By Dan Williams, Arsalan Shahla, Bloomberg News
The U.S. and Israel began striking targets across Iran, with President Donald Trump urging Iranians to overthrow the government in a conflict that threatens to spiral across the oil-rich Middle East.
“The hour for your freedom is at hand,” Trump said, addressing Iranians in a video posted on Truth Social on Saturday. “When we’re finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
The military campaign could be a defining moment for Trump, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of midterm elections this year. Iran quickly responded by firing missiles on Israel and U.S. bases around the region, and countries in the Persian Gulf closed their airspace.
Israel’s military said the campaign would target “dozens of military targets,” and Iran media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including more than 50 people dead in a strike on a school in Hormozgan, in the south of the country. Several large explosions were reported in the capital, Tehran.
Iran answered with a wave of missile and drone attacks at Israel and countries hosting the U.S. military. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said all U.S. bases and interests in the region would be targeted, including in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. Bahrain said an American base in that country had come under attack, and Qatar and the UAE said they intercepted missiles in their airspace. Blasts were heard in Dubai.
The response outweighed Iran’s retaliation to Israeli airstrikes in June — both in scale and speed — as Tehran treats the conflict as an existential threat. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held calls with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq, according to a ministry statement, urging them to prevent the U.S. and Israel from using their territory to attack the Islamic Republic.
The prospect of a weeks-long, regional war is a nightmare scenario for U.S. allies in the Gulf such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They pushed hard for Iran and the U.S. to agree a diplomatic solution to their impasse over Tehran’s nuclear activities, fearing the chaos and flight shutdowns now unfolding could hit their economies and deter tourists as well as foreign investment.
Amid the possibility of U.S. strikes in the energy-rich region, oil prices rose last week. Brent crude increased as much as 3.2% to $73 per barrel in London on Friday, the highest intraday price since July, after gaining almost 20% in the year to date on U.S.-Iran tensions. Oil markets are closed for the weekend.
Trump said the military operation began after Iran refused to renounce nuclear weapons, which Tehran has repeatedly said it isn’t pursuing. He’s expected to address the nation about Iran later Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. aims to destroy the Islamic Republic’s missile inventory and industry as well as its navy, the president said. The Associated Press said at least one strike took place near the office of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iranian officials and their military capabilities are the focus of the campaign, declining to comment on whether Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian are targets.
The official cited a sharp acceleration in Iran’s missile production and fortification of nuclear sites as a reason for the renewed attack.
“A short time ago, the U.S. military began major combat operations in Iran,” Trump said. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
“My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region,” the U.S. leader added. “Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future.”
The operation is expected to continue for several days, Reuters said, citing a U.S. official it didn’t identify.
The attacks came two days after delegations from Iran and the U.S. met in Switzerland for a third round of negotiations on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi told CBS television on Friday night there was a “breakthrough” in the negotiations, citing Iran’s agreement not to stockpile highly enriched uranium. While Iran also sounded upbeat about the trajectory of the talks, Trump responded by saying that he wasn’t happy with how they were unfolding.
The U.S. has in recent weeks amassed its largest military buildup in decades in the Middle East, with Trump indicating more ambitious goals than the limited strikes he ordered against Iran’s atomic installations in June of last year.
In addition to demanding that Iran give up its nuclear program, he vowed to support protesters who have faced a deadly crackdown from Iranian authorities in recent months.
U.S. officials also called on Tehran to curtail its support for proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah, as well as its missile program, which they describe as a critical threat to Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency as he announced Saturday’s strikes, and said the country expected to come under retaliatory drone and missile attacks. Sirens sounded throughout Israel, according to the military.
OPEC+ will consider the option of a larger oil supply increase when key members meet on Sunday, after the Israel strikes, according to a delegate. The group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia was expected to resume modest production increases from April after a three-month supply freeze, several delegates said earlier this week.
Trump on Friday downplayed concerns about the likelihood of oil prices spiking if he attacks Iran, saying, “I’m concerned about people’s lives. I’m concerned about long-term health for this country.”
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—With assistance from John Harney, Michael Gunn, Galit Altstein, Eltaf Najafizada and Dana Khraiche.
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