U.S. and Israel launch attack on Iran
The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, according to U.S. and Israeli officials, as multiple explosions resounded in Tehran.
The attack followed months of rising regional tensions amid threats by President Donald Trump to attack.
Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, announced the strike in a statement, adding that the country would be under a state of emergency. The U.S. and Israeli officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters.
Three massive explosions were heard in central Tehran, according to the semiofficial news agency Fars. The casualties and targets were not immediately clear. In Israel, air-raid sirens blared across the country, warning Israelis to expect potential Iranian retaliation.
The region has been on edge after Trump threatened military strikes against Iran if its leaders did not agree to his demands, including reining in its nuclear program. The United States has conducted the largest military buildup in the Mideast since the 2003 invasion of Iraq in an attempt to compel Iran to accept his terms.
U.S. and Iranian officials held a last-ditch round of mediated talks in Switzerland on Thursday over Tehran’s nuclear program. The talks ended without a breakthrough, however.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.