US and Israel launch major joint assault on Iran
Israel and the US launched a major joint strike on Iran on Saturday
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) After long weeks of escalating regional tensions and burgeoning threats of conflict, Israel and the US launched a major joint strike on Iran on Saturday, with numerous targets hit across the Islamic Republic.
Targets in the campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence sites, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public information about the attack.
US President Donald Trump announced that the US had begun “major combat operations in Iran,” calling the campaign “a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests”.
“We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally … obliterated. We are going to annihilate their navy,” he said in a video statement posted on his Truth Social account. “We are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilise the region or the world and attack our forces.”
Trump indicated that the goal was to topple the regime and called on the Iranian people to seize the opportunity and take over their government.
Shortly after 10am, phone alerts and sirens sounded throughout Israel, sending millions to shelters as Iran launched missiles towards the country. An Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran’s response would be crushing.
Israel was preparing for several days of conflict with Iran, an Israeli official said.
The attack came despite Washington and Tehran having ostensibly agreed on Thursday to continue nuclear negotiations next week, with Trump saying on Friday that he was “not happy” with Iran’s conduct but had not yet made a decision on whether to authorise a military strike. In retrospect, this was apparently an act of misdirection.
It came as the United States assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to pressure Iran into a deal over its nuclear program. US strikes were being carried out by air and sea, a US official said.
One strike occurred near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was not immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei was in his offices at the time. He has not been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States have grown.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was “in full health”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing a source close to the presidency after unconfirmed reports claimed he was among those targeted.
First news of the assault came in Israel at 8.13am, when sirens blared throughout the country to alert Israelis to the start of the campaign and warn them to stay close to shelters, ahead of an expected Iranian retaliation. A similar practice was employed at the start of the June 2025 12-day war, when sirens were activated nationwide to notify Israelis that an attack had been launched.
Shortly thereafter, reports emerged of strikes taking place in Tehran and other locations throughout Iran. Iranian media reported strikes nationwide.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Israel had “launched a pre-emptive strike against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel”. A US official told The Times of Israel that the strikes were being carried out jointly by the US and Israel. Israel named its operation against Iran “Lion’s Roar”.
Katz said he had declared an “immediate state of emergency throughout the entire country”. The IDF’s Home Front Command warned civilians to stay close to bomb shelters and avoid non-essential travel. It also said that all educational activities, gatherings and work, except in essential sectors, would be prohibited.
Israel said it had closed its airspace to civilian flights until further notice.
Footage from Iran showed smoke rising in Tehran. Unconfirmed reports in Iranian opposition media said the homes and offices of Iranian leaders were being targeted.
An unnamed security source told Channel 12 that the operation had been jointly planned for months. The source said Israel was going “all out” in this operation and that the US was “on the same page”. The source also said the “initial phase” of the joint attack was planned to last four days.
The TV report said the timing of the initial strikes in the morning hours was designed to surprise the Iranians, who would not have expected a daytime attack.
US officials told The New York Times that the current bombing campaign would likely be much more extensive than Operation Midnight Hammer, in which US bombers struck key Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war. A US official cited by The Times said the US strikes were currently focused on military targets.
Officials told the paper they expected Iran to retaliate quickly to any attack, and for Tehran’s regional proxies to also strike US interests in the Middle East.
“To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or, in the alternative, face certain death,” Trump said in his eight-minute video statement.
“Lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death,” he said. “To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that 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 probably be your only chance for generations.”
The US Embassy in Qatar implemented shelter-in-place guidelines for all its personnel, recommending that all US citizens do the same until further notice.
The Mossad spy agency, on its official Persian-language Telegram channel, called on Iranians to help “return Iran to its glorious days”.
“Our Iranian brothers and sisters, you are not alone. We have launched a highly secure and dedicated Telegram channel especially for you. Together we will return Iran to its glorious days,” the statement said. Mossad called on Iranians to “share photos and videos of your just struggle against the regime with us”.
Shortly before the strikes began, footage posted to social media purported to show missiles flying low over Iraq.
Israeli opposition leaders gave their support to the campaign.
“I want to remind us all: The people of Israel are strong. The IDF and the Air Force are strong. The strongest power in the world stands with us,” wrote Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
“In moments like these we stand together – and we win together,” he wrote in English. “There is no coalition and no opposition, only one people and one IDF, with all of us behind them.”
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman referenced the upcoming Purim festival, set to begin on Monday evening, in which Jews celebrate deliverance from a threat of destruction by the Persian villain Haman.
“We overcame Haman, we will overcome Khamenei too,” Liberman wrote.
comments