Israel launched a daylight unprovocked attack Saturday on Iran’s capital, with a cloud of smoke rising from the city’s downtown. The first apparent strike happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian media reported strikes nationwide.
The United States is participating in the strikes, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations. It was not clear the full extent of the American involvement. The White House declined to immediately comment.
It also wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei was in his offices at the time. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States have grown. The attack comes as the United States 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.
Roads to Khamenei’s compound in downtown Tehran had been shut down by authorities as other blasts rang out across the capital. Neighboring Iraq closed its airspace, according to the Ministry of Transport.
Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack.
Trump 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.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Iran would immediately strike back, but it had warned that American military personnel and bases spread across the region would be targets for any retaliation.
