The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, prompting widespread retaliation from Tehran that resulted in multiple civilian casualties and forced the closure of airspace across the Middle East.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and other American interests in the Gulf, as well as military centres in Israel, after the initial strikes hit multiple Iranian targets including areas of Tehran.
School attack kills 40
At least 40 people were killed in a strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province, state media reported. The death toll at the Minab girls’ elementary school rose from an initial report of 24 fatalities, with 45 more people wounded in the attack.
Photo: Jalaa Marey / AFP
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were among the targets, though Iranian state television later confirmed Pezeshkian was “safe and sound”.
Widespread airspace closures
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies following the attacks. Major airlines including Air France, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways cancelled thousands of flights.
Flight tracking website FlightAware reported more than 9 600 flights delayed globally and over 500 cancelled worldwide as of 10:30 GMT.
Iran swiftly closed its entire airspace “until further notice”, while Israel also shut its skies to civilian flights. Syria closed southern air corridors along its border with Israel for 12 hours.
Regional retaliation
The UAE reported that one civilian was killed in Abu Dhabi after Iranian strikes, with witnesses in Dubai describing explosions and missiles streaking across the sky. The UAE later intercepted a second wave of Iranian missiles, with fragments falling across the capital without causing injuries.
Jordan’s armed forces shot down two ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom’s territory, with no casualties reported but material damage recorded. Civil defences responded to 12 reports of falling objects and debris across multiple governorates.
In northern Iraq, United States air defence systems engaged drones over Erbil, with AFP journalists reporting explosions and smoke visible in the sky near the US consulate.
Two people were killed in air strikes on an Iraqi military base housing the pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, which threatened imminent retaliation against American bases.
Four people were also killed by an Iranian missile in southern Syria, according to state media.
International response
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for “maximum restraint” and emphasised that ensuring nuclear safety was “of critical importance”.
Russia condemned the strikes as a “dangerous adventure” that could spark “catastrophe” in the region, while France’s Emmanuel Macron called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting.
US President Donald Trump said Washington’s goal was “eliminating imminent threats” from Iran, warning he would “obliterate” Iranian naval and missile forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation aimed to remove an “existential threat”.
Trump’s ultimatum
Speaking from his Florida golf club, Trump told Iranians “the hour of your freedom is at hand” and urged them to “take over your government”. He offered Iranian forces “immunity” if they surrendered or “certain death” if they continued fighting.
The attacks followed Trump’s repeated threats against Iran and his frustration at Tehran’s stance in negotiations over its nuclear and missile programmes.
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