trump said in a video shared on Truth Social.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties – that often happens in war – but we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
Trump called on members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard to lay down their weapons, saying they would be granted immunity. The alternative, he said, was “certain death”.
Washington and Tehran held a series of talks in recent weeks over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The most recent round took place on Thursday without a deal.
“Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades. They rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it any more,” Trump said.
The attack pushes the Middle East into renewed military confrontation and further dims hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that at this moment, Polish citizens in Iran, including the staff of the Polish embassy in Tehran, are safe, but Poland “is prepared for various scenarios” as tensions escalate.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, taking into account the escalation of the security situation in Iran, Azerbaijani citizens are advised to refrain from travelling to Iran. The ministry also called on Azerbaijani nationals currently in Iran to leave the country via Azerbaijan or Türkiye, depending on their location.
Iraq’s Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that the country’s airspace had been closed following airstrikes on neighbouring Iran.
The ministry’s spokesman, Mitham al-Safi, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency that “the closure was preceded by the evacuation of all air traffic from Iraqi airspace.”
"The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel," Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Israel has argued that any U.S. agreement with Iran must include dismantling Tehran's nuclear infrastructure, not only halting enrichment, and has urged Washington to add restrictions on Iran's missile programme to the talks.
Israel has repeatedly warned that it would act militarily if Iran advanced its nuclear or missile capabilities beyond what it considers acceptable thresholds.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is "in full health", Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing a source close to the presidency.
The statement follows unconfirmed reports that Pezeshkian may have been among those targeted in Israeli and U.S. strikes in Iran earlier this morning.
Shortly after the attack, an Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran was preparing to retaliate and that its response would be “crushing”.
Iran’s Health Ministry said hospitals across the country had been placed on alert and that the number of injured would be announced once confirmed, according to Tasnim news agency.
Tehran has said it is prepared to discuss limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief but rejects linking nuclear negotiations to its missile capabilities.
Iran has warned that it would defend itself against any attack and has said neighbouring countries hosting U.S. troops could become targets if Washington strikes Iranian territory.
Explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian media reported.
Russia’s Transport Ministry said that, due to the closure of Iranian and Israeli airspace, Russian airlines had worked out alternative flight routes in advance.
The move follows a 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran in June, after repeated U.S.–Israeli warnings that they would strike again if Iran advanced its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
The U.S. and Iran resumed negotiations in February in an effort to resolve their decades-long dispute through diplomacy and avoid a military confrontation that could destabilise the region.
In June, the U.S. joined an Israeli military campaign against Iranian nuclear installations, marking the most direct American military action against the Islamic Republic.
Tehran responded by launching missiles towards the U.S. Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military facility in the Middle East.
Western powers say Iran's ballistic missile programme threatens regional stability and could eventually be used to deliver nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies.
This is a developing story.
As the strikes on Tehran began on Saturday (28 February), Touraj Shiralilou sent us this report from the Iranian capital....
Israel has launched a pre-emptive missile strike against Iran, the Defence Minister said on Saturday, as the military sounded air raid sirens to prepa...
Cuba has released extensive details of a deadly midweek shootout at sea, showing rifles, pistols and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition that it says w...
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday (27 February) they were ready to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in several Afghan cities, ...
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacu...
As the strikes on Tehran began on Saturday (28 February), Touraj Shiralilou sent us this report from the Iranian capital.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday (27 February).
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue, offering Tehran’s assistance to facilitate understanding between its eastern neighbours.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Israel has launched a pre-emptive missile strike against Iran, the Defence Minister said on Saturday, as the military sounded air raid sirens to prepare the public for possible retaliation.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in Geneva and may hold talks with U.S. officials, according to the RIA news agency.
Ankara has rejected media reports claiming it plans to deploy military forces into Iranian territory in the event of a U.S. attack on the Islamic republic.
As the strikes on Tehran began on Saturday (28 February), Touraj Shiralilou sent us this report from the Iranian capital.
Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), issued a statement on Friday (27 February) calling on Ankara to adopt legislation aimed at promoting political inclusion.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Pakistan’s declaration of an “open war” with Afghanistan must be understood in the context of months of escalating violence, regional analysts have said, describing the latest developments as a significant shift in the nature of the conflict.
Israeli strikes killed five people in Gaza on Thursday (26 February), according to health officials in the territory. The Israeli military said separately that it had killed a militant who posed an imminent threat to its forces in southern Gaza.
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