President Donald Trump vowed to take down the "vicious" Iranian regime on Saturday after Israeli and American forces had unleashed a colossal offensive against Iran as thunderous blasts echoed through Tehran, citing its brutal actions against Americans and its own people. The Pentagon said the US strikes will bear the name Operation Epic Fury.
Throughout his video transmission, the American commander-in-chief implored Iranian residents to wrest control over their own destiny once once the US military campaign is over.
Video: Trump vows toppling regime / Credit: White House
"The hour of your freedom is at hand," he said. "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations."
"This will be probably your only chance for generations," Trump emphasized to the publication. "For many years, you have asked for America's help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let's see how you respond."
The American president proclaimed in the Truth Social (a social media platform owned by Trump) video, "Our objective is to the 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."
Tehran locals reported dense smoke billowing from the sector containing the presidential compound and the National Security Council, The New York Times noted, highlighting that the bombardment erupted Saturday morning – the onset of the Iranian workweek – while vast numbers of citizens were heading to their jobs and schools.
American military planners project this current wave of bombardments will vastly exceed the magnitude of the US strike conducted last June, which solely hit three distinct Iranian atomic installations, according to the outlet. Myriad US bombing sorties are currently being flown by fighter squadrons deployed from regional airstrips and naval armadas, an American official told The New York Times.
The precise infrastructure targeted by the joint forces remains undisclosed for now, although an American official cautioned the armed intervention might span several days, The New York Times stated. The US and Israeli sources divulged this intelligence on the condition of anonymity due to strict national defense constraints.
The Middle East has suffered extreme volatility for weeks due to the US president repeatedly threatening armed conflict unless the Iranian regime surrendered to his demands, which centered on neutralizing their atomic program, the publication reported. Concurrently, the US military surged its forces into the theater – establishing the most formidable American troop posture there in decades.
Detonations similarly rocked other Iranian metropolitan areas including Isfahan and Karaj, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. Warning sirens blared continuously across the Jewish state as the country prepared for a likely retaliatory barrage, according to The New York Times.
American combat aircraft previously devastated Iranian atomic facilities last June during a 12-day war between Jerusalem and Tehran, The New York Times reported. While Trump initially declared those US bombings had "obliterated" the Iranian nuclear apparatus, later assessments confirmed the initiative was merely crippled rather than totally eradicated.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz publicly verified his nation's role in the offensive during an address and instituted a nationwide state of emergency, the publication noted. Preparing for an inevitable Iranian counter-attack, Israeli authorities commanded the immediate closure of all educational networks, corporate offices, and international aviation routes.
Tehran civilian Ali Zeinalipoor described observing a massive column of smoke erupting near Pasteur Street, according to The New York Times. "I rushed to school to get my daughter from middle school, the girls were hiding under the stairs and crying," he explained to the outlet.
The Israeli aerial assault on Iranian soil commenced at 8:10 a.m. local time, two senior defense officials intimately familiar with the battle plan told The New York Times. These insiders verified the synchronized strikes target crucial Iranian leaders and constitute a massive operation anticipated to last at least several days.
The US leader admitted that the American military offensive could produce fatalities, stating, "We may have casualties." Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine had previously warned the president during classified executive briefings that American personnel could face death or severe injury during an armed clash with Iran, The New York Times noted.
As the state braces for an Iranian reprisal, numerous Israeli medical centers verified they are executing patient transfers to fortified or subterranean facilities, according to the publication. The Israeli Ministry of Health ordered clinical centers to discharge individuals who do not mandate intensive care.
This represents the second time the American leader has authorized military strikes against Iran while nuclear diplomacy was actively ongoing, the outlet reported. Iranian delegates already harbored intense skepticism regarding his commitment to negotiate authentically or his intention to forge a lasting agreement. Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei maintains a profound distrust of Washington, a perspective hardened in 2018 when the US president discarded the 2015 nuclear treaty and reimposed devastating economic penalties on the regime.
Various Iranian news platforms have gone offline, and the state-run IRNA network claimed it suffered a cyberattack, The New York Times concluded.
