The United States is focusing its bombings on military installations, while Israel is striking centers of power.
By EFE (14ymedio)
HAVANA TIMES — The President of the United States announced this Saturday a “massive” military operation aimed at “annihilating” and “destroying” the regime of the ayatollahs in Iran, while calling on the Iranian people to rise up and take control throughout the country. “We will make sure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It’s a very clear message,” Donald Trump emphasized in a video posted on his Truth Social network. He also urged Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to lay down its arms.
“The United States is carrying out a large-scale and sustained operation to prevent the radical evil dictatorship from threatening the United States and the core of our national security interest. We are going to destroy their missiles and bury their missile industry. It will be completely shattered. We are going to annihilate their Navy,” he said.
After the start of the bombing campaign and the first images of attacks in Tehran, Trump said his objective “is to defend US Americans by eliminating the imminent threats of the Iranian regime,” which he described as a “savage group of terrible people whose threatening activities endanger the United States,” as well as its troops, its overseas bases, and its allies around the world.
“They have tried to rebuild their nuclear program and continue developing their long-range missiles that can now threaten our good friends and allies in Europe, our troops abroad, and very soon the United States,” he added.
“When we are finished, take the Government. It will be yours to seize. This will probably be your only opportunity in generations.”
Trump also addressed the people of Iran in the first moments of a war with an uncertain outcome: “The hour of your freedom is within your grasp. Take shelter. Do not leave your homes. It is very dangerous outside. Bombs will be falling everywhere. When we are finished, take the Government. It will be yours to seize. This will probably be your only opportunity in generations.”
He also acknowledged that “the lives of brave US American heroes may be lost” and that the US may suffer casualties. “It often happens in war. We are not doing this for now. We are doing it for the future,” he added. The president is at Mar-a-Lago (Florida), after having spent Friday afternoon in Texas holding a rally for refinery and processing plant workers.
Before departing for Texas, Trump had said he was not happy with how Tehran was negotiating over its nuclear program, but admitted he had not yet made “a final decision” on whether to attack Iran, even though satellite images showed military movements suggesting an imminent strike.
The United States and Israel launched this new military phase against the Iranian regime under the names “Operation Epic Fury” and “Roar of the Lion.” The offensive began in the early hours of Saturday—late night Friday in Washington—marking a new phase in the regional escalation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the public in a televised message, calling for “resilience and strength” in the coming days. “I call on you, citizens of Israel, to listen to the instructions of the Home Front Command. In the coming days, in Operation ‘Roar of the Lion,’ we will require resilience and strength from you,” he said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed it had launched attacks against US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in retaliation for the US and Israeli bombings, in addition to firing missiles toward Israeli territory that flew over Jordan.
In response, the UAE government condemned “the flagrant violation of its national sovereignty” and said it “reserves the full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its citizens and residents, and to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and stability,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
For its part, in a statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar said it “reserves its full right to respond to this attack, in accordance with the provisions of international law and in a manner commensurate with the nature of the attack, in defense of its sovereignty and in preservation of its security and national interests.”
According to official sources, this new campaign is more extensive and has greater firepower than the June operation called “Midnight Hammer.” On that occasion, the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
The comparison underscores the scale of the current offensive, which raises the level of confrontation and consolidates Washington’s direct involvement alongside Israel in a scenario of high regional tension.
“A missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” the Defense Ministry added in a statement, reporting that Defense Minister Israel Katz has declared a state of emergency throughout the country.
Iranian media reported at least three explosions in central and northern Tehran on Saturday shortly after Israel announced it had launched attacks against the Islamic Republic.
The New York Times also reported this development, indicating that there is currently no clarity about what the targets of the US and Israeli attacks in Iran have been. The newspaper adds that the latest talks between the United States and Iran in Switzerland regarding Iran’s nuclear program ended without results, which “apparently” paved the way for the attack.
Published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
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