{"id":450591,"date":"2026-02-28T16:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T16:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/450591\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T16:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T16:53:14","slug":"iran-vows-no-leniency-as-it-launches-reprisal-attacks-on-israel-and-us-air-bases-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/450591\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran vows \u2018no leniency\u2019 as it launches reprisal attacks on Israel and US air bases | Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Iran has launched a barrage of retaliatory missiles aimed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/israel\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Israel<\/a> and US bases across the region, denouncing the two countries\u2019 airstrikes as a breach of the UN charter and an act of flagrant aggression designed to end any possibility of a diplomatic resolution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Iran\u2019s foreign ministry called on Muslim and non-aligned states to demand an urgent meeting of the UN security council, pointing out that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/feb\/28\/israel-launches-attack-on-iran-as-explosions-heard-in-tehran\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US-Israeli strikes<\/a> on Saturday were the second such attack in a year while Iran was in the middle of sensitive negotiations over its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The talks were designed to set up a verifiable process whereby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/iran\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Iran<\/a> could not acquire the materials for a nuclear bomb. The chief mediator in the talks, Oman\u2019s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, had said on Friday that he believed peace was in reach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After the first wave of Israeli attacks in Tehran on Saturday morning, officials insisted the leadership, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, were safe, despite an attempt to assassinate them in the bombings. Khamenei\u2019s office in the capital looked to be a charred ruin, according to satellite images.<\/p>\n<p>The first publicly released satellite image of the compound associated with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. The image shows several structures within the secured complex that appear heavily damaged or destroyed. Photograph: Airbus\/Soar Atlas<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Despite rumours that the commander-in-chief of the army, Maj Gen, Amir Hatami, had been killed, it did not initially appear that the attacks had managed to target its leadership on the same scale as it did last June. But the fate of the Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Pakpour, was in doubt, and the home of the leading reformist and former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi was badly damaged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Forty schoolchildren in a girl\u2019s elementary school in Minab Hormozgan province were reportedly killed and 48 injured. Ambulances were seen taking injured people to hospital in central Tehran.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Smoke rises in Tehran after US and Israel launch joint attack on Iran \u2013 video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4687.jpg\" height=\"259\" width=\"460\" class=\"dcr-1qi2at0\"\/>Smoke rises in Tehran after US and Israel launch joint attack on Iran \u2013 video<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Pictures showed numerous Revolutionary Guards weapons warehouses had been hit, as well as missile sites.<\/p>\n<p><a data-name=\"placeholder\" href=\"https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/uploader\/embed\/2026\/02\/archive-zip\/giv-32554y4VwtMt8oDjN\/\" class=\"dcr-1eupayo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Map of strikes on Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The foreign ministry issued a statement, saying the country \u201cwill not hesitate\u201d in its response. In a statement posted on X, the ministry said: \u201cThe time has come to defend the homeland and confront the enemy\u2019s military assault.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The national security council called on the public to relocate away from cities under attack, and the government information council insisted \u201cpeople should not worry about shortages or deficiencies\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vehicles engulfed in flames after strikes in Tehran \u2013 video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vehicles_engulfed_in_flames_after_strikes_in_Tehran___video--6584379d-ab54-424d-8d77-700449748e83-1..jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"dcr-l300o4\"\/>Vehicles engulfed in flames after strikes in Tehran \u2013 video<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The instruction to leave Tehran and other cities may reflect a desire to prevent the accumulation of protesting crowds, and was the opposite of the message being issued by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah who ruled Iran before the revolution that brought in it current theocracy. Pahlavi said he would soon be asking for the protesters to return to the streets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Donald Trump addressed Iranian civilians in his speech announcing the US attack: \u201cBombs will fall everywhere. When we finish our work take control of your government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Donald Trump calls on Iranians to rise up against their government \u2013 video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Donald_Trump_calls_on_Iranians_to_rise_up_against_their_government___video--400e13e2-0276-4162-8e7d-.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"dcr-l300o4\"\/>Donald Trump calls on Iranians to rise up against their government \u2013 video<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">It is unclear whether the Iranian security apparatus will be in any position to suppress any renewed street protests, or whether the attacks will reforge a sense of national cohesion, which had been lost amid the unprecedented state repression and economic malaise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The supreme national security council claimed: \u201cEssential goods and fuel and medicine are abundantly available in the country. 24-hour medical services, centres and pharmacies will continue. Today is a test of national resistance for Iranians and despite all complaints and grievances we are united and in unison against foreign aggression,\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Pezeshkian\u2019s son, Youssef, said on Telegram: \u201cAs far as I know this time the assassination attempts were unsuccessful and other officials are also safe. We will probably have a longer conflict and it will be a war of attrition. Endurance and patience are essential to get though these days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A senior spokesperson for the armed forces warned: \u201cWe will give a lesson to [Israel and the US] that they have never experienced in their history. Any base in the entire region that helps Israel will be a target of the sacred system of the Islamic republic and we will show no leniency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Iranian military confirmed that it had sent drones and fired short-range missiles at al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait,al-Dhafra airbase in the United Arab Emirates, the Prince Sultain airbase in Riyadh, the US base in Erbil, northern Iraq, the Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan, and the US Fifth fleet base in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia and the UAE issued statements condemning Iranian violation of their sovereignty, and warning of their right to take reprisals.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Moment missile strikes near US navy base in Bahrain \u2013 video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Moment_missile_strikes_near_US_navy_base_in_Bahrain___video--f7596242-3488-44a2-b3cb-3f72f04bc94e-2..jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"dcr-l300o4\"\/>Moment missile strikes near US navy base in Bahrain \u2013 video<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in a call with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq, sought to justify Iran\u2019s actions by saying the Gulf states had a responsibility to try to stop the US from using their bases to mount an illegal attack on Iran.<\/p>\n<p><a data-name=\"placeholder\" href=\"https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/uploader\/embed\/2026\/02\/us-airbasestargetedinthemiddleeast\/giv-32554RjWzfSTw67rI\/\" class=\"dcr-1eupayo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Map of Iran strikes on countries hosting US bases<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Reza Nasri, a lawyer close to the foreign ministry, said in a message to the American people: \u201cThis is not your war. But you will pay for it with your soldiers\u2019 lives, your national interests and your standing as Americans around the world .You will pay for it through the rise of anti-American sentiment globally, the tarnishing of your name, your flag and the hostile world your children will inherit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran has launched a barrage of retaliatory missiles aimed at Israel and US bases across the region, denouncing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-450591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}