President Donald Trump and the Israeli Defense Minister have confirmed the launch of a preemptive strike against Iran, with Israel declaring an “immediate state of emergency throughout the entire country.”
“A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran,” President Trump said in a video statement. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.”
Footage emerging from Iran shows smoke and the aftermath of explosions in the country’s capital, with the Daily Mail reporting that the ‘Blitz’ on Tehran took place “near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”
“It is not immediately clear whether Khamenei, 86, had been in his offices at the time,” they clarified.
The IDF has issued a proactive directive, calling Israelis to remain in close proximity to bomb shelters, as the nation braces for Iranian retaliation.
“In the last few minutes, sirens have sounded across the country, and a preliminary directive from the Home Front Command was distributed directly to mobile phones, instructing to remain in proximity to a protected space,” the IDF wrote on its Hebrew X account. “This is an initiated alert whose purpose is to drill the public for the possibility of missile fire into our territory. The IDF emphasizes that, as of now, there is no need to stay inside protected spaces.”
Immediately following the strikes, Israel’s Transportation Ministry announced the closure of its airspace “until further notice.”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Friday advised non-essential personnel and the family members of diplomats wanting to leave the country to do so “sooner rather than later.”
“Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to DC,” Huckabee stated, “but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of the country. There is no need to panic, but for those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later.”
The development follows an increasing American military presence in the Middle East for the purpose of preparation and deterrence, as the US kept the door open for a diplomatic solution. On Friday, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, arrived in Haifa, Israel.
Additionally, according to the Times of Israel, “American F-22 stealth fighter jets were deployed at an Israeli Air Force base in southern Israel on Tuesday, as part of the United States’s massive buildup of military forces in the Middle East. Their arrival in Israel is another step in the amassing of American aircraft in the region as tensions between Iran and the US threaten to erupt into war.”
During President Trump’s State of the Union address, he highlighted the danger posed by the Iranian regime as they work to rebuild their nuclear program in the aftermath of the 12 Day War: “[We will] never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.”
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