Tensions flared in the Middle East on Saturday, and the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military strike on Iran, targeting multiple military sites, missile production facilities, and areas near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian media reported explosions nationwide, with smoke rising from the capital, Tehran, as officials warned of a “crushing response,” according to Tasnim News Agency.
President Donald Trump, in a video posted to social media, said the US had begun “major combat operations in Iran,” accusing Tehran of continuing to develop nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the US. Here’s a blow-by-blow account of how tensions escalated in the Middle East.
The Pentagon confirmed the US operation as “Epic Fury”, while Israel’s joint effort with the US was code-named “Roaring Lion.”
Strike near Khamenei’s office
The first apparent strike, according to the Associated Press, occurred near the offices of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei in Tehran. Multiple explosions were reported, prompting Israel to activate its air defence systems to intercept Iranian fire. There was no immediate information on casualties or damage.
However, an official told news agency Reuters that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location.
Trump warns of potential US casualties
Trump acknowledged the possibility of American losses during the operations. “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” he said. “That often happens in war.”
Wearing a white baseball cap with USA, a navy suit, and white shirt with no tie, Trump announced from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
He recalled the June attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites: “We warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons. And we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried… Iran rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore.”
Sirens, airspace closure: Middle East on edge
The strikes prompted neighbouring countries to act quickly. Iraq’s ministry of Transport announced that Iraq’s airspace had been closed. UAE also moved quickly to close its airspace.
Israel Airports Authority also confirmed that the country’s airspace remains closed entirely. Flights en route to Israel were diverted, and passengers at airports were moved back to safe locations.
Sirens were also reported in Jordan as tensions escalated across the region.
AP reported that Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels announced plans to resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor, citing rebel officials.
Multiple explosions in Tehran were reported, with Iran’s state media showing smoke rising from various parts of the city.
Loud bang was heard in Abu Dhabi, and Qatar’s capital Doha, Reuters reported citing witnesses. While, news agency AFP said that explosions were also heard in Kuwait.
Threat looms with large US military build-up in Gulf
In the weeks leading up to the strikes, along with sporadic warnings from the Republican President, the US reinforced its military presence in the Middle East.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in late January, bolstering American warships in the region.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later moved from the Caribbean toward the Middle East this moth, and according to multiple agency reports are now positioned in the Mediterranean.
These deployments added more than 10,000 US troops to the region, in addition to personnel stationed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to an AP report. Hundreds of fighter jets and support aircraft were also sent to support a major attack on Iran.
(With inputs from agencies)