The US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran Saturday morning, with the initial attack near Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Tehran office.
The airstrikes are a response to the regime’s refusal to dismantle its nuclear program following weeks of talks — and as the US increased its military presence in the Middle East after President Trump warned Tehran there would be consequences if a deal was not reached. Israel later confirmed that the joint strikes targeted the Supreme Leader and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“It’s a very simple message. They will never ha
He warned Tehran to “lay down your arms or face certain death.”
Iran later warned that the “first wave of extensive missile and drone attacks” is underway across Israel.
Tehran also struck near a US Navy base in Bahrain, harrowing video obtained by The Post shows.
US and Israeli officials are saying that the military campaign in Iran could last weeks.
Follow The Post’s live updates for the latest news on the US and Israel’s attack on Iran.
Israelis speak to The Post as rockets explode nearby
A couple frantically scrambled to locate their children in Ramat Gan Saturday afternoon as sirens blasted across the Israeli skies.
“It’s all day long like this, we woke up and it’s like alert alert alert,” Israeli citizen Anat Tabachnik told The Post Saturday afternoon.
Tabachnik was with her boyfriend Nadav Kaidar in Israel’s Ramat Gan when sirens broke out, she rushed to pick up her daughter, 17, in the country’s northern countryside as Kaider fled to rescue his 5-year-old son.
“I felt really really anxious, I got my daughter and just ran,” Tabacknik, 45, said. “We went to a shelter in a tunnel in the roads. We rushed in a tunnel we just stood there.
“It’s like really scary, I keep shaking all the time. I feel like “Oh god I don’t know, we’ve got work, we’ve got life and we just have to stop.”
As Tabachnik was speaking to The Post, rocket sirens could be heard blaring along with the sound of explosions in the background from Iranian airstrikes.
“So many booms, oh my God,” Tabachnik feared.
Ukrainian President Zelensky affirms support for US strikes on Iran
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky backed the US strikes on Iran – but warned the Trump administration must act decisively to prevent a wider Middle Eastern conflict from erupting.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine knows all too well what this is about. Although Ukrainians never threatened Iran, the Iranian regime chose to become [Vladimir] Putin’s accomplice and supplied him with “shahed” drones, Zelensky wrote on X Saturday.
“Therefore, it is fair to give the Iranian people a chance to rid themselves of a terrorist regime and to guarantee security for all nations that have suffered from terror originating in Iran.”
“It is important to prevent the war from expanding. It is important that the United States is acting decisively.”
Military campaign in Iran likely to last weeks, US and Israeli officials predict
The military campaign in Iran could last weeks, according to US and Israeli officials.
“This is an extensive, coordinated, probably multiweek campaign,” Jeremy Bash, the former chief of staff for the CIA and the Department of Defense during the Obama administration, told NBC News Saturday.
Bash compared Operation Epic Fury to other campaigns in recent years, including the January capture of Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro, saying “those were largely ‘one and done.”
Emirati crown prince receives phone call from Saudi Arabia leader to discuss US-Israeli attack on Iran
Following the US-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday, Emirati crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call from Saudi Arabia leader Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the unprecedented tensions between the countries.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has survived Operation Epic Fury ‘as far as I know,’ foreign minister says
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has presumably survived Operation Epic Fury, according to the country’s foreign minister.
Khamenei is alive “as far as I know” Abbas Araghchi told NBC News after the joint US-Israel attack leveled numerous buildings at the leader’s fortified compound.
At least two Iranian commanders were killed in the attack, but many senior officials had survived, he continued.
It is not clear if Khamenei was at the compound at the time of the attack.
Gang of 8 knew this week that joint strike on Iran was likely and ‘may become necessary’
US lawmakers were warned earlier this week that military action in Iran “may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Saturday.
The Gang of 8 was briefed “in detail” about potential plans to rain missiles on the Middle Eastern country in the event Iran refused to suspend its nuclear program amid ongoing peace talks.
“Today, Iran is facing the severe consequences of its evil actions. President Trump and the Administration have made every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions in response to the Iranian regime’s sustained nuclear ambitions and development, terrorism, and the murder of Americans—and even their own people,” Johnson said on X.
“For decades, Iran has defiantly maintained its nuclear program while arming and funding Hamas, Hezbollah, and other internationally recognized terrorist organizations. Iran and its proxies have menaced America and American lives, undermined our core national interests, systematically destabilized the Middle East, and threatened the security of the entire West,” he continued.
“The Gang of 8 was briefed in detail earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran.”
Johnson is in close contact with President Trump and the Department of War as the operation proceeds.
Goal of Operation Epic Fury is ‘freedom’ for Iranians, President Trump says
The goal of Operation Epic Fury was to secure “freedom” for the people of Iran, President Trump said Saturday.
“All I want is freedom for the people,” Trump told The Washington Post shortly after 4 a.m.
“I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have,” the president added.
The president said the joint attack with Israel is aimed at dismantling Iran’s regime.
In an address to Americans, Trump emphasized that the objective was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Shocking video shows Iranian missile dropping from sky onto residential neighborhood in Qatar: ‘Oh my God’
Incredible footage of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against neighboring Qatar showed a missile falling onto a residential neighborhood.
The missile emerges from a clear blue sky, appearing to wobble and fall — instead of rocketing — towards the ground.
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Dozens of Qataris on the street make a mad dash to save their lives as the slow moving missile fell from the sky.
The massive missile hits the ground on its side and explodes into a massive fireball reaching 50 feet in the air and black smoke billows into the cloudless sky, the footage shows.
“Oh my God,” the videographer can be heard saying.
Iran fired off missiles at Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait in retaliation for the Israel and US’s Operation Epic Fury.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs further condemned the attack which they deemed a “flagrant violation” of national sovereignty, according to a statement shared to X.
The statement noted that Qatar has been the “among the foremost advocates of dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, president targeted in US attack on Iran as first photos of destroyed compound emerge
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound appeared to have been destroyed in Operation Epic Fury, with officials confirming the attack was targeting the regime boss.
Satellite images obtained by the New York Times showed multiple buildings at the fortified compound were leveled in the joint US-Israel attack, with black smoke billowing up from the rubble.
Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were targeted in the attack, a senior Israeli official confirmed to Fox News.
The military’s aim was to take out “those responsible for commanding the mass murder of Iranian protesters,” the official said, according to the outlet.
Congress poised to vote next week on blocking Trump from additional attacks on Iran, Jeffries says
The House will still vote on a war powers resolution next week to forestall President Trump from taking additional military action when it gavels back into session next week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) vowed.
“The War Powers Resolution introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie demands that President Trump remove U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran absent Congressional authorization,” Jeffries said Saturday. “House Democrats remain committed to compelling a vote on this resolution upon our return.”
On Thursday, just before the Operation Epic Fury attacks on Iran, top Democrats, including Jeffries vowed to vote on a war powers resolution to stop Trump from attacking the theocratic regime.
Saudi Arabia condemns Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations, offers ‘all its capabilities’ in the fight against Tehran
Saudi Arabia signaled its support for President Trump’s attack on Iran, saying it stands ready to “place all its capabilities” at the disposal of its allies.
In a statement, the Kingdom said it “condemns and denounces in strongest terms the blatant Iranian aggression and the flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan.
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“The Kingdom affirms its full solidarity with and unwavering support for the brotherly countries, and its readiness to place all its capabilities at their disposal in support of any measures they may undertake.”
Tourists watch as Iran fires missiles
Stunned Dubai tourists watched retaliatory Iranian missile strikes get intercepted over a beach club on Saturday.
Videos shared on social media captured vacationers basking in the sun before noticing white clouds of smoke expanding across the sky after air defense systems collided with the missiles.
“They are bombing” one bikini-wearing vacationer yelled as she watched the strike, according to video shared by Saudi Arabian outlet Alarabiya News.
“They were so loud,” another floored visitor said in a TikTok. “Over the beach club is f–king mental.”
Iran has launched revenge attacks in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Israel following strikes targeting the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from the U.S. and Israel.
