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AFP, PARIS
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The US and Israel yesterday launched a wave of strikes against targets in Iran, triggering explosions in Tehran and an escalation across the region.
The joint operation began with smoke seen rising over Tehran after strikes that Israel said were pre-emptive.
Shortly after, US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform, posting a surprise video statement announcing US combat operations in Iran, with the goal of “eliminating imminent threats.”
Smoke rises in Tehran yesterday following an explosion, after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran.
Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters
The Israeli military said it targeted multiple sites where senior Iranian officials had gathered in Tehran and was assessing the results of the attack.
It also said it was targeting missile launchers in western Iran.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, reported that the strikes targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
In the deadliest reported attack, at least 51 students were killed in a strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran, state media said, after a provincial official said the deaths were due to Israeli strikes.
In southern Iraq, a bombing that targeted a military base housing a pro-Iran group killed at least two people, authorities said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, after launching a first wave of missile and drone attacks at Israel.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would “respond decisively” to the strikes, insisting Tehran had done “everything necessary to prevent war” from breaking out.
“Just as we were ready for negotiations, we are now more prepared than ever to defend the Iranian nation,” it said.
Explosions were reported across the Gulf region.
GULF EXPLOSIONS
The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted a second wave of Iranian strikes, after a first wave killed one civilian in Abu Dhabi.
The Qatari Ministry of Defense said it had intercepted several missile attacks targeting the Gulf state, while Kuwait also engaged incoming strikes.
Saudi Arabia condemned Iranian attacks targeting its neighbors, but made no mention of Iran targeting the kingdom.
Jordan said it shot down two ballistic missiles and vowed to defend its interests “with all its might.”
THE WORLD REACTS
French President Emmanuel Macron called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting over the escalation, while the EU said developments in Iran were “perilous,” and urged the protection of civilians.
Russia also slammed the strikes as a “dangerous adventure” that could spark “catastrophe” in the region, and Pakistan condemned the “unwarranted attacks against Iran” and called for an “immediate halt” to escalation.
The UK expressed fear that the military strikes could blow up into “a wider regional conflict.”
Oman’s minister of foreign affairs, who has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington, said he was “dismayed” by the outbreak of conflict.
Others expressed support, such as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said Canberra supported the US’ action against Iran, while Ukraine said the Iranian government’s “violence against its own people and other countries” had triggered the attacks.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his country refused to be dragged into war.
