Explosions reported across Persian Gulf as Iran retaliates US, Israeli attacks

Among the most significant reported targets was the office complex of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in central Tehran. Reuters, citing Iranian officials, said Khamenei was not at the location at the time of the strike, though this could not be independently confirmed.

Videos circulating online appeared to show black plumes of smoke rising from an area associated with the Supreme Leader’s headquarters — long considered the symbolic and operational center of the regime’s authority.

Footage shared on social media also showed some Iranians reacting with disbelief and celebration, with witnesses heard laughing and referring to the site as the “leader’s house,” while others were seen thanking Israel as strikes unfolded.

Explosions were reported across Tehran and multiple Iranian cities early Saturday, including Tabriz, Qom, Karaj, Khorramabad, Kermanshah and Ilam, as Israeli officials confirmed a preemptive operation aimed at dismantling what they described as imminent threats posed by Iran’s missile and military infrastructure.

Iranian state media said the southern port city of Bushehr was also attacked, though it remains unclear whether nuclear-related facilities were damaged.

Israeli authorities said the operation, named “Lion’s Roar,” had been planned for months and carried out in coordination with Washington.

A US official confirmed American participation through air and sea strikes, with the US Air Force involved, though details regarding targets and damage assessments remain limited.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization closed the country’s airspace for six hours following the strikes.

Semi-official news agency ISNA reported that thousands of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed or wounded in attacks on military installations.

US President Donald Trump said Washington had begun what he described as “major combat operations,” framing the action as a defensive effort aimed at preventing Iran from advancing its nuclear and long-range missile programs.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video message, adding that the United States would ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.

Shortly after the strikes, the Israeli military said missiles were launched from Iran toward Israeli territory, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel as air defense systems attempted interceptions — an early indication of Tehran’s retaliation.

An Iranian official told Reuters the country’s response would be “crushing,” raising fears the confrontation could rapidly expand into a broader regional conflict.

Inside Iran, authorities began restricting communications as the attacks unfolded.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported national connectivity dropping to roughly 54 percent of normal levels, while Iranian media said mobile networks and messaging services were being disrupted. Several Iranian news websites were also reportedly hacked amid wider cyber activity.

The escalation comes only weeks after security forces carried out a nationwide crackdown in which tens of thousands of Iranians were killed — widely described as one of the worst massacres in the modern history of the world.

The strikes now unfold against a backdrop of deep internal anger and unprecedented pressure on the ruling establishment.

Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi called on Iranians to prepare to return to the streets, describing the Islamic Republic as nearing collapse while urging citizens to remain calm and await further instructions.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video address, accusing Tehran of decades of attacks against US forces and allies and of continuing efforts to rebuild its nuclear program.

Trump said the operation would target Iran’s missile capabilities, naval forces and what he called its “terrorist proxies,” vowing to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground” and to “annihilate their navy.”

He said the United States would ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.

The president cited past attacks blamed on Iran or its proxies, including the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and assaults on US forces in Iraq, and accused Tehran of backing militant groups across the region.

Trump acknowledged that US casualties were possible, saying American service members could be at risk as the operation unfolds. He said his administration had taken steps to minimize threats to US personnel in the region.

In a direct appeal to Iranian security forces, Trump urged them to lay down their weapons, warning they would face “certain death” otherwise.

He also addressed the Iranian public, telling them to remain sheltered during the strikes and saying “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

The victim, Vahid Lazer Monouchehri, had gone missing since widespread protests on January 8,9.

His body was handed over to relatives on Thursday with marks of gunfire and blows from a butcher’s cleaver, the family said.

Manouchehri was buried the following day under tight security in the village of Lazerban near Tonekabon, in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province.

Born on April 14, 1985, Monouchehri was a father of one and originally from Lazerban but had been living alone in Tehran. His family says they were unaware that he had taken part in the protests.

“There was no idea exactly when, where, or under what circumstances Vahid was killed,” the family said.

On Thursday, the Kahrizak forensic medical center contacted the family and asked them to travel to Tehran to collect their son’s body.

When they asked about the cause of death and why they were being contacted only after such a long delay, they say they were told: “There are many bodies here and we don’t know; just come and take the corpse.”

After arriving at Kahrizak, the family received the body along with a death certificate stating that the cause of death was “respiratory failure.”

Before handing it over, however, security officials required them to sign a written pledge not to present any account of his death other than the explanation given in the certificate.

The family then transported the body to his hometown. As it was being washed and prepared for burial, they say they discovered clear signs of severe violence: bullet wounds on his back, deep cuts to his side and a head riddled with shotgun pellets.

“It seems he was shot in the back, fell to the ground, and then officers shot him in the head at close range and hacked his body with a butcher’s cleaver,” a source close to the family said.

“The injuries make clear that the cause of death was not respiratory failure, but a state-ordered killing.”

The family also reported that the heart and kidney areas had been surgically opened and crudely stitched with large sutures. It remains unclear by whom or under what circumstances the procedure was carried out.

In a commentary published Friday, IRNA said the two sides’ clashing positions were jeopardizing the talks, laying the blame for such an outcome at Washington’s door.

It also made clear that Tehran is placing considerable hopes in Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, whose quiet mediation has been central to the negotiations.

Albusaidi now carries a “grave responsibility,” the piece argued, with his role beginning in Muscat, continuing through two rounds of talks in Geneva and now entering “another important step” when he meets US Vice President JD Vance in Washington.

Tehran’s official outlet even hinted at the mediator’s message to the American side: a warning that a war with Iran would not remain limited, that regime change is unattainable and that even heavy damage to Iranian targets would not achieve the goals emphasized by President Donald Trump, “just as they did not in the June attacks.”

Iranian media outlets have also begun outlining the main sticking points in the negotiations.

The news website Fararu reported Friday that the talks remain deadlocked over fundamental issues including enrichment levels, sanctions relief and the dismantling of parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Another major obstacle, it said, is Iran’s refusal to export enriched nuclear material, with Tehran insisting on maintaining domestic fuel production.

Axios reported that some of Trump’s advisers, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, were disappointed with Araghchi’s proposals, arguing that they fell short of US expectations.

Trump himself signaled frustration with Tehran on Friday, telling reporters he was “not happy” with Iran but expected further talks to take place.

Asked about the possibility of using military force, the president said he hoped it would not be necessary but did not rule it out.

Speaking before leaving the White House for a trip to Texas, Trump said he still wants to reach an agreement with Iran but reiterated that Tehran “cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Fararu suggested Washington may be pursuing a dual-track strategy, combining diplomacy with the threat of limited military strikes to maintain pressure.

The negotiations, it concluded, have entered a “complex and decisive” phase: a potential framework is beginning to take shape, but deep structural disagreements and continued US military signaling are sustaining a high level of uncertainty.

In a separate interview with the website, foreign policy analyst and former Iranian diplomat Jalal Sadatian said President Trump’s tone toward Iran had recently become noticeably “sharper, more decisive and more alarming.”

Sadatian also warned that Iran’s “asymmetric capabilities” mean that even limited military action could quickly escalate in unpredictable ways.

The operative who prosecutors say tried to hire two men to kill Trump for $5,000 upfront demonstrated the plan by placing a vape pen on a napkin to signify his “target,” the hidden camera video released by the New York Post shows.

“This is the target. How will it die?” Asif Merchant said in the meeting.

Merchant, 47, a Pakistani national who entered the United States in April 2024, is accused of attempting to recruit individuals he believed were hired killers.

Prosecutors said he offered cash payments and discussed staging a protest near a campaign rally to create confusion and allow the attackers to escape.

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Although Trump was not explicitly named in the recorded exchanges, court documents show that he – then a leading candidate – was the intended target, the Post reported.

Prosecutors allege Merchant believed Trump’s policies had harmed Muslim-majority countries and acted with backing from individuals allegedly connected to Iran.

The scheme began to unravel when a Pakistani-American acquaintance, a former US Army linguist, alerted authorities after growing suspicious of Merchant’s plans. The FBI then arranged undercover meetings that were secretly recorded.

Merchant was arrested in July 2024 at an airport while attempting to leave the United States, authorities said.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

In November 2024, the US Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges regarding a thwarted plot by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate Donald Trump prior to the 2024 presidential election.

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Trump has been a target for assassination threats since he ordered the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in Iraq.