US President Donald Trump confirmed that the US armed forces have launched a military operation against Iran. He defined it as a large-scale combat operation, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“Our goal is to protect the American people by eliminating the immediate threats coming from the Iranian regime“, Trump said in a video shared on social networks.
He said that Iran had tried to restore its nuclear program after the strikes that Israel and the United States inflicted on it in June and that the United States would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Trump already said something similar in his State of the Union Address on February 24.
Trump said today that the United States would destroy Iran's ships and that it would level the country's missile industry to the ground. The US President said that Iran has created missiles that threaten Americans and other countries.
Earlier today, world agencies and American media, including the “New York Times“ reported that the US is striking Iran by air and sea.
Explosions echoed in many places today in Tehran and a number of other Iranian cities. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel has begun preemptive strikes on Iran to prevent a threat from Iran to Israel.
Because of this operation, Israel has declared a state of emergency and preemptively activated sirens. Israeli airspace has been closed, schools have been canceled, employees will work remotely, and public gatherings are banned.
Iran has warned that it will respond strongly to the strikes.
Iranian media outlets, including Fars, Tansim and IRNA, have reported that Iranian airspace has also been closed. IRNA said it would remain closed for six hours.