Iran said it would retaliate against the United States and Israel following a series of explosions in multiple Iranian cities on Saturday, warning that the response would be “crushing.”
Explosions were reported in Kermanshah, Lorestan, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Karaj.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said the strikes were “pre-emptive” and aimed at neutralising threats to Israel.
The attacks come after a 12-day air conflict between Israel and Iran in June and follow repeated warnings from Washington and Tel Aviv against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
An Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Tehran was preparing counterattacks.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reportedly not in Tehran at the time of the strikes and had been moved to a secure location.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, said in a tweet that the United States and Israel had “started down a path which end is no longer in your control.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the military action was intended to defend American interests.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime… Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world,” he wrote.
