Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani condemned U.S. strikes against Iran that targeted the country’s military leadership and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, calling the attack a double standard and promising the country would defend itself at a U.N. Security Council meeting Saturday.

Iravani accused the U.S. of undermining its claims of pursuing international stability while attacking a sovereign country for its ‘domestic’ activities.

‘Neither the charter nor international law recognize internal matters of a state as justification for the use of force by other states. The rule of law would be replaced by the rule of force,’ Iravani said.

‘Iran will continue to exercise its right of self-defense decisively and without hesitation until the aggression ceases in full and unequivocal terms.’

On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump ordered the execution of Operation Epic Fury, citing Tehran’s continued efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

‘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’ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon,’ Trump said in remarks about the attack Saturday.

Trump said the strikes were meant to ‘defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime’ and that they had come after Iran had refused to abandon plans to develop nuclear capabilities.

Iravani called the attack a continuation of longstanding U.S. aggression against Iran.

‘Mr. president, this morning the United States regime, jointly and in coordination with the Israeli regime, initiated an unprovoked and premeditated aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the second time in recent months,’ Irvani said, referring to strikes the U.S. carried out against its nuclear enrichment sites last year.

‘The president of the United States and the prime minister of the Israeli regime have openly claimed responsibility for this act of aggression and have explicitly articulated regime change as their objective, an unmistakable admission of their intent to violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.’

U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz pushed back on Iravani’s characterizations.

‘For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted, quote, ‘Death to America’ at every turn. At every opening, it has sought to eradicate the state of Israel. It has waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder,’ Waltz said.

Iravani did not address the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran on its nuclear development plans.

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Ben Rhodes, a leading figure within the Obama administration who pushed for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, was blasted on social media Saturday after he criticized U.S. military strikes on Iran. 

In the immediate aftermath of the joint attack by the U.S. and Israel, Rhodes was posting criticism of the administration on social media saying that Trump and Netanyahu ‘seem to be totally unconcerned about the human beings – on all sides – who will suffer.’

‘Trump’s second term has been the worst case scenario,’ Rhodes said in another X post. 

Rhodes was quickly ridiculed by many conservatives on social media who pointed to the Obama-era Iran deal as a catalyst for allowing the situation to escalate to this point and placing blame on the Obama administration for not taking the threat from Iran seriously.

‘Yes we were much better off with a president who drew redlines and failed to enforce them,’ American Enterprise Institute fellow and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen posted on X. ‘Team Obama might want to sit this one out.’

‘Oh look the guy who literally created this mess in the first place has chimed in,’ Republican digital operative Alec Sears posted on X. 

‘You were part of the team who gave billions of dollars to the Iranian Regime – you helped fund this terror on human beings,’ former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell posted on X. ‘Once again, President Trump is cleaning up your mess.’

‘You had eight years to do something on this issue,’ Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. ‘Instead, you became a foreign operative doing everything you could to preserve an Islamist regime.’

‘You put these circumstances in place.’

‘The Obama crew weeps for the mullahs,’ former Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh posted on X. 

‘Ben Rhodes bears responsibility for how America got to this point,’ Middle East geopolitical analyst and Red Ax Strategies President Matthew Brodsky posted on X. ‘He is a spineless agent of influence for the regime in Iran. It’s taken years to undo the damage of his foreign policy.’

On Saturday afternoon, it was reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades, was killed in the strike against Iran.

Israeli leaders confirmed Khamenei’s compound and offices were reduced to rubble early Saturday after a targeted strike in downtown Tehran.

‘Khamenei was the contemporary Middle East’s longest-serving autocrat. He did not get to be that way by being a gambler. Khamenei was an ideologue, but one who ruthlessly pursued the preservation and protection of his ideology, often taking two steps forward and one step back,’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

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The Islamic Republic of Iran has built a coalition of largely Shiite terrorist proxies — the axis of resistance — that will join Tehran in counterstrikes in response to the joint U.S.-Israel preventive attacks on Iran’s military installations and leadership.

The most dangerous of Iran’s allies is its main strategic partner, the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah. 

Israel’s army had been intensely targeting Hezbollah positions ahead of the U.S. campaign, Operation Epic Fury.

Hezbollah

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is obligated to disarm Hezbollah, according to the November 2024 ceasefire with Israel. 

‘In Lebanon, we continue to act daily against attempts by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to rebuild and rearm,’ Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Effie Defrin said Friday.

‘An example of this is the strike we carried out yesterday in the Baalbek area, during which we targeted ammunition depots and eliminated terrorists from the Radwan Force. We will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities and pose a threat to Israeli civilians.’

An official from Hezbollah said Wednesday that the jihadi terrorist organization will not intervene militarily if the U.S. delivers ‘limited’ strikes on Iran. Yet the Hezbollah official said the organization regards any attack against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a ‘red line.’

According to the Israel-based Alma Research and Education Center (Alma), ‘Hezbollah fields a substantial combat force, estimated at around 40,000-50,000 active combatants and an additional 30,000-50,000 reservists. Central to its offensive structure is the Radwan Unit, which Hezbollah is making major efforts to rebuild and restore.’

IDF Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, president and founder of Alma in northern Israel, told Fox News Digital the ‘Lebanese army is not putting much effort into disarming Hezbollah. The outcome of that is good intentions are just words. As a resident of the north, I have not seen any systematic disarmament.’

Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar of Hezbollah, told Fox News Digital the ‘Lebanese population does not see Hezbollah as resistance’ because Hezbollah lost its recent war against Israel. He said Hezbollah failed in its efforts to aid Hamas in Gaza to defeat Israel after its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the Jewish state.

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces

The second Iranian-backed proxy is the Shiite militia movement in Iraq. Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq, told Fox News Digital he believes the Shiite militia will join Iran in the war.

‘Many second-tier Shia leaders, militia lords, as I like to call them, harbor ambitions to rise and challenge the aging top-tier top leadership,’ Qanbar said. ‘They have accumulated enormous wealth, and the only way they can compete with the old guard is by proving to Iran that they are bold, reckless and ready to fight in defense of Tehran.

‘Their ambitions have blinded their rational thinking. These are militia terrorists with little understanding of the outside world, yet they are dangerously overconfident. They are loose cannons, completely out of control, and Iran is prepared to throw them into the fire because they are expendable. That is why you see Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq issuing threats, while older, more established militias like Hezbollah Lebanon have made it clear they will not participate.’

The pro-Iran Iraqi militia accuses the U.S. of bombing it and pledged a retaliatory response on Saturday. Kataeb Hezbollah said the U.S. is responsible for a strike that targeted an Iraqi military base that houses the Iranian proxy militia. The Iraqi terrorist group says it will ‘soon start assaulting American bases in response to their attacks.’

Houthis

The third wing of the axis of resistance is the Houthi movement in Yemen.

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have decided to resume missile and drone attacks on shipping routes and on Israel in support of Iran, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there is no official announcement from the Houthi leadership, according to The Associated Press.

One of the officials said the rebels’ first attack could come as soon as ‘tonight.’ Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip is also part of the axis of resistance and Hamas and Iran are also partners in their campaigns to destroy the Jewish state.

THE Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Iran’s militant and unyielding supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades and oversaw an era of harsh internal repression and confrontation with the United States and Israel, has died following the Israeli strike in Tehran, as his compound was reduced to rubble, a senior Israeli official told Fox News Digital.

‘Khamenei was the contemporary Middle East’s longest-serving autocrat. He did not get to be that way by being a gambler. Khamenei was an ideologue, but one who ruthlessly pursued the preservation and protection of his ideology, often taking two steps forward and one step back,’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital. 

‘Khamenei’s worldview was shaped by his militant anti-Americanism and antisemitism, which first manifested itself in his protests against the Shah of Iran,’ he added.

Born April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, eastern Iran, Khamenei was among the Islamist activists who played a central role in the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. A close ally of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei rose through the new system and served as president from 1981 to 1989 before becoming supreme leader after Khomeini’s death that same year.

Decades in power, Khamenei consolidated control over Iran’s political and security system, presiding over repeated crackdowns on dissent and maintaining a hardline posture toward Washington and Jerusalem.

‘Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule has been marked by unrelenting brutality and repression, both within Iran and beyond its borders,’ said Lisa Daftari, an expert on Iran and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk. She pointed to executions and the enforcement of strict social controls as defining features of the system under Khamenei’s leadership.

His ultra-conservative style of leadership did face challenges, however. In 2009, following disputed elections in which Khamenei declared victory for the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, massive protests erupted across the country.

Mass demonstrations also broke out in 2022 after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died while detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly. The protests were brutally put down, with many of those arrested and put to death by his regime.

In late December, Iran was again rocked by protests and a fierce brutal security response. According to an Iran International investigation, as many as 30,000 people may have been killed across two days, Jan. 8 to 9, 2026.

International monitors and rights groups have repeatedly documented high execution numbers in Iran in recent years as well. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities executed more than 1,000 people in 2025, calling it the highest yearly figure the organization recorded in at least 15 years. Separately, a U.N. report said Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024, the highest number since 2015.

Across the region, Khamenei invested heavily in Iran’s network of allied militias and armed groups, a strategy used to project Iranian power beyond its borders. From the West Bank and Gaza, where he backed terror groups such as Hamas, to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi extremists in Yemen, as well as other militant militias in Iraq, Iran under Khamenei’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the terror groups.

However, his prized proxies, as well as the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, collapsed under Israeli military pressure following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. During a 12-day war in June 2025, Israel also succeeded in taking out some of Khamenei’s closest aides and senior security figures, leaving the long-serving leader significantly weakened.

Yet analysts argue that Khamenei’s most enduring legacy may be the institutional machinery he built at home to safeguard the system.

A recent report by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), authored by Saeid Golkar and Kasra Aarabi, describes the Bayt, the Office of the Supreme Leader, as a parallel structure embedded across Iran’s military, economy, religious institutions and bureaucracy.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Aarabi said, ‘It is the hidden nerve center of the regime in Iran… it operates as a state within a state.’ He argued that even Khamenei’s removal would not necessarily dismantle the system. ‘Even if he is eliminated, the Bayt as an institution enables the Supreme Leader to function,’ Aarabi said, adding, ‘Think of the Supreme Leader as an institution rather than just a single individual.’

Aarabi also warned that ‘eliminating Khamenei in isolation on its own is not enough,’ calling for a broader strategy aimed at the wider apparatus surrounding the supreme leader. ‘You have to dismantle this extensive apparatus that he has created,’ he said.

‘Unlike Khomeini, the founding father of the Islamic Republic, Khamenei institutionalized his power. Today, the Islamic Republic is more a product of Khamenei than Khomeini,’ FDD’s Ben Taleblu added.

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President Donald Trump’s joint strikes with Israel against Iran have intensified a growing bipartisan push in Congress to rein in his war powers, with lawmakers in both parties demanding votes on resolutions aimed at limiting his authority to use military force in the region.

Members in both chambers had already planned to force votes before the first bombs fell Saturday. Now, they are doubling down on calls to restrict the president’s military authority.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has repeatedly forced votes to curb Trump’s war powers abroad — he was nearly successful in halting further military action in Venezuela until Republicans blocked the effort earlier this year.

Kaine had already prepped his latest resolution, co-sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for a vote in the Senate next week. He argued Saturday that the strikes, carried out without congressional approval, further underscore why a vote should be held immediately.

‘These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives,’ Kaine said in a statement. ‘The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran.’

In the House, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are preparing their own war powers resolution for a vote.

Massie said in a post on X that he opposed ‘this war. This is not ‘America First.’’

‘When Congress reconvenes, I will work with [Khanna] to force a congressional vote on war with Iran,’ Massie said. ‘The Constitution requires Congress to vote, and your representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.’

The effort has the backing of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who earlier in the week noted that the resolution would require ‘the president to come to Congress to make the case for using military force against Iran.’

The resolution’s fate in the House remains uncertain, given that a handful of House Democrats have broken with their party and backed the administration’s strikes in Iran.

Massie and Khanna’s push may also have the support of at least one more Republican in the lower chamber.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, appeared ready to back their war powers resolution following news of the strikes Saturday. He reiterated a position he made earlier in the week in a post on X.

‘I have asked for a classified briefing defining the mission in Iran,’ Davidson said. ‘In the absence of new information, I will support the War Powers Resolution in the House next week.’

‘War requires congressional authorization,’ he continued. ‘There are actions short of war, but no case has been made.’

Meanwhile, back in the Senate, the success of Kaine and Paul’s push will require Senate Republicans to cross the aisle.

They found a short-lived bipartisan coalition earlier this year, when their resolution targeting military action in Venezuela survived a key procedural vote. The group included Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Todd Young, R-Ind.

Both Hawley and Young later flipped their positions after assurances from the administration that there would be no boots on the ground in Venezuela and that Trump would seek congressional approval for any future military action in the region.

Whether that same standard will apply to operations in Iran remained unclear Saturday. Murkowski and Young both said they hope to receive thorough briefings in the days ahead.

‘Last summer, following Operation Midnight Hammer, I supported the administration’s targeted actions in Iran after receiving a comprehensive briefing from senior officials,’ Murkowski said on X. ‘Events are rapidly unfolding, and I expect Congress to receive the same level of engagement so we fully understand the scope, objectives and risks of any further military action.’

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FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday that he has placed the bureau’s counterterrorism and intelligence teams on high alert as U.S. operations against Iran unfold.

‘Last night, I instructed our Counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed,’ Patel wrote on X. ‘Our JTTFs throughout the country are working 24/7, as always, to address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland.’

Patel added that while the U.S. military is handling force protection overseas, the FBI ‘remains at the forefront of deterring attacks here at home’ and will continue working around the clock to protect Americans.

A law enforcement source said the shift typically means the bureau would increase surveillance of priority suspects, task confidential sources and review technical intelligence collection.

The heightened posture follows ongoing U.S. strikes on Iranian targets as tensions escalate across the region.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is ‘in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.’

The alert also unfolds during a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

Jason Pack, a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Fox News contributor, said heightened vigilance is standard practice when U.S. military operations intersect with adversaries that have historically responded through indirect or unconventional retaliation.

‘The intelligence and counterterrorism communities work on this kind of scenario continuously, long before any conflict begins,’ Pack said. ‘When the United States commits to a joint military campaign with Israel, the domestic threat environment doesn’t simply remain static. It could shift, potentially significantly.’

Pack said adversarial actors — including Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas’s external networks and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps proxies — have historically demonstrated both intent and, in some cases, the capability to respond to American military commitments.

Pack said such steps reflect a proactive posture.

‘This is not reactive,’ he said. ‘It’s an ongoing discipline built into the daily work of understanding threats before they materialize.’

Meanwhile, the U.S. Secret Service said it is actively monitoring the situation and coordinating with federal and local partners. The agency said its protective model is adaptable to the current security environment and that the public may notice an increased law enforcement presence around protected sites.

In Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department said it is closely monitoring events in Iran and coordinating with local, state and federal partners to safeguard residents and visitors.

‘At this time, there are no known threats to DC,’ the department said. ‘We are prepared to increase our presence as needed.’

Police urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity.

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Iran’s terror proxies from Iraq-to-Lebanon say ready to respond to US-Israel attacks

Four people were injured in a hotel fire in Palm Jumeirah area of Dubai after a loud explosion was reportedly heard as the Iranian regime launched retaliatory strikes in the Middle East.

The Dubai Media Office, a government entity, said in a statement Saturday that the site was secured and the fire had been contained.

‘The safety and wellbeing of residents and visitors remain the highest priority. Authorities continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the public. The public is urged to remain calm, rely solely on verified information from official sources, and refrain from circulating videos or images on social media,’ the media office wrote on X.

Dubai authorities confirmed that ‘an incident’ occurred in a building in the Palm Jumeirah area and emergency response teams responded, although they did not elaborate on what caused the incident.

Reports suggest United Arab Emirates forces intercepted an Iranian air attack in retaliation for U.S. forces conducting Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

Iran’s retaliation against the U.S. and Israel’s attacks has been focused on Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East. Explosions have reportedly been heard in several countries hosting U.S. forces, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan.

Many Gulf states condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes on their territories and affirmed solidarity with their neighbors in the region.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it reserves its ‘full right’ to defend itself after what it described as Iranian aggression targeting Qatari territory, while Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry warned of ‘grave consequences resulting from the continued violation of states’ sovereignty and the principles of international law.’

The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defense said the country ‘was subjected to a blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles,’ adding that air defense systems ‘successfully intercepted a number of missiles.’ It stated the UAE ‘reserves its full right to respond.’

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The Islamic Republic of Iran has built a coalition of largely Shiite terrorist proxies — the axis of resistance — that is set to join Tehran in counterstrikes in response to the joint U.S.-Israel preventive attacks on Iran’s military installations and leadership.

The most dangerous of Iran’s allies is its main strategic partner, which is Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah. Israel’s army had been intensely targeting Hezbollah positions ahead of the U.S. campaign, Operation Epic Fury.

Hezbollah

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is obligated to disarm Hezbollah, according to the Nov. 2024 ceasefire with Israel. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Effie Defrin, said on Friday that ‘In Lebanon, we continue to act daily against attempts by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to rebuild and rearm.’

He said, ‘An example of this is the strike we carried out yesterday in the Baalbek area, during which we targeted ammunition depots and eliminated terrorists from the Radwan Force. We will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities and pose a threat to Israeli civilians.’

An official from Hezbollah said on Wednesday that the jihadi terrorist organization will not intervene militarily if the U.S. delivers ‘limited’ strikes Iran. Yet the Hezbollah official said they regard any attack against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a ‘red line.’

According to the Israel-based Alma Research and Education Center (Alma),’Hezbollah fields a substantial combat force, estimated at around 40,000–50,000 active combatants and an additional 30,000–50,000 reservists. Central to its offensive structure is the Radwan Unit, which Hezbollah is making major efforts to rebuild and restore.’

IDF Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, president and founder of Alma in northern Israel, told Fox News Digital, that the ‘Lebanese army is not putting much effort into disarming Hezbollah. The outcome of that is good intentions are just words. As a resident of the north, I have not seen any systematic disarmament.’

Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar of Hezbollah, told Fox News Digital the ‘Lebanese population does not see Hezbollah as resistance’ because Hezbollah lost its recent war against Israel. He said Hezbollah failed in its efforts to aid Hamas in Gaza to defeat Israel after its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the Jewish state.

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces:

The second Iranian-backed proxy is the Shiite militia movement in Iraq. Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, told Fox News Digital he believes the Shiite militia will join Iran in the war: ‘Many second-tier Shia leaders, militia lords, as I like to call them, harbor ambitions to rise and challenge the aging top-tier top leadership. They have accumulated enormous wealth, and the only way they can compete with the old guard is by proving to Iran that they are bold, reckless and ready to fight in defense of Tehran.’

He added, ‘Their ambitions have blinded their rational thinking. These are militia terrorists with little understanding of the outside world, yet they are dangerously overconfident. They are loose cannons, completely out of control and Iran is prepared to throw them into the fire because they are expendable. That is why you see Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq issuing threats, while older, more established militias like Hezbollah Lebanon have made it clear they will not participate.’

The pro-Iran Iraqi militia accuses the U.S. of bombing it and pledged a retaliatory response on Saturday. Kataeb Hezbollah said the U.S. is responsible for a strike that targeted an Iraqi military base that houses the Iranian proxy militia. The Iraqi terrorist group says it will ‘soon start assaulting American bases in response to their attacks.’

Houthis:

The third part of the axis of resistance is the Houthi movement in Yemen.

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have decided to resume missile and drone attacks on shipping routes and on Israel in support of Iran, according to two senior Houthi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because there is no official announcement from the Houthi leadership, according to the Associated Press.

One of the officials said the rebels’ first attack could come as soon as ‘tonight.’ Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip is also part of the axis of resistance and Hamas and Iran are also partners in their campaigns to destroy the Jewish state.

THE Associated Press contributed to this report.

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World leaders split over military action as US-Israel strike Iran in coordinated operation

Israel pummeled Iranian targets with simultaneous airstrikes from roughly 200 fighter jets in what the Israeli military dubbed its largest ever military flyover in its history.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday published video of its airstrike on missile launchers in western Iran as Israel and the U.S. take part in a joint effort against Tehran.

The IDF said the fighter jets flew under the direction of IDF intelligence and the Israeli Air Force and executed an ‘extensive attack’ against the Iranian regime’s missile and defense systems in western and central Iran.

‘This is the largest military flyover in the history of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), conducted following accurate planning and based on high-quality intelligence, while synchronizing hundreds of fighter jets at the same time,’ the IDF said.

Fighter jets dropped hundreds of munitions on about 500 targets, including aerial defense systems and missile launchers, attaining air superiority over Iran and severely degrading its offensive capabilities.

‘The military flyover thwarted numerous threats to the IAF’s fighter jets and to Israeli civilians,’ the IDF said, adding that the IAF continues to operate in Iran.

Israel announced it had launched an attack on Iran shortly after explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday morning. One of the first strikes hit near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It wasn’t immediately clear where Khamenei was at the time; he hadn’t been seen for days.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the attacks that took part across the country as being done ‘to remove threats.’

Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence sites were targeted, according to an official briefed on the operation, told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information.

President Donald Trump said the joint effort was a massive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon.

World leaders were split over the U.S.-Israeli military operation.

Iran launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases in neighboring countries throughout the Gulf, prompting many Arab countries to condemn the regime’s strikes.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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Trump tells Iranians the ‘hour of your freedom is at hand’ as US-Israel launch strikes against Iran

The first missile in the U.S. arsenal used against Iranian targets in Saturday’s pre-dawn strike was the Tomahawk, a long-range cruise missile launched from Navy ships and submarines.

About half the length of a standard telephone pole, the Tomahawk flies at the speed of a commercial airliner and can carry a 1,000-pound warhead about the distance from Washington, D.C., to Miami.

Fired from destroyers or submarines positioned hundreds of miles away, the missiles allow a president to respond rapidly to a crisis without sending pilots into contested airspace or deploying ground forces. 

The Tomahawk has become a go-to option for limited military action because it offers precision and flexibility while keeping the U.S. footprint small. The missiles can hit fixed targets with high accuracy, reducing the risk of broader escalation. 

Presidents of both parties have used Tomahawks in the opening hours of military operations, from strikes in Iraq in the 1990s to more recent operations in Syria and elsewhere. 

Defense officials and military analysts say the weapon’s long range, reliability and relatively low risk to American personnel make it an attractive first strike option when the White House wants to send a message quickly but stop short of a wider war.

That combination of speed, distance and precision has kept the Tomahawk at the center of U.S. military planning for decades.

Manufactured by defense titan Raytheon — now RTX — the Tomahawk has been a mainstay of the Navy’s arsenal since the 1980s. It was first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War and has since become a go-to option for presidents seeking to strike from long range without putting U.S. service members in harm’s way.

‘Year in and year out, administration in and administration out, it’s the long-range land attack cruise missile that presidents reach for first in a crisis,’ Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital.

But heavy use has taken a toll. ‘We’ve been using them far more frequently than we’ve been producing them,’ Karako said.

Prior to Saturday’s operation, the missile was used in June 2025 during a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Overall, the Tomahawk has been deployed more than 2,350 times.

At roughly $1.4 million apiece, the Tomahawk missile has an intermediate range of 800 to 1,553 miles and can be launched from more than 140 U.S. Navy ships and submarines. 

The Tomahawk strike was just one piece of a broader U.S. military posture in the region.

Ahead of the strikes, the U.S. military amassed what Trump previously called an ‘armada’ in Iran’s backyard. Mapped out across the Persian Gulf and beyond, the deployment tells its own story, one of calculated pressure backed by credible capability.

The deployment coincided with indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Trump has warned that the regime must fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure or face consequences.

At the center of the U.S. presence are two aircraft carrier strike groups — the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford — each supported by guided-missile destroyers and cruisers and capable of sustained air and missile operations.

More than a dozen additional U.S. warships are also operating in the region in support roles, according to defense officials.

It was not immediately clear how or when Tehran might respond, though Iranian leaders have previously warned of retaliation in the event of direct U.S. military involvement.

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