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US and Israel Launch Massive Strikes on Iran, Triggering Regional Missile Retaliation

US and Israel Launch Massive Strikes on Iran, Triggering Regional Missile Retaliation
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The United States and Israel launched massive, coordinated strikes on Iran on Saturday, triggering waves of Iranian missile and drone retaliation across the Middle East, widespread airspace closures and warnings of a sharp jump in oil prices. The assault, described by Israel as a “pre‑emptive” attack and by Russia as an “unprovoked act of armed aggression,” marked one of the most dangerous escalations in the region in years cnn +2.

President Donald Trump said the operation aimed to end a security threat from Tehran and urged Iranians to “take over your government,” while Iranian forces answered within hours with barrages targeting Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states nbcnews +1. Explosions were reported in multiple Iranian cities, and strikes on a girls’ school in Minab alone killed at least 40 people, according to AP, with higher but unverified figures from other outlets bbc.

How the Strikes Unfolded and the Regional Military Fallout

Israel’s defence minister said his country launched a pre‑emptive attack to remove threats from Iran, hitting what officials described as leadership, command and nuclear‑related sites, with U.S. forces joining in “major combat operations” confirmed by Trump early Saturday cnn +2. Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Minab and the energy hub of Asaluyeh, underscoring the breadth of targets bbc.

Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard announced “Truthful Promise 4,” a large‑scale retaliatory wave of ballistic missiles and drones fired toward Israel and U.S. facilities, with impacts or interceptions reported over Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan and Iraq’s Kurdistan region bbc +1. Gulf governments said their air defences and U.S.-led coalition assets had downed many projectiles, but Bahrain reported damage at a centre servicing the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Saudi Arabia said Iranian strikes hit Riyadh and its eastern region, warning it “reserved the right” to respond reuters.

Airspace in Chaos and Markets Braced for an Oil Shock

At least eight countries, including Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE, closed their airspace or large portions of it as the exchange of strikes intensified, effectively shutting key corridors between Europe and Asia aljazeera. Major carriers such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, Turkish Airlines and Wizz Air suspended or rerouted flights, with Cirium data showing about 40% of flights to Israel and nearly 7% to the broader region cancelled on Saturday aljazeera +1.

Energy markets prepared for Monday’s open with Brent crude last closing at $72.87 a barrel before the attacks; analysts warned a risk premium of 10–25% was plausible if the confrontation persisted, and that serious disruption to the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly a fifth of global seaborne oil and LNG flows—could drive prices into triple digits apnews +1. “A broader state of spots of regional attacks/instability may be par for the course... Oil prices are likely to remain elevated,” said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho apnews.

The Bigger Picture

The U.N. Security Council met in emergency session as Secretary‑General António Guterres said the use of force by all sides “undermine[d] international peace and security,” while the EU urged “maximum restraint” and Russia and China pressed for an immediate halt to operations apnews +1. With Iran vowing that all U.S. and Israeli assets in the region are now “legitimate targets” and Gulf states signalling they may respond to strikes on their own territory, diplomats warned that the conflict risked sliding from a punishing exchange of blows into a region‑wide war with global economic repercussions reuters +1.