US President Donald Trump said the military has begun “major combat operations” in Iran after srael launched what it called a “pre-emptive” strike on Tehran on Saturday morning.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said.
Tensions in the region have been high as Washington and Tehran try to reach an agreement on a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities.
Saturday’s strikes come as the US has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to try to pressure Iran into reaching an agreement.
Follow our live coverage as our journalists track developments.
${updatedAt}
${title}
8:57 GMT+1
Trump confirms US begins ‘major combat
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States had begun “major combat operations” in Iran.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said.
Trump referred to the Iranians in the video as a “vicious group of very hard, terrible people.”
He called the attacks on Iran “a noble mission,” saying they were necessary because of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile systems that could reach the US.
He called on Iranian officials to “lay down your arms” or “you will face certain death,” and encouraged the Iranian people to “take over your government — it will be yours to take.”
@realDonaldTrump
9:02 GMT+1
Iran’s President Pezeshkian ‘safe and sound,’ state media say
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is “safe and sound”, state media reported on Saturday, following US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
“President Masoud Pezeshkian is safe and sound and has no problems,” the IRNA news agency reported, alongside the Mehr and ISNA agencies.
9:00 GMT+1
Iraq joins Iran and Israel and says its airspace is closed until further notice
Iraq’s Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that the country’s airspace has also been closed following airstrikes on neighbouring Iran.
The ministry’s spokesman, Mitham al-Safi, told state-run Iraqi News Agency that “the closure was preceded by the evacuation of all air traffic from Iraqi airspace.”
Both Iran and Israel earlier said their airspace was closed to all civilian aircraft.
8:57 GMT+1
US embassies in Qatar, Bahrain issue shelter-in-place orders for personnel
The US embassies in Qatar and Bahrain told their staff to seek shelter on Saturday and advised US citizens to do the same after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
The embassies said in two separate statements they were “implementing a shelter-in-place for all personnel. We recommend all Americans do the same until further notice,” and urged US citizens to “find a secure location within your residence or another safe building.”
8:37 GMT+1
Trump ‘not thrilled’ with Iran talks progress, was already contemplating military action
US President Donald Trump repeatedly warned Tehran to finalise a nuclear deal with Washington “before it is too late”.
Commenting on the talks which had taken place in Geneva, Trump said on Friday he was “not thrilled” with Iran’s attitude in the talks, but hadn’t yet decided on whether to attack.
You can read more about Trump’s comments and both the US and Iranian positions in the article below.
8:28 GMT+1
Tehran preparing to retaliate, official says
Tehran is preparing to retaliate after Israel launched air strikes on Iran on Saturday morning, an Iranian official told the Reuters news agency.
The unnamed official said the Iranian response would be “crushing.”
8:25 GMT+1
Israel closes its airspace to all civilian flights
Israel closed its airspace to civilian flights on Saturday after announcing it had carried out “preventive strikes” on Iran and sounding sirens in Jerusalem.
“Following the security developments, the Minister of Transportation has ordered the Director of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority to close the airspace of the State of Israel to civilian flights,” the minister, Miri Regev, announced.
Iran also said it had closed its airspace until further notice, following multiple blasts in the capital Tehran and elsewhere, the civil aviation agency said.
“The airspace of the entire country is cosed until further notice,” announced the spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation, quoted by Tasnim news agency.
8:22 GMT+1
Iranian media says strikes happening across the country
Iranian media are reporting attacks are happening nationwide as Israel and the US launched air strikes targeting the country, with initial explosions reported in the capital Tehran.
Explosions have also reportedly been heard in Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah.
