Israel and the U.S. have launched airstrikes against Iran

Israel has announced a "preventive" missile strike on Iran, Bloomberg reports, citing the Israeli Defense Ministry. The U.S. is also participating in the operation, sources told the Associated Press and The New York Times.

Three powerful explosions were heard in the center of Tehran. One of the missiles exploded near the office of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, AP writes. According to a Reuters source, Khamenei is not in Tehran.

A state of emergency has been declared in Israel, with the Defense Ministry saying drone and rocket attacks are expected in the near future. The country's airspace is closed to civilian air traffic.

In June 2025, Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in which the U.S. intervened by bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran responded with airstrikes on Israel and a U.S. airbase in Qatar. Saturday's attack followed repeated warnings by the U.S. and Israel that they would strike again if Iran continued with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The operation had been planned for months in coordination with Washington and its start date was set weeks ago, an Israeli defense ministry source told Reuters.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor