- US acted preemptively after intelligence of Iran's planned missile attacks on American forces
- Operation Epic Fury involved US-Israel strikes targeting multiple Iranian cities, killing Ayatollah Khamenei
- Iran vowed a fierce offensive against US and Israel to avenge Khamenei's killing
US President Donald Trump was "forced to act" against Iran after Washington received intelligence indicating the Islamic Republic was planning to either launch preemptive missiles or simultaneously with any American action against Tehran, officials said. LIVE UPDATES
According to a senior official, Trump decided he was "not going to sit back" and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks from conventional missiles.
"We had an analysis that basically told us that if we sat back and waited to get hit first, the amount of casualties and damage would be substantially higher than if we acted in a preemptive, defensive way to prevent those launches from occurring. We cannot continue to live in a world where these people not only possess missiles but the ability to make 100 of them a month in perpetuity, to overwhelm any potential defenses," the official said.
Why US, Israel Chose Saturday Morning For Strikes On Iran
Officials asserted that they were "not going to be held hostage" by Tehran. "We are not going to let them hit us first because it would have substantially increased the risk to our troops in the region and to our allies," they said.
They also claimed that Washington knows where Iran is stockpiling its highly enriched uranium, but that it is difficult to reach.
Another official told news agency IANS that intelligence showed Tehran was reconstructing enrichment and conversion sites and expanding centrifuge manufacturing capacity at five times the permitted rate. Iran had developed the ability to build advanced "IR six centrifuges", described as "the fastest ones out there", he said.
The US and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes across Iran yesterday after stalled nuclear talks and claims that Iran had resumed its nuclear activities. The strikes, named 'Operation Epic Fury', targeted many Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in the strike, with Iranian media reporting that his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter also died.
Iranian media reports said that Khamenei was killed in his 'compound' and the photo of his body was seen by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hours after the joint Israel-US attack, Iran launched missiles - many of which hit Gulf regions including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Bahrain. A video showed an explosion and smoke near the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.
Another video shows damage to the Dubai International Airport.
Iran vows revenge
Shortly after the Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei's death, Iran vowed to launch the "most ferocious" operation against US and Israel to avenge their Supreme Leader's killing.
"The most ferocious offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces will begin any moment now," the Iran's Revolutionary Guards posted on Telegram, adding it will target the "occupied territories and American terrorist bases" in the region.
They added that the "hand of revenge of the Iranian nation for a severe, decisive, and regrettable punishment for the murderers of the Imam of the Ummah will not let go of them".
Minutes later, Iran launched a fresh round of extensive missile and drone attacks on Israel and US bases in the Middle East. Reports suggested that several loud blasts were heard in Dubai and Qatar's capital, Doha.
