US, Israel attack Iran as Trump vows regime change
The United States and Israel on Saturday launched an air attack on Iran, aimed at destroying its nuclear program, wiping out its military and overthrowing its government.
President Donald Trump announced the assault by posting a video on Truth Social shortly after 3 a.m. Eastern time.
“A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran,” Trump, wearing a white “USA” cap and standing behind a lectern, said. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.”
Iran launched retaliatory strikes against at least four U.S. military bases in the Mideast, including those in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. It also fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel. It was not immediately clear whether air defenses had intercepted the Iranian missiles.
Through its state media, Iran’s government vowed “crushing retaliation” against its attackers and said it would not “surrender to their despicable demands.”
Large explosions were reported in Tehran, Iran’s capital, including in the neighborhood of the presidential palace, according to The New York Times.
Attacks follow diplomacy
The attacks followed weeks of diplomacy over the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful purposes, but the United States and Israel have accused the country of attempting to build nuclear weapons that could threaten other countries in the Mideast and beyond.
Even as diplomatic efforts continued, the U.S. amassed its largest collection of naval and air power in the region since the second Gulf War. Trump had threatened to launch attacks if Iran did not agree to end its nuclear program and rid itself of ballistic missiles, although Vice President JD Vance said this week there was “no chance” the U.S. would end up in a lengthy war with Iran.
In his video message, Trump said the United States had attempted to reach an agreement with Iran, but “they just wanted to practice evil.”
The case for war
In his eight-minute video, Trump attempted to make the case that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States and its allies — a case he had not publicly presented in the run-up to the attacks.
He said Iranians have chanted “death to America” for the 47 years since the 1979 revolution that created the Islamic republic, while waging “an unending campaign” that targeted the United States.
He cited the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by protesters in 1979; blamed Iran for a 1983 bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 241 Marines and other military personnel; and claimed that Iran was “probably involved” in an attack on the USS Cole in 2000 that killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded about 40 others. He also said Iran was responsible for the deaths of American military personnel in Iraq.
Claiming the Iranians have “soaked the earth with blood and guts,” Trump said: “It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer.”
Trump said Iran was attempting to develop long-range missiles that would threaten U.S. allies in Europe “and could soon reach the American homeland.” Military analysts have disputed that claim.
Airstrikes will attempt to wipe out all Iranian missiles and “annihilate” the Iranian navy while also focusing on the nuclear program, Trump said.
“It’s a very simple message: They will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
‘Face certain death’
Trump called on members of the Iranian military to surrender. Otherwise, he said, they “face certain death.”
He also acknowledged that the U.S. military is likely to experience casualties.
“That often happens in war,” he said. “We’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
He warned Iranian civilians to remain in their homes, but said they should later rise up and install new leaders.
“The hour of freedom is at hand,” he said. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance in generations.”
No congressional approval
Trump ordered the attack without seeking congressional approval or notifying key lawmakers, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Warner said Trump needs to clearly articulate his objectives, strategies to prevent escalation and the actual threats against American interests.
“By the president’s own words, ‘American heroes may be lost!” Warner said. “That alone should have demanded the highest level of scrutiny, deliberation, and accountability, yet the president moved forward without seeking congressional authorization. The Constitution is clear: the decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations — particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States — raises serious legal and constitutional concerns.”
However, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, supported the attack.
“Today, our commander-in-chief took decisive action against the threat posed by the world’s leading proliferator of terrorism, the Iranian regime,” Wicker said. “This is a pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests.”
U.S. allies also backed the attack.
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his foreign minister, Anita Anand, said in a joint statement.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
