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President Donald Trump early Saturday announced the U.S. began "major combat operations" in Iran, saying the Middle Eastern nation rejected American calls to halt its nuclear program,
politico.com reports.
Instead, Trump claimed, the Iranians "attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and continue developing long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach our American homeland."
The president, in video remarks posted to his Truth Social account Saturday, said the strikes were part of a "massive and ongoing operation" against the regime in Tehran. The scale of the strikes was not immediately clear, though he said it targeted Iranian missile sites and the Iranian Navy.
Following Trump’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the joint operation "to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran" in a video of his own posted to social media.
This murderous terrorist regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity," Netanyahu said.
Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the Israeli military said in a statement on X that it "identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel," with defensive systems operating to intercept the threat.
Iran’s government vowed to retaliate in a "firm and decisive" manner. In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry said the attacks aimed at "a range of targets and defensive infrastructure, as well as non-military sites, in various cities across our country." It urged the United Nations to condemn the strikes, and it stressed that Iran had been engaging in diplomatic negotiations.
The time has come to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military assault. Just as we were prepared for negotiations, we are more ready than ever to defend the essence of Iran," the foreign ministry said in the statement.
Several U.S. embassies in the Middle East, including Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Manama, sent out alerts to its staff following the combat operation announcement, urging them to shelter in place.
We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground," the president said. "We are going to annihilate their navy, we are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region and the world."
Trump made a direct plea to the people of Iran in the 8-minute video, urging them to stay indoors and "take over your government" once the strikes halt.
To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight: The hour of your freedom is at hand," the president said. "Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations."
Addressing the regime in Tehran directly, Trump said to "lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or, in the alternative, face certain death" - a message he repeated twice.
