201 dead after US, Israel attack Iran

AP

Dubai

The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and President Donald Trump urged the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.

Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, on Saturday evening said at least 201 people had been killed and more than 700 injured.

Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases in the region, and exchanges of fire continued into the evening.

Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Smoke rose from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices when the attack occurred.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive “as far as I know,” and called the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely
illegitimate.”

In a video announcing the “major combat operations,” Trump told Iranians that “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that goal, called for “the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.”

The strikes during the holy fasting month of Ramadan opened a stunning new chapter in US intervention in Iran, and marked the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic republic during talks over its nuclear programme.

The targets included members of Iran’s leadership, according to a US official and another person briefed on the attacks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. There was no immediate information on whether top officials were killed.

In southern Iran, at least 85 people were reported killed after a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the local Governor told Iranian state TV.

Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorisation. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance of the attack.

The UN Security Council said it would meet shortly. In a letter to the council, Araghchi said “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile forces in the region shall be regarded as legitimate military objectives.”

Iran also requested an urgent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors about “these threats to safeguarded nuclear facilities,” according to a letter posted by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog said on X it was closely monitoring developments and had seen “no evidence of radiological impact.”

The immediate trigger for Saturday’s strikes appeared to be the unsuccessful latest round of nuclear talks. But they also reflected dramatic changes that have left Iran’s leadership in its weakest position since the Islamic Revolution nearly half a century ago.

Iran responded to the latest strikes by launching missiles and drones targeting Israel and strikes targeting US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Israel’s military said Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted and no serious injuries reported. Emergency responder Magen David Adom noted 89 “lightly injured” people.

At least three explosions were heard on Saturday evening near the Intelligence Ministry building in northern Tehran, witnesses said, adding that air defence systems had begun operating in the area. There was no immediate statement in Iranian media, while Israel’s military said it had begun a new wave of strikes against missile launchers and aerial defense systems in central Iran.

Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defence fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said.

Israel said the operation has been planned for months with the US. “Air Force pilots are striking hundreds of targets across Iran, at significant personal risk and in coordination with US strikes,” Israeli military chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

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, in seeking to justify the military action, claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear programme, despite asserting last year the programme had been “obliterated” by an earlier round of strikes. He acknowledged on Saturday that there could be American casualties, saying “that often happens in war.”

The US President said he was aiming to “annihilate” the Iranian Navy and destroy regional proxies supported by Tehran. He called on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, pledging members would be given immunity, while warning they would face “certain death” if they didn’t.

The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran is able to make the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of total worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.

Saudi Arabia said in an announcement on state-run media that Iran had targeted its capital and its eastern region in an attack that was repelled.

Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said a drone targeted the main international airport, injuring several employees. Kuwait’s health ministry said 12 people were injured in strikes.

Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom. Explosions could also be heard in Qatar. Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.