This is the moment women laugh in disbelief as they realise Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s compound in Tehran has been hit by an airstrike.
Footage shows smoke billowing into the sky above the complex as screams and giggles ring out from a nearby rooftop where onlookers watch the blast.
‘Oh my God they hit it. They struck it. Oh my God,’ one woman shouts.
The United States and Israel targeted Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in strikes on Saturday, though the outcome of the attacks remains unclear, an Israeli official said.
The first strike happened near the offices of Khamenei.
Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen rising from the capital.
President Donald Trump said in a video posted on social media that the U.S. had begun ‘major combat operations in Iran.’
He claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach U.S.
This is the moment women laugh in disbelief as they realise Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s compound in Tehran has been hit by an airstrike. Footage shows smoke billowing into the sky above the complex
In a briefing with reporters, a military spokesman said Israel has identified ‘a sharp acceleration’ in Iran’s missile program.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says Iran was beginning to make dozens of ballistic missiles a month. He also said there had been no significant hits in Israel. He spoke just before noon, roughly four hours after the operation began.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed its armed forces had ‘commenced a decisive response to these hostile acts.’
In a statement, it warned the Iranian people to travel to areas not included in the zones being targeted and said the government had made ‘prior arrangements’ to ensure the supply of basic necessities.
Schools and universities were ordered to close while the statement said banks would continue to operate.
The German government was informed in advance this morning about Israel’s military strikes on Iran, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Germany is in close consultation with its European partners, the spokesman said. Its crisis management team will meet at noon to discuss Iran.
The government urged German citizens in Iran, Israel, and the wider region to register on the official system for citizens abroad and follow the instructions of the local authorities for their own protection.
People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran
A vehicle explodes into flames after the US carried out strikes on Iran
The foreign ministry said it was in ‘close and constant’ contact with the embassies in Iran and Israel, as well as other missions in the region.
Two officials with different Iran-backed militias in Iraq told The Associated Press that a meeting took place two months ago between Iranian officials and allied Iraqi militias to make plans for a response in case Iran was attacked, including distributing tasks among the Iraqi armed groups.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
One of the officials said it was decided that the response would target U.S. forces and interests in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region and in neighboring Jordan.
U.S. troops have vacated bases where they were previously stationed in Iraq in areas under the control of the central government in Baghdad.
This followed an agreement to end the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, but U.S. forces remain in the Kurdish region.
One of the most prominent Iraqi militias, Kataib Hezbollah, on Thursday issued a public statement urging its fighters to ‘be prepared to engage in a war of attrition that may be prolonged and exceed the expectations of the U.S. administration.’
It also issued a warning to the Kurdish regional government in Iraq ‘against collaborating with hostile foreign forces’ that ‘could threaten its security and future.’
