Smoke blankets the sky above Tehran, Iran, following explosions in the capital in June (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

The US and Israel launched a daylight att@ck Saturday across Iran, with a cloud of smoke rising from Tehran’s downtown. It wasn’t immediately clear what the target was. The att@ck comes as the United States has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and w@rships in the region to try to pressure Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.

Sharing a statement on Truth Social, the US Pres!dent D0nald T.r.u.m.p said: “The United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. It’s menacing activities directly in danger, the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted death to America, and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops, and the innocent people in many, many countries.”

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the att@ck as being done “to remove threats.” He did not immediately elaborate. In Tehran, witnesses heard the blast. Iranian state television later reported on the explosion, without offering a cause. Sirens sounded across Israel at the same time. The Israeli military said that it had issued a “proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched tow@rd the state of Israel.”

In a statement, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the operation was aimed at neutralising threats posed by Iran. “The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive att@ck against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” he said.

The Israeli airport authority confirmed that the government has suspended civilian flights to and from the country in the wake of the att@ck on Iran.

US officials said they expect this att@ck to be far more extensive than the American strikes last June against Iranian nuclear facilities.

An Iranian official told Reuters that its retaliation will be “crushing.”

The IDF confirmed the att@ck in a statement. It said: “A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran tow@rd the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.In the past few minutes, the Home Front Command has sent a precautionary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas.

“The public is asked to act responsibly and follow the instructions – they save lives. Upon receiving an alert, the public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice. Leaving a protected space is permitted only after receiving explicit instructions.

“The public is requested to continue acting in accordance with the Home Front Command’s guidelines.”