The United States and Israel launch strikes against Iran

United States and Israeli forces launched military strikes against Iran, and President Donald Trump described the attacks as a “major combat operation” against the Iranian regime.

Explosions were recorded inside Iran for the first time in the early hours of Saturday morning Eastern time, with smoke billowing over the capital, Tehran. Shortly after the first reports of the attacks appeared, both the United States and Israel claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In an eight-minute video posted on Truth Social and X, Trump He said The operation’s goal was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement confirming the military operation and saying that Israel aims to “remove the existential threat posed by” Iran.

Shortly after the attacks were confirmed, the Israeli army also announced He said It “identified” the Iranian missiles being launched towards Israel.

The United States and Iran have participated in three recent rounds of brokered diplomatic negotiations described as an attempt to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and avoid armed conflict. Reports from the meetings in Geneva on Thursday appeared lukewarm, with negotiators’ views vaguely positive Feedback with Journalists And on social media. For example, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi wrote in an article mail On X Day that “significant progress” had been made and that the technical teams would meet for further discussions next week in Vienna.

In a follow-up on Friday, he said to publish He met with US Vice President J.D. Vance and expected “more decisive progress in the coming days.” He added: “Peace is within our reach.” However, also on Friday, US officials asked embassy staff in Israel to leave the country.

These strikes come after weeks of US military buildup in the Middle East and increased surveillance aircraft operations in the region. Fighter planes, cargo planes, and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln were all there Move In place before the strikes. Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated since the beginning of January, first because Iranian forces killed thousands of anti-government demonstrators during a widespread internet blackout, and then because of negotiations over the country’s nuclear program.

Ahead of his meeting with a group of US governors on February 20, President Trump said Admit it publicly For the first time, he was considering a strike against Iran. “I think I can say I’m thinking about it,” he told reporters. Democratic leaders on the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees responded statement In response to Trump’s comments that they “strongly oppose preemptive US military action against Iran,” which they say would be “destabilizing, dangerous, and counterproductive to efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.”

In January, as protests intensified in Iran, Trump claimed that US forces could intervene and stop the barbarism – although no immediate action was taken afterward. US-based human rights activists’ news agency Claims 7,015 people were killed during the protests, and 11,744 incidents are still under review. It claims more than 53,000 people have been arrested.

During the most intense period of protests in January, Trump said that “help is on the way” and that his administration would take “very strong action” against the Iranian regime if some of the arrested protesters were later executed. He later claimed that a “huge fleet” had been sent towards Iran, which has a southern border along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. “She is moving quickly, with great energy, passion and purpose,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Satellite images taken in mid-February, confirmed by the site BBCIt showed that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, described as one of the largest types of warships in the world, had arrived in the region. Fighter aircraft have also been flown to military bases in Jordan, and more than 250 US cargo flights have been carried out in recent weeks, according to an analysis by the centre. CNN. The newly arrived military ships reinforced thousands of American personnel already in the Middle East.

Trump’s previous warning messages in January claimed that “time is running out” and suggested that a US military strike on Iran could be “far worse” than last year’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, which he called a “military strike.”Midnight hammer“.

In that June operation, more than 100 US military aircraft launched a largely unexpected campaign Air strike on three sites Associated with the Iranian nuclear program, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. During the strike they dropped a 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb intended to damage underground facilities. Overall, though, Midnight Hammer doesn’t feel like it exclude Iran’s capabilities in the field of nuclear development.