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(BEIRUT) — Intense bombardments continue to hit the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, as Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah in a wave of attacks that began midnight local time Friday.

At least 217 people have been killed and 798 others have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon that began early Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck Hezbollah command centers and multi-story structures in Beirut overnight. An ABC News crew on the ground observed nearly two dozen missile strikes hitting Dahiyeh alone.

A number of buildings were seen collapsing in this wave of strikes on Friday as the death toll continues to rise, an ABC News team in Lebanon observed. 

The IDF said it attacked more than 500 targets in Lebanon, killing more than 70 Hezbollah members, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said at a briefing on Friday.

“Hezbollah and the Iranian regime are one. They continue to destroy the state of Lebanon and harm the lives of Lebanese residents,” he said.  

Hezbollah responded with several rockets headed south toward Israel overnight, an ABC News team in Lebanon observed.

The latest wave of strikes followed a warning by the IDF to anyone south of the Litani River in Lebanon to evacuate. The IDF warned everyone living in Dahiyeh on Thursday afternoon to evacuate the neighborhood ahead of pending military strikes.

Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee Dahiyeh, according to Lebanese officials.

Overnight, families who fled the neighborhood were seen lighting fires for warmth. Some had tents while others were forced to sleep on the streets with blankets, ABC News observed. 

The Lebanese government is actively engaging with intermediaries, including the French and the American ambassador, to try and put pressure on the Israeli government to stop the bombardments, according to Lebanese officials.

Israeli forces have said that they are stepping up their military campaign against Hezbollah infrastructure and leadership in Dahiyeh.

Ahead of the attack on Iran, Israel launched strikes against targets in Baalbek, east Lebanon, in February, saying it killed “several” members of Hezbollah’s missile unit in three different locations.

This week’s strikes were the first time Israel struck Beirut, in central Lebanon, since June 2025.

The Israeli military warned Tuesday that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price” after the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group fired rockets into northern Israel overnight Monday into Tuesday. 

Immediately after the rocket fire, the IDF “launched a large-scale attack against Hezbollah terrorist targets throughout Lebanon, including Beirut,” according to Defrin.

“We attacked dozens of the organization’s headquarters and launch sites,” Defrin said. “We attacked senior commanders. Some of the last surviving senior veterans of this organization. We are currently examining the results of the attack.”

Defrin noted that “forces are deployed along the border in front and are prepared to continue the defense and attack as long as they require.”

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(BEIRUT) — Israeli strikes continued to bombard Lebanon’s capital on Thursday morning, as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran widens, further embroiling Iran’s proxy force in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

The Israeli military issued a number of evacuation warnings for parts of Beirut and huge swathes of southern Lebanon prior to the latest attacks on Wednesday, where it has struck hundreds of targets throughout the country since Monday, according to statements by Israel.

The Israeli military on Thursday afternoon expanded its warning to residents of the densely populated southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, ordering them to leave immediately ahead of planned strikes. The notice from the Israel Defense Forces, which lists four neighborhoods, is effectively a forced evacuation of the entire Dahiyeh area on the outskirts of Beirut, which has long been a Hezbollah stronghold but is also a major residential and commercial hub — home to many civilians.

More than ⁠300,000 people have evacuated southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.

The IDF said heading south is “strictly prohibited” and any movement south “could endanger your lives.”

At least 77 people have been killed and 527 others wounded since Israel resumed strikes on Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Anyone south of the Litani River in Lebanon is being told by the IDF to abandon their homes and evacuate north. The order is raising concerns among some residents that this could mean a significant incursion once again from IDF forces moving into southern Lebanon in the coming days and weeks.

Tens of thousands have already fled from parts of Southern Lebanon and from other Hezbollah strongholds to points to the north of the country, according to local reports.

The strikes on Beirut on Wednesday were concentrated on the densely populated southern suburb, Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, according to local reports.

In Hazmieh, another southern neighborhood of Beirut, the Comfort Hotel was struck without warning before dawn Wednesday, a local council member told ABC News, confirming reports from Lebanese state media. Hazmieh is a Christian neighborhood not under Hezbollah control with foreign embassies scattered nearby and the Lebanese Presidential Palace a quarter mile away from the hotel.  

Officials in Lebanon think Israeli targeting neighborhoods like Hamiyeh could show an emboldened strategy — the gloves are off.

Israeli officials said on Wednesday that Hezbollah continues to act in concert with Iran.

Israeli forces had been striking targets periodically in October and November in southern Lebanon that they say are associated with Hezbollah after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect in Gaza.

Ahead of the attack on Iran, Israel launched strikes against targets in Baalbek, east Lebanon, in February, saying it killed “several” members of Hezbollah’s missile unit in three different locations.

This week’s strikes were the first time Israel struck Beirut, in central Lebanon, since June 2025.

The Israeli military warned Tuesday that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price” after the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group fired rockets into northern Israel overnight Monday into Tuesday.

Immediately after the rocket fire, the IDF “launched a large-scale attack against Hezbollah terrorist targets throughout Lebanon, including Beirut,” according to IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.

“We attacked dozens of the organization’s headquarters and launch sites,” Defrin said. “We attacked senior commanders. Some of the last surviving senior veterans of this organization. We are currently examining the results of the attack.”

Defrin noted that “forces are deployed along the border in front and are prepared to continue the defense and attack as long as they require.”

When asked whether the IDF is preparing for a ground maneuver in Lebanon, Defrin said the troops are “well prepared.”

“We have mobilized close to 100,000 men,” he added. “Dozens of battalions, divisions and brigades are prepared in the defense on the northern border. Prepared for all possibilities. In defense and in attack. All possibilities are on the table. We are conducting situation assessments and all possibilities are on the table.”

The deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, Mahmoud Qamati, warned Tuesday that Israel “wanted an open war … so let it be an open war.”

“The enemy wanted an open war, which he has not stopped since the ceasefire agreement decision, so let it be an open war,” Qamati said in a statement.

The IDF said it struck an underground Hezbollah weapon storage facility and additional command centers in Beirut in its latest wave of strikes. The IDF claimed its targets included an underground weapon storage facility, additional command centers and a site used by Hezbollah for terrorist attacks, intelligence gathering and for propaganda. 

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(VIENNA, Austria) — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned on Monday that the possibility of radiological release due to U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran can’t be ruled out.

Speaking before the Board of Governors at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said there were no signs of strikes to Iran’s nuclear facilities or elevated radiation levels above the usual background levels detected in countries bordering Iran.

Rossi said that, currently, it doesn’t appear the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Tehran Research Reactor or other nuclear fuel cycle facilities have been damaged or hit.

“The IAEA has extensive knowledge of the nature and location of nuclear and radiological material in the region, and we have clear guidance for actions necessary in case an attack or an accident causes a radiological release, as well as the ability for hands-on help if it is required,” Rossi said.

“Let me underline that the situation today is very concerning,” he continued. “We cannot rule out a possible radiological release with serious consequences, including the necessity to evacuate areas as large or larger than major cities.”

Rossi said the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) has a team in place collecting information and assessing the situation, but the conflict has made communication difficult.

The IEC said it is continuing to try and connect with Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities, but with no response so far.

“Let me again recall past General Conference resolutions that state that armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked,” Rossi said.

He urged all parties to return to diplomacy and regulation to achieve the long-term assurance that Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons.

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that a preemptive attack on Iran was justified by “imminent threats” from the Iranian guard, though he provided no evidence, and to topple the Iranian regime.

U.S. intelligence seemed to counter the president’s claims. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran is working on developing a missile capable of reaching the U.S. by 2035.

Last year, the U.S. bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Experts have said there are recent signs of Iran trying to rebuild its program and begin again enriching uranium, but that there was no evidence they were close to building a bomb.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings on Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the United States interests, four people familiar with the briefing told ABC News.

The officials said there was more of a general threat in the region from Iran’s missiles and proxy forces, sources told ABC News.

The intel shared with staff appears to contradict some of President Donald Trump and the White House’s previous statements about Iran and the reasoning for attacking the country.

The president said in his video address announcing the strikes, “our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

On a call with reporters this weekend, senior Trump administration officials said there were indicators that Iranians could launch a preemptive attack against U.S. forces and allies in the region.

While Trump was meeting with military leaders this weekend, he spoke with ABC News about the general threat from the Iranian regime.

“I think there was a threat. Had we not done Midnight Hammer, which was one of the greatest things [this] country has ever done, we would’ve been faced with a nuclear weapon within a month — we would have been faced with a very powerful nuclear weapon within a month,” Trump said this weekend.

“And then they were trying to build back –not there because that area was obliterated, but they were working on another site despite the negotiations  —  which at some points were going very well,” Trump continued. “But in the end we didn’t think they were going to get there [in terms of negotiations]. And they would’ve had in a fairly short period of time some very fairly big nuclear capacity and we were not going to put up with that.”

During a press briefing Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attack was a response to Iranian aggression against the U.S. over a number of years.

“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult,” Hegseth said. “It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.”

The U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Israel on Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier on Monday that 49 senior leaders were killed in the initial strikes.

Following the start of the U.S.-Israel operation, Iran launched retaliatory strikes with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations.

The conflict has resulted in at least four deaths of U.S. servicemembers so far, but military officials said Monday more deaths are expected.

“We expect to take additional losses,” Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing. “And, as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses. But as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.”

Caine did not specify a timeline, but said, “This is not a single overnight operation. The military objective … will take some time to achieve.”

Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the U.S. military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran — but the “big wave” is yet to come.

“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump told Tapper Monday morning.

CNN was the first to report on what the Trump admin told congressional staff.

–ABC News’ John Parkinson and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.

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(LONGDON) — The interim leadership council of Iran has been formed following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, Iranian state TV reported Sunday.

The interim leadership council will include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the judiciary and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who was selected as the representative of the Guardian Council.

According to the Islamic Republic constitution, the Guardian Council consists of 12 members: six “faghihs,” or Islamic jurists, and six Muslim “experts” in various areas of law.

Watch ABC Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET for an ABC News special “Shockwaves: The Attack on Iran” to see the latest on the unfolding situation in the Middle East. Stream on Disney+ and Hulu.

Pezeshkian — who sources told ABC News was targeted in Saturday’s joint U.S.-Israel attack — resurfaced on Sunday on Iranian state TV. He said that the interim leadership council has started its work following the death of Khamenei.

In a taped video message broadcast on the Iranian state TV, Pezeshkian said that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic are “powerfully crushing the enemy’s bases.”

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, appeared in a television interview in Iran on Sunday and commented on the death of Khamenei, saying, “The passing of a great personality has wounded the hearts of all of us.”

“Americans should know that by stabbing the hearts of the Iranian nation, their hearts will be stabbed,” Larijani said. “What they did in a cruel way towards the Iranian leadership has angered the people so much that they will never achieve their goals.”

He also said a temporary leadership council would be formed of the president, the head of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council.

A spokesperson for the Guardian Council said, “The country’s constitution provides for the current situation and the leadership council will be in charge until the leadership is determined.”

According to the law, the leadership must be determined as soon as possible, given the war conditions. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 40 Iranian commanders were also killed in Saturday’s attack that President Donald Trump described as a “massive and ongoing operation” against Iran and its Middle East proxies.

The IDF said the Israeli Air Force struck and eliminated seven members of the top Iranian security leadership who had gathered at several locations in Tehran.

Among those eliminated in the strikes was Abdolrahim Mousavi, who served as chief of staff of the armed forces, according to the IDF.

Mousavi served as one of the highest senior military ranking officials and was the successor of Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, who was killed in the opening strike of “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025.

The majority of the highest-ranking senior military officials of the Iranian security leadership were also killed, the IDF said.

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(NEW YORK) — Dozens of students at an Iranian all-girls elementary school were among those killed during the U.S. and Israeli military strikes throughout the country Saturday morning, officials in Iran claimed.

The country’s leaders and state TV said 85 people who were at the Shajare Tayyiba Elementary School were dead, as of 10:40 a.m. ET, after the school in Minab was attacked.

At least 92 injuries related to the school attack were reported, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which cited the local governor.

Iranian officials have not immediately said how many of the dead and wounded are children. Earlier in the morning, Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, reported shortly after that the death toll had risen to 57 school girls, with another 60 injured.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blasted the United States and Israeli governments for the deaths and injuries in a statement Saturday carried by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency.

“This barbaric act is another black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors against this land that will never be erased from the historical memory of our nation,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an X post that the school was “bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils.”

A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it would look into the reports about the school being bombed but emphasized, “Unlike Iran, we have never — and will never — target civilians.”

“We take these reports seriously and are looking into them,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said in a statement. “The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm.”

International law prohibits the deliberate targeting of schools and universities during armed conflicts.

The U.S. military has a rigorous targeting process using different forms of intelligence to ensure that any targets to be struck by bombs or missiles are, in fact, enemy targets and will not harm civilians or strike civilian targets.

Claims of civilian casualties are investigated as much as possible, although it may not be possible to do so in areas controlled by hostile forces.

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, a non-profit that tracks military attacks on academic institutions, documented more than 6,000 attacks on schools, universities, students and education personnel worldwide between 2022 and 2023.

The group’s global research found that 10,000 students and education personnel were killed, injured, abducted or otherwise harmed during that time period.

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(NEW YORK) — In announcing the U.S. military strike on Iran, President Donald Trump went significantly beyond his previous justification of destroying the country’s nuclear program.

He’s now also calling for regime change — and encouraging the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their government.

Three sources briefed on the attack told ABC News that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were both targeted during the strikes.

But whether American bombing could help make regime change happen — without also deploying U.S. forces on the ground — was unclear, as was who might replace Iran’s current leaders.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump announced in a video posted to his social media account early Saturday morning.

Speaking to what he called “the great, proud people of Iran,” he added, “I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” he said.

“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.” he said.

“America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach,” he said.

Shortly after, in a brief phone call with a Washington Post reporter, the president said that all he wants is “freedom for the people” of Iran. 

In January, during widespread protests in Iran when thousands of Iranians were reported killed, Trump posted on social media, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”

“HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump added at the time, though he faced criticism for taking no further action at that point.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his own video statement Saturday echoed  Trump’s call, saying the attack’s goal was  “to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.”

Iran has claimed it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon and has the sovereign right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program for civilian purposes.

Imminent threat?
Up to now, Trump has said he preferred a diplomatic solution and has not presented a clear justification for why strikes are needed now, since he has repeatedly insisted Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” in U.S. strikes he ordered last June — a claim he repeated at last week’s State of the Union address.

In making his new case for the strikes, the president is arguing attacks are warranted to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime” without providing clear evidence of that.

Trump also argued Iranian missiles could “soon” reach the U.S —  but the president has provided no details.

Iran is “developing long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland,” he said.

Yet, according to a one-page document released by the Defense Intelligence Agency earlier this year, Iran is looking to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035.

Just a few days ago, after the president’s State of the Union address, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Iranian missiles could reach the United States “one day.”

“Clearly, they are headed in a pathway to one day being able to develop weapons that can reach the continental U.S. They already possess weapons that can reach much of Europe already now as we speak, and the ranges continue to grow every single year exponentially,” Rubio said.

Whether the Iranian missile threat was “imminent” — and whether Congress should vote on committing American troops to an extensive military operation — aimed at pursuing such a broad goal of regime change in Iran — will likely dominate the debate when lawmakers return to Washington this week.

 

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(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump threatened “certain death” to elite forces in the Iranian regime and advised the country’s military to lay down their weapons as the United States and Israel launched attacks on the country early Saturday.

Announcing the “massive and ongoing operation” against Iran and its Middle East proxies, Trump promised immunity to members of “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police if they “lay down” their weapons now.

“So, lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death,” Trump said in a video address released overnight.

To the people of Iran, Trump said, “The hour of your freedom is at hand.”

“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” he added. “This will probably be your only chance for generations.”

Trump explained that among the reasons for launching the military operation is that the Iranian regime has failed to negotiate in good faith a deal in which they would agree to stop pursuing nuclear weapons.

Iran has stated numerous times that it doesn’t want nuclear weapons, but believes it has the right to use nuclear power for civilian purpose. It had also been part of a nuclear deal with the U.S., which Trump withdrew from during his first term.

Trump said Iran’s “menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the U.S.-Israel strikes on Saturday were “wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.”

Trump did not specifically say what led his administration to believe the U.S. was in imminent danger.

In a sobering message to the American people, Trump said, “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties.”

“That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission,” Trump said.

He said that after the U.S. targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities last year in limited strikes, the regime continued to rebuild its nuclear program.

“They rejected every opportunity to remove their nuclear ambitions and we can’t take it anymore,” Trump said.

He said Iran was developing long-range missiles with the capability of threatening U.S. allies in Europe and U.S. troops stationed overseas and “could soon reach the American homeland.”

Trump said the operation intends to “prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.”

“We are going to destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated,” Trump said. “We are going to annihilate their Navy. We’re going to ensure that the region’s terror proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces.”

ABC News contributor Steve Ganyard, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and former deputy assistant secretary of state, said it appears the U.S. operation in Iran will be a “dayslong” effort.

“I think the real point here in what the president is saying, this could be a long-term effort,” Ganyard said. “This isn’t just a pinprick. They are going after missile sites. They’re going after nuclear sites. The president did mention naval sites.”

Ganyard said that it appears the U.S. military has a list of widespread targets not seen in previous attacks, such as “Operation Midnight Hammer” that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025.

“The U.S. is hitting things that Iran could do to effect the rest of the world, which include nuclear sites, missile sites, the [Iranian] Navy that may be able to close the very strategic waters that could effect the global economy,” Ganyard said.

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(LONDON) — The massive strikes conducted by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by American forces — have been in the works over the past several “months leading up to the attack,” according to Israel officials.

In the first IDF statement following the attack on Iran, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said that “the strike included an attack on dozens of military targets.”

The statement also highlighted what appears to be the IDF’s close cooperation with United States across months of planning. The United States has not yet mentioned anything about the planning of the operation or how long it has been in the works for.

“In the months leading up to the attack, close joint planning was carried out between the IDF and the U.S. Army, which enabled the broad attack to be carried out with maximum synchronization and coordination between the armies,” the IDF said.

“The Iranian regime has not abandoned its plan to destroy Israel,” the statement continued. “The IDF has recognized that the regime has continued its attempts to fortify, protect, and conceal its nuclear programs, along with restoring the missile production process.

“The regime has continued to finance, train, and arm its proxies based within the borders of the State of Israel,” the IDF said. “These are actions that constitute an existential threat to the State of Israel, and threaten the Middle East and the entire world.”

The strikes involved a mix of U.S. aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired by U.S. Navy ships in the region, according to a U.S. official.

There are currently an estimated 35,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the Middle East at the moment.

The U.S. already has large military bases in the region, with Al Udeid in Qatar being the largest with around 10,000 personnel. Close by in Bahrain, there are about 3,200 personnel and dependents stationed at the Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters.

There are also an estimated 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria, even as they prepare to draw down and leave the country, as well as another 2,500 troops in Iraq now mostly located in Erbil to the north.

The U.S. also has dozens more fighter jets in the Middle East than there were in mid-January.

An aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford — along with up to four destroyers may soon join the 12 Navy ships already in the region, that includes the USS Abraham Lincoln.

In response, Iran immediately accused the U.S. of violating “all international laws and during negotiations.”

“Now is the time to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military aggression,” a statement released from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday. “Just as we were ready for negotiations, we have been more prepared than ever for defense. The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to the aggressors with authority.”

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(LONDON and NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump said that the U.S. military has begun “major combat operations” in Iran and calling on the Iranian people to rise up and seize the opportunity for regime change.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in a video statement on Truth Social early Saturday morning.

The “massive” operation comes as the U.S. has been trying to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear and missile programs and hours after Trump said he was “not happy with the negotiation.”

And it comes amid questions about the potential justification for a U.S. strike on Iran since Trump has said the Iranian nuclear weapons program was “obliterated” in a U.S. strike last year.

“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted “death to America” and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries,” Trump said.

The military operation against Iran was a preemptive joint attack by the United States and Israel and could last several days, U.S. officials said, with potential targets including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military sites, government buildings, Iranian intelligence assets and defense installations.

“Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested,” Trump said. “It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I will say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump, who campaigned on a message of keeping the U.S. out of foreign entanglements, gravely suggested that “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties.”

“That often happens in war. But we are doing this not for now, we are doing this for the future and it is a noble mission,” Trump continued.

At the end of his message, Trump called on the Iranian people to seize this opportunity for regime change.

“Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said.

He added, “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Appearing to speak to the Iranian people, Trump said: “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. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.”

Meanwhile, some Democratic members of Congress have begun demanding answers.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D.-FL) said on social media that he is “formally requesting” that the State Department and Department of War “fully brief Congress on the rapidly evolving situation in Iran.”

Senator Ruben Gallego (D.-Ariz.), a Marine veteran, also posted on X, saying “I lost friends in Iraq to an illegal war. Young working-class kids should not pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn’t been explained or justified to the American people.”

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