War: US and Israel attack Iran

The United States and Israel launched a massive military assault against Iran on Saturday—a steep and sudden escalation following negotiations between the US and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program. According to President Donald Trump and senior Israeli officials, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials have been killed in the attacks. Iran has retaliated, targeting American bases and US-allied countries across the region.

It’s unclear how many people have been killed so far. Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA, has reported significant casualties, including dozens killed at a girl’s school during a US-Israel strike; the New York Times said that it was unable to immediately verify that report. According to the United Arab Emirates, one person was killed by falling debris from an Iranian ballistic missile.

In an 8-minute video posted to Truth Social early Saturday, Trump confirmed the attacks, calling the Iranian regime a “vicious group of very hard, terrible people.” He described the operation as “major combat activities” and said his administration had taken steps to minimize risk to US forces in the region. But, he added, “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.”

Trump urged the Iranian people to “take over their government” following the attacks. Anti-government protests in the nation have been taking place for months, and the regime has responded with a brutal crackdown. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, Iranian forces had killed more than 7,000 people as of February 11; tens of thousands more have been arrested.

Trump referred to those atrocities in his video Saturday. He also blamed Iran for the failed nuclear negotiations, claiming, “They rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore.” 

Badr Albusaidi, the Omani foreign minister who was mediating negotiations before the attacks, said Saturday that he was “dismayed.”

“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined. Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this,” Albusaidi wrote on social media. “And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.” 

The response from global leaders allied with the US was mixed. 

Canada and Australia backed the campaign against Iran. Britain, France, and Germany issued a joint statement, saying they were critical of Iran’s nuclear policies and “the appalling violence and repression against its own people.” But that trio of countries stopped short of explicitly supporting the strikes. “We did not participate in these strikes, but are in close contact with our international partners, including the United States, Israel, and partners in the region,” the statement said. “We reiterate our commitment to regional stability and to the protection of civilian life.” 

As US and Israeli strikes continued and Iranian forces launched their own attacks, civilians around the region rushed to whatever safe space they could find. An engineer living in Tehran described the fear in a text message to the New York Times: “My children are crying and scared. We are huddling in the bathroom. We don’t know what to do. This is terrifying.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.