Tehran launches retaliatory strikes after US and Israel attacks

The Independent – Iran has retaliated with strikes on US and Israeli military bases across the Middle East, after cities including Tehran were struck on Saturday morning.

Explosions have been heard in Bahrain, where the US Navy’s 5th fleet is based, as well as in the UAE, Jordan and Qatar.

One person has been killed as a result of falling debris in Abu Dhabi, while sirens are sounding across Israel with citizens warned to take shelter.

It comes after Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched co-ordinated strikes across Iran in a “preventative attack”.

President Donald Trump confirmed a “major combat operation” in an eight-minute speech, stating Iran could never have a nuclear weapon and adding: “It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to take it any longer.”

Witnesses said they heard the blasts in the Iranian capital, while footage appears to show columns of smoke rising above the city.

Iran and Israel have closed their airspace, while officials in Tehran said their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location.

The development comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme – its long-running effort to enrich uranium, which Western powers fear could be used to produce nuclear weapons.