Iran Under US, Israeli Attack

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Dubai- The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to“seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has governed the nation since 1979.

Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases across the region.

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Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Smoke could be seen rising from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide. It wasn't immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices when the attack occurred.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Ayatollah Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive“as far as I know.”

Trump exhorted disgruntled Iranians who want to see return of monarchy to 'take over your government'.“This will be probably your only chance for generations,” Trump said in a video announcing“major combat operations.”“For many years, you have asked for America's help, but you never got it.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that goal.

The strikes during the holy fasting month of Ramadan opened a stunning new chapter in US intervention in Iran and marked the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against the Islamic Republic.

Even if Iran's top leaders were to be killed, regime change is not guaranteed and neither the US nor Israel have articulated a vision for what new leadership would look like.

Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said that though Iran is a“bad actor,” the president must nonetheless“seek authorisation for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”

Israeli and American strikes last June greatly weakened Iran's air defences, military leadership and nuclear program. A regionwide war, sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has left Iran's network of allies across the Middle East greatly weakened. US sanctions and global isolation, meanwhile, have decimated Iran's economy.

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Iran responded to the latest strikes as it had been threatening to do for months, including by retaliating against Israel as well as US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.“The time has come to defend the homeland and confront the enemy's military assault,” Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.

Attack was coordinated between Israel and US

The US military has for weeks amassed forces in the region, even as US and Iranian envoys held talks in Switzerland and Oman aimed at finding a diplomatic solution.

“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined,” Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said on X. Al-Busaidi, a key mediator in the talks, traveled to Washington on Friday to meet with Vice President JD Vance.

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“Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this,” al-Busaidi said.“And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further.”

Israel said the operation has been planned for months with the US

Trump, in justifying the military action, claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program despite asserting last year the program had been“obliterated” by an earlier round of strikes. He acknowledged Saturday that there could be American casualties, saying“that often happens in war.”

It was a notable call on Americans to brace themselves from a US leader who swept into office on an“America First” platform and vowed to keep out of“forever wars” that had bogged down his recent predecessors.

Trump's statement listed grievances beyond the nuclear program, stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic following a revolution in 1979 that turned Iran from an American ally in the Middle East into a fierce foe.

The US president said he was aiming to“annihilate” the Iranian navy and destroy regional proxies supported by Tehran.

He also called on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, pledging members would be given immunity, while warning they would face“certain death” if they didn't.

Iran had hoped to avert a war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran is able to make the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of total worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025. (AP)

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