U.S. and Israel Launch Joint Military Strike on Iran, Targeting Supreme Leader and President

The United States and Israel launched a coordinated military assault on Iran early Saturday, with strikes reportedly targeting the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian.Explosions were reported across Iran, with smoke rising from areas near Ayatollah Khamenei’s residence in the capital, Tehran. Iranian state media confirmed strikes nationwide, though the full extent of the damage is as yet unknown.An Israeli official confirmed that the strikes targeted Ayatollah Khamenei, Mr. Pezeshkian, and other top regime and military commanders, the Times of Israel reported.In a social media message to the Iranian people, Mr. Trump left little doubt hat the goal of the assault, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” is regime change. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” he wrote.In a similar message, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said: “The time has come for all segments of the Iranian people — Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Balochis, and Ahwazis — to rid themselves of the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-seeking Iran.”Addressing Iran’s armed forces and police, Mr. Trump added: “I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or in the alternative, face certain death. So lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.”Fox News quoted officials saying the strikes are expected to last for several days and that Israel, which calls its own action “Operation Lion’s Roar,” is targeting the Iranian leadership while America is going after military targets and ballistic missile sites that pose an “imminent threat.”Israel’s Channel 12, citing unnamed Israeli sources, reported that Israel believes the strikes have achieved “very high success” in eliminating Iran’s leadership. The report noted that senior commanders and Mr. Pezeshkian were among the targets, adding that “it is not clear that Khamenei did not undergo a dramatic event.”Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Iranian TV that his nation’s armed forces “consider as legitimate targets the sites from which the US and Zionist operations were carried out as well as the sites of all actions against Iran’s defensive operations.”Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it responded by launching a “first wave” of drones and missiles targeting Israel. Sirens were heard across Israel as the nation prepared for potential retaliatory strikes.Bahrain reported that a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters at the island kingdom. Witnesses in Qatar and Kuwait — where more than 13,000 U.S. troops are stationed — also reported hearing sirens and explosions.France 24 quoted Iraqi security forces confirming that two people were killed in a strike on a military installation in the south of that country that houses a pro-Iranian faction, Kataeb Hezbollah. The group responded with a stark warning, saying: “We will soon begin attacking American bases in response to their aggression.”In Syria, the state news agency SANA reported that four people were killed and several others wounded when a stray Iranian missile struck a building in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. Reuters quoted witnesses saying missile debris fell in the Syrian city of Quneitra and the Yarmouk Basin in Daraa province.Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, declared a state of emergency and described the assault as a “pre-emptive attack.” The Israeli Defense Forces issued a national warning, stating: “This is a proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the State of Israel.”Just before 3 a.m. Saturday morning, President Trump announced the beginning of military operations in a video posted on social media.“For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries,” Mr. Trump said.He said that Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles capable of reaching the United States. “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated. We’re going to annihilate their Navy. We are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces and no longer use their IEDs or roadside bombs, as they are sometimes called, to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans, and we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon,” he said.He addressed the Iranian people directly, telling them “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”“Stay sheltered, don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere.When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” the president said.“For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond,” he said.“America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach,” Mr. Trump said.The commander-in-chief also warned that American lives are in jeopardy. “My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this, not for now. We’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission,” he said.In his own message, Mr. Netanyahu said the operation “will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”“This murderous terrorist regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity,” he said. “We shall stand together, fight together, and ensure the eternity of Israel together.”The strikes come after weeks of military buildup, with Mr. Trump deploying the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades, centered around two carrier strike groups. The USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, while the USS Gerald R. Ford recently arrived in the eastern Mediterranean and has been spotted at the Port of Haifa in Israel.At least 16 surface warships, including guided-missile destroyers equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, are positioned across the Arabian Sea and Mediterranean.Meanwhile, advanced aircraft have been deployed to regional bases. More than 150 planes, including F-22 Raptors, F-35 Lightning IIs, and F-15E Strike Eagles, have been moved to bases such as Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and Ovda Airbase in Israel.B-2 stealth bombers and other long-range assets are on high alert, with some forward-deployed to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

U.S. and Israel Launch Joint Military Strike on Iran, Targeting Supreme Leader and President

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