Explosions rocked Tehran on Saturday as Israel launched what it called a pre-emptive attack on Iran, with the United States also reported to have joined the assault in a dramatic escalation that has plunged the Middle East into renewed military confrontation.
The United States is striking Iran by air and sea, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday.
The New York Times, citing a U.S. official, reported that American strikes on Iran were underway. A source told Reuters that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been moved out of Tehran to a secure location.
“The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
An Israeli defence official said the operation had been planned for months in coordination with Washington, and that the launch date was decided weeks ago.
Sirens sounded across Israel around 08:15 local time in what the military described as a proactive alert ahead of a possible incoming missile strike. The Israeli military announced the closure of schools and workplaces, with exceptions for essential sectors, and banned civilian flights from Israeli airspace. The airports authority asked the public not to travel to any of the country’s airports.
The attack follows a 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June, when the United States joined an Israeli military campaign targeting Iranian nuclear installations — the most direct American military action ever against the Islamic Republic. Tehran retaliated at the time by launching missiles at the U.S. Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military installation in the Middle East.
Saturday’s strikes come despite renewed U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks that began in February aimed at resolving the decades-long nuclear dispute and averting a wider conflict. Israel had insisted that any deal must include the full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure — not merely a halt to uranium enrichment — and had lobbied Washington to incorporate restrictions on Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.
Iran said it was prepared to discuss limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief but ruled out linking that to its missile programme. Tehran had also warned neighbouring countries hosting U.S. forces that it would retaliate against American bases if Washington struck Iran.
Western powers have long warned that Iran’s ballistic missile programme threatens regional stability and could be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Tehran denies seeking atomic bombs.
(Reuters)
Read more:
