Israel Struck Areas Near Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Offices In Tehran: Report

Explosions shook Iran's capital, Tehran, on Saturday morning, with Israel confirming it had launched a preemptive military strike against the country. According to the Associated Press, the strikes hit areas near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

News agency Reuters reported that the 86-year-old was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location.

Tehran residents also reported seeing plumes of smoke rising over the district, the same zone that houses the presidential palace and the National Security Council.

A journalist speaking to NDTV reported hearing at least three to four separate strikes in the capital.

Israel Says It Acted to Protect Itself

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the strikes. "The State of Israel launched a preemptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel," he said.

The attack did not come out of nowhere. Tensions between Iran, Israel, and the United States had been building steadily over Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Just a day before the strikes, US President Donald Trump said he had yet to make a final call on American military action against Iran, but he left little doubt about his mood. He described himself as "not happy" with the situation and confirmed that military force, including the possibility of regime change, remained firmly on the table.

Diplomatic efforts had been running in parallel, though without much success. Talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear programme ended without a breakthrough, with both sides saying further discussions might resume the following week.

Meanwhile, the United States had been repositioning a significant naval presence across the Middle East, including aircraft carriers and warships.

Trump had previously given Tehran a window of ten to fifteen days to reach a deal on the nuclear programme, warning of "really bad things" if no agreement was reached.