Iran has launched an attack on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, after Trump joined with Israel to carry out a massive assault on Tehran in a bid to prevent the nation from gaining a nuclear weapon.
Donald Trump declared he will ‘raze their missile industry to the ground’ as he warned troops in Iran to lay down their arms or face ‘certain death’.
The first apparent strike, which follows weeks of knife-edge tensions building up between the two countries, happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday morning.
It is understood that at least five cities have been targeted in Iran, with counter-strikes reported in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE.
President Trump said in a video on Truth Social that the United States had begun ‘major combat operations’ in Iran with thick black smoke seen rising into the sky.
Follow all the latest on the Daily Mail’s live blog.
Footage shows moment Iran targets US base
Video footage has emerged which appears to show the moment that Iranian missiles targeted a US naval base.
Iran launched a counter-attack against the Fifth Fleet service centre in Manama, Bahrain, local media confirmed.
Footage shows a large plume of smoke rising over the city. It is not known if the blast resulted in any casualties.
UK government ‘does not want to see further escalation’ and prioritises ‘safety of citizens’
The UK Government said its priority is ‘the safety of UK nationals’ in the Middle East and it does not want to see ‘further escalation’ in the region.
It is understood the UK was not involved in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Sir Keir Starmer will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Saturday morning.
A Government spokesperson said:
Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that is why we have continually supported efforts to reach a negotiated solution.
Our immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and we will provide them with consular assistance, available 24/7.
As part of our longstanding commitments to the security of our allies in the Middle East, we have a range of defensive capabilities in the region, which we have recently bolstered. We stand ready to protect our interests.
We do not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict.
Trump accused of launching an ‘illegal’ war
Former President Barack Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes is calling out Trump for launching an ‘illegal’ war.
A war that has no domestic or international legal basis. A war that Americans do not support. A war in response to no imminent threat. A pointless war.
Israel strikes southern Lebanon after attacks on Iran
Pictures have emerged of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon as it continues military action following its assault on Iran this morning.
Britain did not take part in Iran strikes – as PM to hold emergency summit
The UK did not take part in strikes against Iran alongside the US and Israel, it has been confirmed.
Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to hold an emergency Cobra meeting later today on the issue.
The US is not targeting Iranian leadership, official says
A US official told Fox News that the US is not targeting leadership in Iran.
Israel is targeting Iranian leadership.
The US is targeting military targets and ballistic missile sites that pose an ‘imminent threat.’
The US military is not targeting Iran’s leadership.
IDF launches strikes against in western Iran
The Israel Defence Forces has said it is launched strikes against multiple targets in western Iran.
In a statement, it confirmed ‘a broad strike on a number of military targets’ in the country.
Israel is currently urging Iranian citizens near military bases to evacuate.
Democrat John Fetterman praises Trump for being ‘willing to do what’s right’
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, a strong supporter of Israel, is offering praise for Trump’s massive military campaign.
His statement of support is rare coming from a member of the opposite political party.
Other members of the US Congress are expressing concern that Trump took unilateral action to launch strikes without approval from the House and Senate.
Iran ‘will make aggressors regret their actions’
The Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry has said it will make its aggressors ‘regret their actions’ and is ‘fully prepared to defend’ itself.
In its first statement since the US and Israel launched their attack on the country this morning, the ministry said: ‘The renewed military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran constitutes a violation of international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.
‘The Islamic Republic of Iran considers this aggression a clear breach of international peace and security and emphasises that it reserves its legitimate right to respond decisively.’
It added: ‘The Iranian nation has always demonstrated patience and restraint to prevent escalation and preserve regional stability.’
Explosions reported in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait as conflict escalates across Middle East
Explosions have now also been reported in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.
Middle Eastern countries including Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have all closed their airspaces following the US-Israeli attack on Iran this morning.
Since then, blasts have been reported in Abu Dhabi, Manama in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
So far, Bahrain has confirmed that Iran has launched an attack on a US naval base in the city.
Democrat slams Trump for endangering US troops who ‘should not have to pay the ultimate price’
Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona tore into Trump after the president’s warning that US troops could be killed in the ongoing operation.
‘We can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die,’ he wrote in a scathing post to X.
US-Israeli strikes ‘not legal’, former UK national security advisor warns
A former UK national security adviser said US and Israeli strikes against Iran were not ‘legal in a way that the UK would recognise’.
Lord Peter Ricketts told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘None of this, I think, is in any sense legal in a way that the UK would recognise.
‘There was really no imminent threat to the US. This is action that they chose to undertake, or were dragged into it by the Israelis.”
Lord Ricketts added that the Israeli government had ‘pre-empted any risk that the US-Iranian negotiations were going to reach some sort of deal on the nuclear programme’.
