Israel launches “preemptive strike” on Iran, Israeli military says

Israel launched what it described as a “preemptive strike” on Iran Saturday morning, Israeli officials said.

The Israel Defense Ministry said in a statement that it launched the strike because it was expecting “a missile and drone attack” from Iran “in the immediate future.”

The scope and location of the strike was not immediately clear. Multiple explosions were heard in Tehran, including in the Seyed Khandan area of northern Tehran. Iranian state television reported on an explosion, without offering a cause. 

The strike happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei had been in his offices at the time. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the U.S. have grown. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that he had also issued a state of emergency across all of Israel.  

“You must obey the instructions of the Home Front Command and the authorities and remain in the protected areas,” the statement read.

Sirens sounded across Israel at the same time as Katz’s announcement. The Israeli military said that it had issued a “proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the state of Israel.”

The U.S. military declined to immediately comment on the attack.

This is a developing story and will be updated.