The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were alive “as far as I know.”
But hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contradicted this in a nationally televised address: “There are growing signs that the tyrant is no longer alive,” he said.
The strikes opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran and marked the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against the Islamic Republic.
What we know so far:
- The strikes: Some of the first strikes appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, with more than 200 people killed. Smoke could be seen rising from the capital. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices at the time of the strike.
- Iran retaliated: Hours after the strikes, Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region. The U.S. military reported no American casualties and minimal damage so far from the Iranian attacks.
- Trump’s statement: The U.S. president justified the military action by claiming that Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach the U.S. Trump also listed grievances stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic. Read what he said in full.