US and Israel attack Iran as Trump says ‘major combat operations’ under way
What we know so far
- The US has launched “major combat operations” in Iran, designed to eliminate “imminent threats” from the country’s regime, Donald Trump announced on Saturday.
- The operation is “massive and ongoing”, the US president said in a video on social media, pledging to use “overwhelming strength and devastating force” to destroy Iranian missiles and ensure it cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
- Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks aimed to “remove the existential threat” posed by the Iranian regime, as he urged the people of Iran to topple the government.
- A short time beforehand, Israel said it had launched “preventative” strikes on Iran.
- Sirens were sounded in Israel as the IDF said Iran had fired a “barrage of missiles” in retaliation.
- Explosions were heard in Tehran, the Iranian capital, where smoke could be seen rising on the skyline, and several other cities. Iran has closed its airspace.
- “The hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump told Iranian citizens, urging them to “take over your government” once the operation is over.
- Talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended inconclusively on Friday, with a suggestion that further discussions would be held next week. Trump had said he was “not happy” with the progress of discussions.
- Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not in Tehran, and has been transferred to a secure location, an official told Reuters on Saturday.
More to follow…..