The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military offensive against Iran early Saturday, with powerful explosions reported across Tehran and plumes of smoke rising near the presidential compound, marking a dramatic escalation that threatens to engulf the region in broader conflict.
Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz described the operation as a “preemptive” strike. In a video posted on his Truth Social platform, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that Washington had begun “large-scale combat operations” in Iran. He said the objective was to dismantle Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities and prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, warning Iran’s Revolutionary Guards: “Lay down your weapons or you will face death.”
Israel’s Channel 14 cited a security source as saying that “the entire Iranian leadership” had been targeted. An Iranian official told Reuters that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was not in Tehran at the time of the strikes. Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, citing an Israeli official, reported that the attacks focused on military facilities, including ballistic missile factories. An Israeli security source said operations would continue “as long as necessary” to prevent Iran from restoring its military capabilities.
Iran responded swiftly. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, as well as American bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and military and security sites in Israel. The retaliatory operation, dubbed “True Promise 4,” involved missiles and drones, with the Guards pledging further strikes against U.S. and Israeli targets.
Bahrain said it had begun evacuating the Juffair district in Manama, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, after missiles were launched at the area. Qatar’s Defence Ministry said it had intercepted multiple incoming missiles before they reached their targets. The United Arab Emirates reported intercepting another wave of missiles, adding that debris fell on a residential area in Abu Dhabi, causing material damage and killing one Asian national.
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said its air force intercepted ballistic missiles targeting Ali Al Salem Air Base. Reuters, citing witnesses, reported fresh explosions in Doha.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also claimed to have destroyed a U.S. FP-132 radar system deployed in Qatar to track ballistic missiles. The Iranian army announced it had launched large numbers of drones towards targets in Israel and against what it described as “Zionist interests,” vowing that operations would continue “until the enemies are fully punished.”
Iranian state television said Israeli strikes hit a girls’ primary school in the southern city of Minab in Hormozgan province, killing 51 students and injuring 60 others, citing a local official. Reuters said it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures.
In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in Haifa, the Upper Galilee, and central and northern regions. Israeli sources said senior Iranian officials were considered potential targets under a plan for “intensive and very powerful” attacks that could last several days.
The escalation extended to Iraq, where the Iran-aligned Kataib Hezbollah group warned it would soon target U.S. bases in response to air strikes on a military facility. Reports indicated at least two fighters were killed in an air strike on the Jurf al-Sakhar base south of Baghdad. Reuters also reported strikes on the headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, killing one person and wounding three.
Two officials from Yemen’s Houthi movement told the Associated Press that the group would resume attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea, raising fresh concerns over global shipping routes.
On the diplomatic front, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held calls with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq. He described the U.S.–Israeli strikes as a violation of the United Nations Charter and a “clear crime” against international peace and security, asserting that Iran was exercising its legitimate right to self-defence. He warned that the conflict threatened the entire region and urged Islamic and Arab states to assume their “historic responsibilities.”
Iran’s Fars news agency later reported that Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were “in good health.”
Oman called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to impose a ceasefire, describing the escalation as a breach of international law. Egypt expressed “deep concern” over the dangerous military escalation, warning of the risk of the region sliding into comprehensive chaos. Cairo stressed that military solutions would only fuel further violence and bloodshed, while also condemning Iran’s targeting of Arab states’ territories, including Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
A British government spokesperson said London sought to prevent the conflict from widening and confirmed that the United Kingdom had not participated in the strikes. A German Foreign Ministry official said Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had been informed by his Israeli counterpart of the impending operations and had begun consultations with regional partners to coordinate precautionary measures.
With strikes and counter-strikes intensifying and regional actors signalling possible involvement, fears are mounting that the Middle East could slide into a full-scale regional war, with far-reaching consequences for energy markets, international shipping and global stability.
