- The US and Israel conducted coordinated military strikes on targets in Iran
- Explosions were reported in Tehran and other Iranian cities during the strikes
- Israeli PM Netanyahu called the operation a joint effort with the United States
The United States and Israel have launched coordinated military strikes against targets in Iran, with explosions rocking the capital Tehran and other cities on Saturday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video address released as the operation unfolded, described the action as a "joint operation" with the US aimed at confronting what he termed an "existential threat" from Iran's government.
He termed the Iranian leadership as a "murderous regime" that must never be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons, and suggested the strikes could open the way for Iran's people to "take their destiny into their own hands".
US President Donald Trump, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, confirmed in an eight-minute video posted on his Truth Social platform that American forces had initiated "major combat operations" in Iran. He vowed to "destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground", adding that Iran's navy would be "annihilated".
Trump offered Iranian military personnel a stark choice -- "immunity" if they stood down, or "certain death" if they resisted. He addressed ordinary Iranians directly, declaring that "the hour of your freedom is at hand".The strikes followed weeks of intense diplomatic pressure and military build-up in the region.
Trump had repeatedly voiced frustration with ongoing talks over Iran's nuclear and missile programmes, insisting Tehran must accept far stricter limits than those in the 2015 nuclear deal he withdrew from during his first term.
Just days earlier, mediators in Oman had presented a more optimistic view, claiming Iran had agreed to cease uranium stockpiling and convert existing material into fuel. Yet those assurances evidently failed to satisfy Washington.
