US military launched ‘major combat operations’ in Iran, US president says Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday, as Iranian missiles targeted several cities in the Middle East.
“Our goal is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very harsh and terrible people,” Trump said in a video message on his Truth Social account.
A US official earlier confirmed that US forces had attacked Iran by air and sea, Reuters reported. It also cited an unidentified Iranian official as saying that several southern ministries in the Iranian capital, Tehran, had been targeted.
Israel also launched an attack on the Iranian capital on Saturday, with a cloud of smoke rising from the city center.
Explosions were heard in key Middle Eastern cities, including Jerusalem, as Iran launched counterattacks. CNBC producer Joan Muwahed in Dubai reported hearing two explosions over the UAE city.
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have condemned Iranian missile counterattacks.
“The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation of the targeting of Qatari territory by Iranian ballistic missiles, considering it a blatant violation of its national sovereignty,” Qatar’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
A United Arab Emirates “The Ministry of Defense announced that the country was subjected to a blatant Iranian ballistic missile attack today, to which the UAE air defenses responded with high efficiency and a number of missiles were successfully intercepted,” the statement said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified missiles launched from Iran to Israel.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat. In the last few minutes, the Home Front Command sent a precautionary directive directly to cell phones in affected areas,” the Israeli army said in a tweet.
Elsewhere, Bahrain said the US Fifth Fleet service center came under missile attack. The US Embassy in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, issued a security alert warning of “imminent drone/missile attack in Bahrain.”
In a tweet, the embassy urged “US citizens in Bahrain to shelter in place, review their security plans in the event of an attack, and remain vigilant for additional future attacks. US Embassy staff are sheltering in place.”
The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, also issued a shelter in place alert.
Failed negotiations?Saturday’s attacks come after the United States amassed a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region in a bid to pressure Iran. an agreement on its nuclear program.
Trump warned earlier in February that “really bad things” would happen unless Tehran agrees to a nuclear deal. The United States and Iran held a third round of negotiations in Switzerland on Thursday to try to break the deadlock.
Before the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s reluctance to talk about its ballistic missile development program, alongside its nuclear program, was a “very big problem”. Iran has said it is willing to compromise on its nuclear program, but has repeatedly said Tehran’s missile program was never part of the negotiating agenda.
However, Trump said Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons despite ongoing negotiations to end its program.
“[In] Last June, during Operation Midnight Hammer, we destroyed the regime’s nuclear program in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we repeatedly sought a deal,” Trump said. “But Iran refused.”
“Instead, they have attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and continue to develop long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed abroad and which could soon reach American territory,” he said.
In addition to the capital Tehran, the cities of Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah were targeted.
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A Pentagon press secretary said the department received requests for comment via email from CNBC, but made no further statements.
A senior Middle East diplomat with direct knowledge of recent negotiations between Iran and the United States told MS Now: “Once again, when negotiations are on the verge of success…Israel has intervened to preempt diplomacy.” »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for “his historic leadership” and said the Iranian government “must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity.”
Iran, for its part, strongly condemned these attacks, accusing the United States and Israel of “grossly violating” Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.
“Serious consequences”French President Emmanuel Macron said the outbreak of war between the United States, Israel and Iran brings “serious consequences”.
“The ongoing escalation is dangerous for everyone. It must stop. The Iranian regime must understand that it now has no choice but to engage in good faith in negotiations to end its nuclear and ballistic programs,” Macron said, calling for an “urgent” meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Russia unequivocally condemned the American and Israeli strikes.
“It is particularly reprehensible that these strikes are once again carried out under the cover of a renewed negotiation process, apparently aimed at ensuring long-term normalization of the situation around the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. statement.
This photo combination created on April 9, 2025 shows U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff after a meeting with Russian officials at Diriyah Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18, 2025 (left); and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to AFP during an interview at the Iranian consulate in Jeddah, March 7, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Amer Hilabi | AFP | Getty Images
Energy market participants closely monitor escalating geopolitical tensions, oil prices climb to six-month highs after Trump said he was considering a military strike against Iran.
Iran, a founding member of OPEC, is a major oil producer and lies at the heart of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes.
— Riya Bhattacharjee, Victor Loh And Emma Graham contributed to this story