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.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.
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.
AP: Iranian foreign minister tells NBC News that country's supreme leader and president are alive ‘as far as I know’
Here's the latest:
US Congress was notified before strike, source says
Congress was notified before the strikes on Iran, as required by law.
The notifications mentioned ballistic missiles, but didn’t indicate that the strikes would be so expansive or the goals so broad, according to a person familiar with the notifications who requested anonymity to discuss them.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out personally to some top lawmakers.
Saudi Arabia says it repelled attack by Iran
Saudi Arabia said Iran targeted its capital and its eastern region in an attack.
The government reported the attack in an announcement on its state-run Saudi Press Agency. It called the attack “blatant and cowardly” and said it was repelled.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are longstanding rivals, but the country reached a Chinese-mediated detente with Iran in 2023.
Smoke and explosions witnessed near a US base in Iraq
Smoke rose from a U.S. base near the airport in Irbil, the regional capital of Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region Saturday and an Associated Press journalist in the area heard explosions. Local media reported that missiles were shot down. There was no immediate statement from Iraqi officials or from the U.S.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to strike targets in the Kurdish region in case of an attack on Iran. Earlier Saturday, a drone strike targeted a headquarters of the Iran-allied Kataib Hezbollah militia southwest of Baghdad, killing two.