American forces have begun “major combat operations” in Iran, President Donald Trump said in a video message, as Israeli and U.S. forces launched strikes on the Middle Eastern nation early Saturday.
Iran soon began retaliating against multiple U.S. military facilities across the Middle East, a U.S. official told NBC News.
The U.S. and Israeli attacks come after Trump oversaw a massive military build up in the region while holding talks with Tehran aimed at agreeing a new deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program.
“We sought repeatedly to make a deal,” Trump said in the statement released on Truth Social. “We tried.”
The constant sound of explosions was being heard in Tehran, according to an NBC News producer on the ground. Earlier, Iran announced it was closing its airspace, Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported, and news agency video showed smoke rising above the buildings.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in an eight-minute video message shared on Truth Social.
“Bombs will be dropping everywhere,” he added, addressing Iranians directly. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.”
Two U.S. officials told NBC News that the U.S. was launching the military operation from air and sea. One of the officials said a large array of fighter jets was involved in the operation. The other official said the U.S. is targeting military and security targets.
The administration was taking “every possible step” to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel, Trump added, but he warned that the lives of “courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties.”
“That often happens in war,” he added.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet’s service center in Bahrain was subject to a missile attack Saturday, according to Bahraini State News Agency BNA.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
