NEW DELHI: Israel and US on Saturday launched a daylight “preventive attack” against Iran.
According to local reports, loud blasts have been heard across Tehran. However, Tel Aviv has stressed that it is targeting military sites.
“The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” Defence minister Israel Katz said.
According to news agency AFP, the strike happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The attack comes as the United States has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to try to pressure Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.
Iran has informed the United Nations that it will continue to exercise its right of self-defence until all aggression against it stops fully and unequivocally.
In a letter to the UN, Tehran also stated that all US and Israeli bases, facilities, and assets in the region are considered legitimate military targets.
British prime minister Keir Starmer has said that British forces and aircraft are taking part in coordinated defensive operations to protect the UK’s interests and allies.
In a televised statement, Starmer urged Iran to stop further attacks and end violence and oppression against its people.
He also stressed the need to prevent escalation and return to diplomatic talks, Reuters reported.
Major General Ebrahim Jabari, senior advisor to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told Iranian state television that the missiles used in recent retaliatory strikes were only “scrap missiles” and represented a small part of Iran’s actual military capability. According to Reuters, Jabari warned that Tehran is ready to deploy “unforeseen weapons” if the conflict with Israel continues to escalate, signalling potential intensification in the region.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that it carried out strikes on hundreds of Iranian military targets, including missile launchers in western Iran. In a statement, the IDF said it was continuing to hit military sites while also identifying and intercepting threats fired from Iran toward Israel.
Iran carried out retaliatory strikes on American military bases across the Middle East under an operation it named “Truthful Promise 4”, hours after joint US-Israel airstrikes hit Tehran. The Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and military sites in Israel. Damage at the Bahrain base was unclear. The UAE reported one death from missile shrapnel. Qatar said it intercepted missiles before they entered its airspace. Bahrain called the strikes a violation of sovereignty.
A fresh wave of blasts was heard in Doha as Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as an Iranian ballistic missile attack on its territory.
In a statement, the ministry said Qatar “reserves the right to respond” in accordance with international law. It strongly condemned the targeting of Qatari territory, calling it a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a direct assault on the country’s security.
The statement further described the strike as an unacceptable escalation that threatens the wider region’s security and stability.
US President Donald Trump said in an eight-minute video on Truth Social that American forces have begun “major combat operations in Iran” to eliminate what he called imminent threats from the Iranian regime. He accused Iran of backing attacks on US forces and allies for decades and warned it can “never have a nuclear weapon”. Trump said the US would destroy Iran’s missiles, raze its missile industry and target its navy and regional proxies. He urged Iranian security forces to lay down arms or “face certain death” and called on the Iranian people to “take over” their government once operations conclude.
According to Wall Street Journal, the United states also participated in the (Iran) attack and was also carrying out strikes.
This comes just hours after US president Donald Trump said that he is not happy with ongoing nuclear talks with Iran and asserted that his administration has to “make a big decision.”
“Now we have a big decision to make. You know that. Not easy. We have a very big decision to make. We have a country that has, for 47 years, been blowing people’s legs off, arms off, the face. They’ve been knocking out ships, killing people — lots of people. Well, not only Americans, lots of people. It’s been terrible. 32,000 people killed over the last two, three months — protesters,” Trump said.
“32,000. That’s a number of people. They want to make a deal, but you’ve got to make a deal that’s meaningful. I spoke with Ted Cruz, John, all of them on the way here. I said you’ve got to make a deal that’s meaningful. We hit them real hard, as you know, with those beautiful B-2 bombers recently, knocked out their nuclear capability. But I’d rather do it the peaceful way. But they’re very difficult people. I want to tell you that. They’re very dangerous people, very difficult people,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran launched “will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
“The time has come for all sections of the people in Iran to remove the yoke of tyranny from (the regime) and bring a free and peace-loving Iran,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Khamenei’s hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States have grown.
According to news agency Reuters, Khamenei was not in Tehran during the attack and had been transferred to a secure location.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Force issued an advisory for its citizens, requesting to stay in “proximity to protected spaces.”
“In the last few minutes, sirens were sounded all throughout Israel, with an advanced instruction alert directly to cellular devices to stay within proximity to protected spaces,” IDF wrote in a social media post on X.
“This is a proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the State of Israel. The IDF emphasised that the public is requested to stay in proximity to protected spaces,” it added.
Israel closed its airspace to civilian flights Saturday after announcing it had carried out “preventive strikes” on Iran and sounding sirens in Jerusalem.
“Following the security developments, the Minister of Transportation has ordered the Director of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority to close the airspace of the State of Israel to civilian flights,” the minister, Miri Regev, announced.
Soon after the attacks, Israel defence force said that Iran launched missiles towards Israel.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel,” It said in a post on X.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat. In the past few minutes, the Home Front Command has sent a precautionary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas,” it added.
Meanwhile, India issued advisories urging its citizens in Israel and Iran to exercise “utmost caution and remain vigilant”
The Embassy of India in Tel Aviv released the advisory, stating, “In view of the prevailing security situation in the region, all Indian nationals in Israel are advised to exercise utmost caution and remain vigilant at all times.”
The embassy asked Indian nationals to strictly follow safety guidelines and instructions issued by Israeli authorities and the Home Front Command.
It advised citizens to remain close to designated shelters and to familiarise themselves with the nearest protected spaces near their residence or workplace.
