*Arise, Take Over Your Govt Once We’re Through, Netanyahu, Trump Rally Iranian Citizens
*Khamenei In Safe Location
After months of massive US naval buildup near Iran, President Donald Trump today kicked off “major combat operations” in the Persian Gulf nation, which, according to him, are designed to eliminate “imminent threats” from the country’s regime.
The operation is “massive and ongoing”, the US President said in a video on social media, pledging to use “overwhelming strength and devastating force” to destroy Iranian missiles and ensure the country cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks aimed to “remove the existential threat” posed by the Iranian regime, as he urged the people of Iran to topple the government.
A short time beforehand, Israel said it had launched “preventative” strikes on Iran.
Sirens were sounded in Israel as the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said Iran had fired a “barrage of missiles” in retaliation.
Explosions were heard in Tehran, the Iranian capital, where smoke could be seen rising on the skyline, and several other cities. Iran has closed its airspace.
“The hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump told Iranian citizens, urging them to “take over your government” once the operation is over.
Talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended inconclusively on Friday, with a suggestion that further discussions would be held next week.
Trump had said he was “not happy” with the progress of discussions.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not in Tehran, and has been transferred to a secure location, an official told Reuters today.
People&Politics visited the site of Iranian News Agency (IRNA), which confirmed the attacks.
In a report on its site at 10.16am, IRNA, reporting under the headline ‘Iran Under Attack By US And Israel’, wrote: “Thick smoke was seen in the center of Tehran. These explosions were reported to occur in two places in Tehran and several other Iranian cities.
“Later on the day, the Israeli regime and the US president, Donald Trump, claimed responsivity (sic) for the attack.”
It displayed a picture of high rise buildings with dark smoke billowing skywards, bearing the caption ‘heavy blasts were heard in parts of Tehran on Saturday morning ‘.
Gulf Countries Close Airspace
Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have closed their airspace after reports of explosions across the region.
So far, there have been reports of explosions in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Manama in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
Don’t Join This War -Labour MP Urges UK Govt
The UK should resist being drawn into a conflict in the Middle East, a senior Labour MP has said.
Dame Emily Thornberry, chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she did not think the US-Israeli strikes were legal.
She said: “As far as I’m aware, we’re not involved in this. There’s not been British agreement to be involved in this, and I think that’s the right thing to do. I don’t think that there’s a legal basis for for this action.”
She added: “They were not under imminent threat, and so it’s therefore difficult to see what the legal justification is.”
Asked whether the UK should resist being drawn into the conflict, Dame Emily said: “Absolutely, unless we’re attacked ourselves, which, as I say, unfortunately this morning, we don’t know whether we will be because there may be attacks by the Iranians on Western bases in the Arab Gulf, and so then the situation may change. We just don’t know.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Smoke billowing from a targeted section of Tehran.
