4 days ago
Israel Attacks Iran's Capital with Explosions Booming across Tehran
Israel attacked Iran's capital early Friday, with explosions booming across Tehran as Israel said it targeted nuclear and military sites.
People in Tehran awoke to the sound of the blast. State television acknowledged the blast, The AP news reported.
It wasn't immediately clear what had been hit, though smoke could be rising from Chitgar, a neighborhood in western Tehran. There are no known nuclear sites in that area — but it wasn't immediately clear if anything was happening in the rest of the country.
An Israeli military official says that his country targeted Iranian nuclear sites, without identifying them.
The official spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation, which is also targeting military sites.
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said that his country carried out the attack, without saying what it targeted.
'In the wake of the state of Israel's preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately," he said in a statement.
The statement added that Katz 'signed a special order declaring an emergency situation in the home front.'
'It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,' it said
Iran halted flights Friday at Imam Khomeini International Airport outside of Tehran, the country's main airport, Iranian state TV said.
Iran has closed its airspace in the past when launching previous attacks against Israel during the Israel-Hamas war.
For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that Israel advised the US that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense.
'We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' Rubio said in a statement released by the White House.
Rubio said the Trump administration took steps to protects its forces and remained in contact with its partners in the region. He also issued a warning to Iran that it should not target US interests or personnel.
