Israel and the United States launched preemptive attacks on Iran Saturday morning after President Trump warned of US intervention in Iran amid escalating tensions following deadly protests.
Trump confirms US involvement in Iran attack, says ānot going to put upā with regimeās āmass terrorā
President Donald Trump confirmed Saturday that the U.S. is carrying out āmajor combat operations in Iran.ā
In video remarks posted to Truth Social, Trump said the objective is to defend Americans by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, describing it as āa vicious group of very hard, terrible people.ā
āItās been mass terror and we are not going to put up with it any longer,ā Trump said.
He added that āit has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. Iāll say it again, they can never have a nuclear weapon.ā
Initial strike in Iran attack targeted area near Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiās offices
While military strikes have been reported nationwide, the initial joint attack was reportedly focused in an area near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Associated Press reported the first apparent strike hit near Khameneiās compound and main offices inĀ downtown Tehran.
It is unclear if the Iranian leader was in the area at the time of the attack.
Department of War dubs attack on Iran āOperation Epic Furyā
TheĀ Department of WarĀ announced the Saturday morning U.S. military attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran has been dubbed āOperation Epic Fury.ā
The announcement came minutes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who coordinated the blitz with the U.S., announced the Jewish Stateās mission was called āOperation Roaring Lion.ā
Iran begins response to Israel-US attack, IDF responding to missiles
Iran has started launching missiles toward Israel in response to a joint attack from the Jewish State and the United States on Saturday morning.
The Israel Defense Forces said the Israeli Air Force was responding to the missiles launched from Iran.
āAt this time, the IAF is operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat,ā the IDF said, adding that sirens were sounding in several areas across the country.
Iranās response āappears to be limitedā at the moment, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst.
Netanyahu names attack on Iran āOperation Roaring Lionā
Israeli Prime MinisterĀ Benjamin NetanyahuĀ has named the military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran āOperation Roaring Lion,ā his office said.
The U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran just after 9 a.m. local time.
Israel-US attack on Iran had āelement of surpriseā
A jointĀ attack on IranĀ by Israel and the United States on Saturday morning had an āelement of surprise,ā according to Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
The attack was carried out just after 9 a.m. local time in daylight.
Griffin said she believes U.S. and Israeli officials wanted Iran to see the strikes and what was being targeted.
She said she expects more military activity over the next few hours.
US participating in Israelās attack on Iran: US official
The United States is participating in preemptive strikes Israel launched against Iran on Saturday, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.
Israeli Defense MinisterĀ Israel Katz declared a special and immediate state of emergency across the entire country.
He said the strike was āto remove threatsā against the state of Israel.
Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
