{"id":81413,"date":"2026-02-28T10:57:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T07:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/?p=81413"},"modified":"2026-02-28T10:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T07:57:22","slug":"israel-u-s-launch-airstrikes-on-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/israel-u-s-launch-airstrikes-on-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel and U.S. Launch Airstrikes on Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, in what it described as a preemptive operation aimed at removing security threats. A U.S. official confirmed that American forces are participating in the strikes, marking a significant expansion of the confrontation. Plumes of smoke were seen rising over Tehran as multiple explosions were reported across the country.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Strikes Reported in Multiple Cities<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>According to Iranian state media, explosions were heard not only in Tehran but also in Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah. One of the apparent strike locations was reported to be near the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear whether the 86-year-old leader was present at the time. Iranian authorities have not released casualty figures, and the country closed its airspace following the attacks.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>U.S. Role and Military Build-Up<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A U.S. official confirmed that Washington is taking part in the operation. The development follows weeks of heightened rhetoric from President Donald Trump regarding Iran\u2019s nuclear program, alongside a significant U.S. military build-up in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Trump had previously warned that failure to reach a nuclear agreement could result in military action, while also stating that he preferred a negotiated solution. In recent weeks, the United States moved additional military assets closer to the Middle East, raising concerns about the risk of war.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>State of Emergency in Israel<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a title=\"Netanyahu Calls Ottoman Rule an \u201cOccupation\u201d in Speech at Israeli Parliament\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/netanyahu-calls-ottoman-rule-an-occupation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Israel<\/a>i Defense Minister Israel Katz described the operation as a \u201cpreemptive strike\u201d intended to eliminate threats. Anticipating possible retaliation from Iran, Israel declared a nationwide state of emergency.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities instructed the public to limit activities to essential needs only. Public gatherings were restricted, schools and workplaces were closed, and Israel\u2019s airspace was temporarily shut down.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Risk of Retaliation<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Iran has previously warned that any attack on its territory could trigger strikes against U.S. military personnel and bases across the region.<\/p>\n<p>The latest escalation comes amid indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran\u2019s nuclear program, adding uncertainty to an already fragile regional security environment.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BREAKING: Israel attacks Iran live | Israel launches 'Biggest' Attack on Iran | Israel Iran War\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OkSGf990-Ho\" width=\"951\" height=\"535\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, in what it described as a preemptive operation aimed at removing security threats. A U.S. official confirmed that American forces are participating in the strikes, marking a significant expansion of the confrontation. Plumes of smoke were seen rising over Tehran as multiple &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9192199,"featured_media":81414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,37],"tags":[80370,77263,1134,267,71395,1133],"class_list":["post-81413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","category-middle-east","tag-ali-khamenei","tag-donald-trump","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-middle-east-crisis","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9192199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81415,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81413\/revisions\/81415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}