US, Israel attack Iran
Tehran/Washington: The long-simmering threat of conflict between Washington, Jerusalem and Tehran erupted on Saturday as the United States and Israel launched sweeping airstrikes against Iran’s military and political leadership.
"Operation Epic Fury," a culmination of months of heated rhetoric, followed repeated warnings from President Donald Trump about military intervention in Iran, and a steady surge of US forces into the Gulf.
As Tehran retaliates by firing missiles at Israel and at US bases in several countries across the region, officials, aid groups and world leaders warn the confrontation could spill beyond its initial targets, drawing in more countries and destabilizing a region already on the edge.
In a video statement on Saturday, Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran, just two days after the latest round of talks with Tehran aimed at reaching an agreement to curtail Iran’s nuclear program. “We sought repeatedly to make a deal,” Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. “We tried.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement that its armed forces will give a “crushing response” to the US and Israeli attacks, as multiple US allies in the region intercepted missiles targeting US bases on their territory.
Iran is attacking military facilities and not "Americans in their land," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with NBC News, adding that Tehran was interested in de-escalation and ready to talk once the joint US-Israeli strikes end.
Earlier, a constant sound of explosions was being heard in Tehran, according to an NBC News producer on the ground. Iran announced it was closing its airspace, Iran’s semiofficial news agency Tasnim reported, and news agency video showed smoke rising above the buildings.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in an eight-minute video message shared on Truth Social.
“Bombs will be dropping everywhere,” he added, addressing Iranians directly. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.”
The administration was taking “every possible step” to minimize the risk to US personnel, Trump added, but he warned that the lives of “courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties.” “That often happens in war,” he added.
