U.S., Israel launch major strikes on Iran as Trump urges uprising; Tehran fires missiles at Israel, U.S. bases
The United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran on Saturday, opening a new chapter of military confrontation as President Donald Trump urged Iranians to “seize control of your destiny” and rise up against the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Within hours, Iran said it fired a “first wave” of missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted U.S. military sites across the Gulf.
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- Strikes reported near Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s offices; blasts and smoke seen across Tehran, Iranian media say.
- Trump announces “major combat operations,” calls on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms.
- Israel says it hit military, government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation.
- Iran launches missiles and drones at Israel; attacks reported near U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
- Five students killed at a girls’ school in southern Iran, state-run IRNA reports; UAE says shrapnel from a missile strike killed one person.
- Iraq and the United Arab Emirates close airspace; U.S. embassies advise shelter-in-place for Americans in parts of the region.
Some of the opening salvos appeared to strike areas around Khamenei’s compound in central Tehran, as authorities shut nearby roads and additional explosions echoed across the capital, state media reported. An Israeli campaign targeting list included Iranian military sites, symbols of government and intelligence assets, according to an official briefed on the operation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information.
Announcing the operation in a recorded video, Trump said the United States was moving to “annihilate” Iran’s navy and dismantle Tehran’s regional proxy network. He warned that American casualties were possible and called on members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to lay down their weapons, promising immunity to those who do so and “certain death” to those who do not. “When we are finished, take over your government,” he said. “This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint action aimed to “create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.” The strikes mark the second time in eight months the Trump administration has used force against Iran, following weeks of rising tension as U.S. warships moved into the region and Washington pressed for new limits on Tehran’s nuclear work.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry vowed a forceful response. “The time has come to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military assault,” it said in a statement posted to X. The Revolutionary Guard later announced a “first wave” of drones and missiles targeting Israel, prompting nationwide alerts there as the military worked to intercept incoming fire.
Across the Gulf, Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters. Witnesses reported sirens and explosions in Kuwait, home to U.S. Army Central, and blasts were heard in Qatar. The United Arab Emirates and Iraq shut down their airspace; sirens also sounded in Jordan. The U.S. embassies in Israel, the UAE and Qatar told staff to shelter in place and urged American citizens to do the same.
Inside Iran, airstrikes killed five students at a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab, where the Revolutionary Guard has a base, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. In Abu Dhabi, shrapnel from a missile attack killed one person, state media said.
Trump framed the U.S. action as a response to what he called Iran’s continued nuclear advances and missile ambitions, while cataloging grievances dating to the 1979 revolution. Iran says it halted enrichment in June but has blocked international inspectors from sites the U.S. bombed during a 12-day war then. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press have shown new activity at two of those locations. Iran maintains a self-imposed cap on its ballistic missile range at 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), covering much of the Middle East; there is no public evidence Tehran is pursuing intercontinental-range missiles, though Washington has criticized its space program as dual-use.
Separately, two senior officials from Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi movement said the group would resume attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes and on Israel, speaking on condition of anonymity in the absence of an official statement.
The swift escalation underscored the risk of a broader regional war even as both sides sought to cast their aims in maximalist terms—Washington and Jerusalem pressing for strategic rollback of Iran’s capabilities and leadership, and Tehran pledging not to hesitate in retaliating against what it calls an invasion.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
