Israel said it carried out a pre-emptive military strike on Iran on Saturday, escalating tensions in the Middle East and casting doubt on efforts to resolve Tehran’s nuclear dispute with Western powers through diplomacy.
According to Israeli officials, the operation targeted what they described as threats posed by Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes.
«The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,» Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said.
An Israeli defence official said the operation had been prepared for months and coordinated with the United States, with the final timing decided several weeks earlier.
Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran shortly after the attack began. In Israel, sirens sounded across several areas around 08:15 local time as the military warned of the possibility of retaliatory missile strikes.
Authorities in Israel ordered schools and many workplaces closed, except for essential services, and banned civilian air traffic. The country’s airspace was shut and the airports authority urged the public not to travel to airports.
Concerns grow over wider conflict
The latest escalation follows a 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June and comes amid renewed negotiations that began in February aimed at resolving long-running disputes over Iran’s nuclear activities.
Israel has insisted that any agreement must require Tehran to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure entirely, rather than simply halt uranium enrichment. Israeli officials have also pushed for limits on Iran’s ballistic missile programme to be included in negotiations.
Iran has said it is willing to discuss restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions but has rejected linking those talks to its missile capabilities.
Tehran has also warned that it would respond to any attack and previously cautioned neighbouring states hosting American forces that U.S. bases could be targeted if Washington joined military action against Iran.
During the earlier confrontation in June, the United States joined Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in the most direct American military action against the Islamic Republic to date. Iran responded by launching missiles toward the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East.
Western governments argue that Iran’s ballistic missile programme threatens regional stability and could potentially deliver nuclear weapons. Tehran denies that it is seeking to develop atomic bombs.
