Israel and the United States have launched what it called a preemptive strike against Iran, it has been confirmed on Saturday morning.
“The State of Israel has launched a preemptive strike against Iran to remove threats against the State of Israel,” a spokesperson for Israel’s defense minister said.
“As a result, a missile and UAV attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate time frame,” the spokesperson said.
Smoke rose from an explosion in downtown Tehran, Iran’s capital. Iran’s airspace is closed, Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump in his State of the Union address this week accused Iran’s government of “sinister nuclear ambitions.”
The U.S. has been engaged with nuclear talks with Iran.
The U.S. embassy in Qatar has told Americans to shelter in place, saying “all embassy personnel [are] directed to shelter in place and all Americans in the country are encouraged to do the same.”
“The U.S. Embassy in Qatar is implementing a shelter-in-place for all personnel,” the statement said. “We recommend all Americans do the same until further notice.”
Officials said that Americans should “find a secure location within your residence or another safe building. Have a supply of food, water, medications, and other essential items.”
Iranian member of parliament Ebrahim Azizi in a post on X issued a threat after Israel and the United States conducted strikes against his country.
“We warned you!” Azizi wrote on the social media platform. “Now you’ve started down a path whose end is no longer in your hands.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that his country and the U.S. had “embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat,” referring to Iran, and and thanked Trump for his “historic leadership.”
Other Middle Eastern nations have warned any attack could spiral into another major conflict for a region still reeling from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
