Defense Minister Katz has claimed the attack is intended to “remove threats” to the Jewish state
The IDF has launched a “preemptive strike” on Iran for national security reasons, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced, warning the population of an expected retaliatory attack.
In a statement cited by several local media outlets early on Saturday, Katz said the attack sought “to remove threats against the State of Israel,” adding that authorities are imposing a nationwide state of emergency due to expected missile and drone strikes on the country’s population in the immediate future.
A senior defense official told Israeli Channel 13 that “this is a joint Israeli-American attack” which the sides had been planning “for months.” An unnamed US official later confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the American military was participating in the attack.
RT footage from Tehran showed two large plumes of smoke rising over the buildings in the Iranian capital.
Israeli Channel 12 claimed that the strikes were aimed at “dozens of regime targets,” with unconfirmed media reports suggesting that one of the attacks had been launched at an Iranian presidential facility.
The Israeli Ministry of Transportation announced that the nation’s airspace had been closed for civilian flights, stressing that “the safety and security of passengers are the top priority.”
The strikes came less than 48 hours after the latest round of Iran-US talks over Tehran’s nuclear program had failed to produce a breakthrough.
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The US had demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear infrastructure, put limits on its ballistic missile program, and cease support for regional allies.
Iran has insisted it would only discuss nuclear issues and sought the lifting of international sanctions. Tehran also maintains it is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi hailed what he described as “progress” at the talks, he said that the US must drop its “excessive demands.” US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, indicated that he is “not happy with the fact that they [Iran] are not willing to give us what we have to have.”
The strikes mark the second major Israeli military campaign against Iran in less than a year. During the 12-day war in June 2025, the country bombed Iranian military and nuclear facilities in a surprise attack, killing prominent military commanders, officials, and nuclear scientists.
The US later joined the conflict, striking three key Iranian nuclear sites – including the deep underground enrichment facility at Fordow. Washington claimed at the time that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program had been completely derailed, though officials in Tehran insisted that this was not the case.
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