What to know about U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran – New York Daily News
By BRIAN MELLEY
The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday in what President Donald Trump called a massive operation aimed at destroying the country’s military capabilities and eliminating the threat of creating nuclear weapons.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would defend its homeland and the Revolutionary Guards said it had launched counterattacks, firing drones and missiles into Israel and strikes targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The strikes came after Trump pressured Tehran to reach a deal to curb its nuclear program, building a fleet of U.S. warships in the region, as the country grapples with growing dissent following nationwide protests.
At least 57 people were reported killed and 45 others injured at a girls’ school in southern Iran during Israeli-US strikes, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the United Arab Emirates capital killed one person, state media said.
Ayatollah’s compound was one of the first targets
Israel announced it had launched an attack on Iran shortly after explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday morning. One of the first strikes took place near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was not immediately clear where Khamenei was at the time; he hadn’t been seen for days.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were alive “as far as I know.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the attacks that took place across the country as being carried out “to eliminate threats.” The Iranian military, government symbols and intelligence sites were targeted, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information.
Sirens sounded across Israel to warn the public of possible missile strikes.
Iran retaliates against Israel and US bases
Bahrain said a missile attack had targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in the island kingdom. Witnesses heard sirens and explosions in Kuwait, where the US military headquarters is located. Explosions could also be heard in Qatar, where the Al Udeid air base hosts thousands of military personnel.
Iraq and the United Arab Emirates closed their airspace and sirens sounded in Jordan.
An apartment building in northern Israel was damaged and shrapnel fell at several sites, according to media and police. But Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said there had been no significant strikes in Israel and emergency services said no injuries had been reported from missile strikes across the country.
Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and against Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement from the leadership.
Trump tells Iranians it’s time to overthrow their government
It took more than an hour for Trump to make a formal announcement about U.S. involvement in what he called “major combat operations.”
In an eight-minute video posted on social media, Trump said the United States was striking for reasons far beyond the nuclear program, listing grievances dating back to the early days of the Islamic Republic, following a 1979 revolution that turned Iran, one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East, into a fierce enemy.
Trump asked Iranians to take shelter but urged them to rise up later and overthrow Islamic leaders.
“When we’re done, take back your government,” Trump said. “It will be yours to take. It will probably be your only chance for generations.”
The attacks come a day after Trump expressed frustration over the lack of progress in negotiations aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The US military has strengthened its war machinery in the region.
Israel said it had been working with the United States for months to plan the attacks.
Before U.S.-Iran negotiations began in Geneva, the United States had assembled a large fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to try to pressure Iran into reaching a deal on its nuclear program.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in January to bolster the number of warships in the region. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers were then sent from the Caribbean to the Middle East and are now in the Mediterranean.
The fleet added more than 10,000 U.S. troops to the region.
Combat ground flights and disrupt commercial air travel
The fighting has disrupted air transport in the region.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates, home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, closed their airspace on Saturday. Qatar Airways Group announced that it had temporarily canceled its flights to and from Doha as Qatari airspace was also closed.
Planes en route to Israel were redirected to other airports.
Virgin Atlantic canceled its flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Dubai and said it would avoid flying over Iraq, meaning flights to and from India, the Maldives, Dubai and Riyadh could take slightly longer. Virgin Atlantic said all flights would carry the appropriate fuel in case they needed rerouting at short notice.
Turkish Airlines said on X that flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan would be suspended until Monday and flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman would be suspended on Saturday.
Dutch airline KLM previously announced that it was suspending flights to Tel Aviv from Sunday.
