US and Israel attack Iran with Tehran promising 'crushing' response

The United States and Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran on Saturday, targeting multiple locations across the country, as US President Donald Trump advocated for regime change.

Middle East Eye’s correspondent in Tehran reported explosions echoing across the capital as Iranians set out for work on the first day of the week. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising from buildings around the city, while Iranian media reported attacks across the country, including in the western province of Ilam.

Several locations in central Tehran were targeted, including areas around Jomhouri and Pasteur streets, which house the residence of Iran’s supreme leader and the presidential office. A number of buildings have reportedly collapsed after being struck.

Iranian media did not immediately disclose a death toll, but Reuters reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been moved to a "safe place".

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are still alive “as far as I know”.

Meanwhile, in the most devastating attack reported so far, local authorities said that at least 63 people, almost all of them young girls, have been killed in an air strike on a primary school in southern Iran.

The attack on Saturday morning hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab city in the southern Hormozgan province.

The victims were between seven and 12 years old, according to Iran's Tasnim and Fars news agencies.

Although Iranians had been bracing for an imminent attack after weeks of heightened tensions, many were still taken by surprise when a series of consecutive blasts shook the capital.

Milad, 31, who owns a mobile phone shop on Hafez Avenue in Tehran, near Jomhuri Street, told MEE: “We were working in the shop when we suddenly heard a terrible noise. At first, we thought it was an earthquake. The sound was so frightening, you can’t imagine it. 

"Then we heard several more explosions, and the situation became more and more scary."

Milad quickly closed the shop and headed home, following developments on his phone.

"On my way home, I realised that Israel and the United States had carried out the attack. I honestly have no idea what will happen next. Right now, I feel like a question mark myself. I don’t know anything," he said.

Major combat operation

Soon after the first wave of strikes hit Iran, US President Donald Trump said the joint attacks were aimed at "eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime".

"Short time ago, US military began major combat operation in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime," he said.

Trump also made a number of other claims and predictions without offering any concrete evidence, such as Washington's refusal to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

"We are going to annihilate their navy. We are going to ensure that the region’s ‘terrorist’ proxies can no longer destabilise the region or the world".

"We will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It is a very simple message," he said.

"They will never have a nuclear weapon. This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces," he added.

Shortly after joint US-Israel strikes on Tehran, president Donald Trump announced the US military started “major combat operations” against Iran and encouraged the “great, proud people of Iran” to take over the regime. pic.twitter.com/1abpQjjEDc

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) February 28, 2026

Iran has repeatedly said it would never build a nuclear weapon and that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only.

Neither US intelligence nor the UN nuclear watchdog has found any evidence that Iran was pursuing an atomic weapon, a narrative Israel and some in the Trump administration have nevertheless pushed.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted for war crimes, said the attacks on Iran were aimed at removing an "existential threat". 

Netanyahu said that the "joint action" by Israel and the US "will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands" and praised Trump for his "historic leadership".

Following the attacks, an Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran ⁠was preparing ⁠to retaliate and that its response would be ⁠"crushing".

Iran is preparing to "take revenge" on Israel and deliver a "strong response", State TV reported.

In response, explosions rocked northern Israel as the country worked to intercept incoming Iranian missiles. There was no immediate word on any damage or casualties from the ongoing attacks.

Middle East Eye's correspondent in Israel reported that sirens were heard all over the country, with people rushing to shelters. 

"Not much information is available at the moment, except that Israel has started a sudden attack on Iran," the reporter said. 

Sirens and explosions were also reported in Bahrain, with the Gulf nation confirming that the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet was targeted.

Explosions were also reported in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Kuwait, with Jordanian authorities scrambling jets to intercept strikes.

Planned for months

Israel's Channel 13, citing a security source, reported that the attack on Iran was a "joint Israeli-American operation" that had been worked on "for months". 

"In the last few minutes, sirens were sounded all throughout Israel, with an advanced instruction alert directly to cellular devices to stay within proximity to protected spaces," the Israeli military tweeted.

"This is a proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the State of Israel. The IDF emphasises that the public is requested to stay in proximity to protected spaces," it added.

Israel has shifted the country to “Essential Activity” status, banning schools, gatherings and most workplaces except critical sectors.

The public was told to follow Home Front Command guidance, with full updates to be posted on official emergency platforms.

On Friday, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had said that the "coming weeks will shape the coming decades in the Middle East". 

The coming weeks will shape the coming decades in the Middle East. ⬇️

— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) February 27, 2026

An Iranian source told MEE that the attack was "pre-planned while negotiations were taking place", adding that the negotiations were just a cover. 

"The Israelis and the Americans were not taking it seriously. A proof for this is that the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier arrived in Haifa yesterday," the source said. 

"On Friday, the Omani foreign minister said on CBS that there was a crucial achievement of an agreement that should stop any efforts of the war, but the US and Israel are keen on the aggression regardless," he said.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi on Saturday denounced the US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, suggesting Washington was duped into war by the Israelis, as a deal was within reach.

Busaidi was one of the main mediators in the talks between Iran and the Trump administration. On Friday evening, he told CBS news that he was confident “a peace deal is within our reach".

Hours later, the US and Israel launched their joint attacks.

“I am dismayed,” he wrote on X. “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. 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.”