Israel launches “preemptive strike” on Iran, Israeli military says

Update: President Trump announced Saturday morning that the U.S. was involved in “major combat operations in Iran” shortly after Israel reported that it had launched a “preemptive strike” on Iran. Follow the latest live coverage here. 

Israel launched what it described as a “preemptive strike” on Iran Saturday morning, Israeli officials said as blasts were seen and heard across Tehran. 

The Israel Defense Ministry said in a statement that it launched the strike because it was expecting “a missile and drone attack” from Iran “in the immediate future.”

The scope and location of the attack was not immediately clear. Iranian media reported strikes nationwide. A strike reportedly happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei had been in his offices at the time. 

Roads to Khamenei’s compound in downtown Tehran had been shut down by authorities as other blasts rang out across the capital. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the U.S. have grown. 

The U.S. military declined to immediately comment on the attack. It comes as the U.S. has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to try to pressure Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.  

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that he had also issued a state of emergency across all of Israel.  

“You must obey the instructions of the Home Front Command and the authorities and remain in the protected areas,” the statement read.

Sirens sounded across Israel at the same time as Katz’s announcement. The Israeli military said that it had issued a “proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the state of Israel.”

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar announced on social media that it had implemented a shelter-in-place for all personnel. 

“We recommend all Americans do the same until further notice,” the embassy wrote. 

Iraq’s Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that the country’s airspace had been closed. The ministry’s spokesman Mitham al-Safi told state-run Iraqi News Agency about the closure, noting that “the closure was preceded by the evacuation of all air traffic from Iraqi airspace.”

President Trump has wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Iran had hoped to avert a war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

On Friday, The Trump administration formally designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention.