Iranians fled cities in search of safety, and long queues formed at fuel stations as an attack on Iran by the United States and Israel spread fear and panic throughout the country.
When the strikes began on Saturday morning (US Time), explosions rocked Tehran and columns of smoke rose into the sky, shaking the city at the start of the Iranian working week.
It marks the latest upheaval for Iranians weeks after thousands of people were killed in a government crackdown on nationwide unrest, and comes just eight months after last year’s 12-day war with Israel, during which the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran’s top security body said it expected attacks to continue on Tehran and some other cities, and urged people to “travel to other cities where possible so that you may remain safe from the harm of these two regimes’ acts of aggression”.
Syrian children inspect the wreckage of an Iranian rocket that was reportedly intercepted by Israeli forces in the southern countryside of Quneitra, near the Golan Heights, close to the town of Ghadir al-Bustan.
Photo: BAKR ALKASEM
US President Donald Trump said the operation would end a security threat to the United States and offer Iranians a chance to topple their rulers.
The Pentagon said that US strikes against Iran were named “OPERATION EPIC FURY”.
– Reuters