Live updates: US and Israel attack Iran as Tehran retaliates across Middle East | CNN

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• US and Israel strike Iran: The US and Israel have attacked Iran. Israel said its strikes targeted Iran’s supreme leader, president and head of the armed forces. The US is planning for several days of attacks, sources tell CNN.

• Trump calls for regime change: President Donald Trump described the US military campaign as “massive and ongoing,” and warned American lives may be lost. He also called on Iranians to “take over your government.”

• Iran retaliates: Iran launched an unprecedented wave of strikes toward Israel and US targets across the Middle East. Explosions were reported in the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar and in Dubai, where all flights to and from airports have been suspended.

• Global reaction: The United Arab Emirates called the conflict an “historic moment” in the Middle East, saying world leaders had failed to ensure the region’s stability. The leaders of some US allies expressed concern, while some Arab nations condemned Iran’s retaliation.

Senate GOP leader praises Trump's military action and looks forward to a full briefing

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Saturday praised President Donald Trump for taking military action to subvert what he said were clear threats posed by Iran.

Tehran, he said, had “refused the diplomatic off-ramps” presented by the administration before the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Thune also thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he said provided updates to him throughout the week, adding that he looks forward to an all-senator briefing.

“I thank Secretary Rubio for providing updates on these issues throughout the week, and I look forward to administration officials briefing all senators about these military operations,” Thune said.

CNN previously reported that Rubio had notified at least some of the members of the “Gang of Eight” in advance of the strikes — including Thune — but they were not given a full accounting of the legal justification, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.

Iranian governor says toll rises in strike on school

More now on the strike that Iranian officials claim killed dozens at a girls’ school in southern Iran on Saturday.

Mohammad Radmehr, the governor of Mindab county, where the purported strike took place, said the toll had risen to at least 63 students with a further 92 injured. Others were still trapped under the rubble, he added.

“The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragghchi in a post on X.

Asked about the strike, CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins said “we are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them. The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm.”

CNN has also approached the Israeli military for comment.

Russia condemns "reckless" airstrikes on Iran, as Finland and Ireland express concern

Russia’s foreign ministry has released a statement condemning the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran earlier today, calling the attacks a “reckless step” and a “deliberate, premeditated, and unprovoked act of armed aggression.”

As we’ve been reporting, leaders of countries around the world are reacting to the developments, with some expressing concern that today’s events will lead to wider regional instability.

- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in apost on Xthat “it is important that the United States is acting decisively. Whenever there is American resolve, global criminals weaken. This understanding must also come to the Russians.” He added that he expects that “in the end, the Middle East region will become safer and more stable.” - FinnishPresident Alexander Stubbsaid that“recent events in the Middle East are deeply worrying,” adding that “ensuring nuclear safety and long-term security in the region is of utmost importance to all of us.” Finland “condemns all actions that seek to escalate the conflict in the region and urge for utmost restraint,” he added. - Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martinwrote thathe is “deeply concerned by developments in Iran and the real potential that exists for escalation and wider conflict in the region,” urging “all parties to exercise restraint and to work to avoid that outcome.” - Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbánsaid thatthe strikes on Iran have “doubled the importance of theFriendship oil pipeline,”which runs through Ukraine and supplies Russian crude oil to his country. Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia have beencut off since late January,when Kyiv says a Russian drone strike hit pipeline equipment in Western Ukraine. - Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Ramasaid his country“stand(s) firm with Israel” and “support(s) the United States” in their actions today. “We fully endorse every decisive effort to prevent once and for all the murderers in Tehran from acquiring nuclear or any other military capacity to harm Israel or any other peace-loving nation in the Middle East,” he said. - The E3, which consists of France,Germanyand theUnited Kingdom, said that it is in “close contact with our international partners, including the United States, Israel, and partners in the region.” The countries also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks on countries in the Middle East and reiterated their “commitment to regional stability and to the protection of civilian life.”

CNN’s Sebastian Shukla contributed to this reporting.

Speaker Johnson: Trump made "every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions"

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Saturday morning that Iran is now “facing the severe consequences of its evil actions.”

“President Trump and the Administration have made every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions in response to the Iranian regime’s sustained nuclear ambitions, support for terrorism, and the murder of Americans — and even their own people,” Johnson wrote on X.

He added that Iran has repeatedly threatened American lives by undermining “our core national interests, systematically destabilizing the Middle East, and jeopardizing the security of the broader West.”

Johnson said the “Gang of Eight” — the top lawmakers from both parties who serve on congressional intelligence committees and party leadership — had been briefed “in detail earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran.”

“I received updates from Secretary Rubio thereafter, and I will remain in close contact with the President and the Department of War as this operation proceeds,” the Republican leader said.

Optimism in Israel about strikes targeting Iranian leaders, sources say, but no confirmation on Supreme Leader

Optimism is growing in Israel about the opening salvo of strikes that targeted Iranian leaders, according to three Israeli sources, but there is no confirmation yet about whether the strikes killed the country’s Supreme Leader or other top officials.

One of the sources said the strikes were carried out during the daytime because Israel believed the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei felt less vulnerable during daylight hours. Another source said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was receiving regular intelligence updates about the possibility that Khamenei and others were killed in the strikes.

CNN previously reported that the strikes on Saturday morning targeted Khamenei, as well as military chief of staff Sayyid Abdolrahim Mousavi, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, and others.

The sources say there is still no confirmation about whether the strikes killed any of the country’s senior leaders.

US-backed broadcasting agency says it's transmitting Trump's message into Iran

The American government-run broadcasting agency says it’s been transmitting President Donald Trump’s message to Iranians to overthrow their government into the country.

The US Agency for Global Media wrote on social media it had boosted the capacity of Voice of America’s Persian language service in recent months and was using satellite technology to transmit inside Iran.

“VOAFarsi has significantly expanded in recent months and is delivering President Trump’s message directly to the brave people of Iran across every available platform, including satellite,” the group wrote.

Overall, Trump has overseen massive cuts to VOA, whose parent agency is led by Kari Lake, a onetime news anchor who ran for office in Arizona in 2022 and 2024.

Internet and cellular connectivity inside Iran has been frequently cut off by the regime, making communications difficult. Direct transmissions using satellites could skirt those blackouts. During protests last month, the US worked to expand use of Starlink transponders inside Iran as a way around the regime’s restrictions.

Still, even with the US efforts to convey Trump’s message, it wasn’t clear how widely his calls for regime change would be heard.

In his overnight video message, Trump encouraged Iranians to “take over your government” once the US military operation concludes. He also called on regime forces to surrender.

Trump not expected to deliver any more formal remarks today

President Donald Trump is not expected to deliver any more formal public remarks on the strikes in Iran today, White House officials say, while cautioning that could change.

Trump addressed the strikes in a roughly eight-minute long video posted to this Truth Social, and he also had a brief phone call with a Washington Post reporter. he is known to spontaneously field reporters’ calls.

But as of now, the officials say Trump is not expected to speak again. Trump’s public schedule lists events for the conservative Super PAC Maga Inc. later this evening.

Locations in Iran and across the Middle East that have been targeted so far

Several cities inside Iran have been hit by US and Israeli attacks this morning, largely in the center and northwest of the country, according to Iranian state-run media.

Here are the locations we know have been struck so far:

Notably, a satellite image has captured black smoke rising from the compound of Iran’s supreme leader in the capital Tehran. More than a building, it is the nerve center of Iran’s theocratic regime. It’s unclear if Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was in the compound at the time.

Here is where Iran has targeted in retaliation

Video geolocated by CNN shows the moment a missile struck a US Navy base in Bahrain.

Meanwhile, explosions — some of which appear to have been intercepted missiles — have been heard by CNN teams in Israel, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Why Iran is so attached to its nuclear program

Much of the US-Iran disagreement centers on Iran’s insistence on enriching uranium on its own soil. Uranium is a fuel used in nuclear power plants, but when enriched to very high levels, it can be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Iran argues that it has the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, and that it should not be singled out or denied technology that other nations possess.

The US recognizes Iran’s right to civilian nuclear power, but it doesn’t trust Tehran’s assurances that its enrichment program will remain peaceful.

Here’s what may be driving Iran’s refusal to budge:

National pride and sovereignty

For Tehran, the nuclear program is about its identity as a modern nation. Iran is a country of 92 million people with a 2,500-year-old civilization that once rivaled the ancient Greeks and Romans. Its historical self-image is that of a major civilizational power, not a peripheral state that can be pressured by other countries.

Mastering nuclear technology therefore isn’t merely a technical achievement but proof of Iran’s sovereignty and advancement to the level of global powers.

“If Iran abandoned enrichment entirely, hardliners would likely frame it as surrender, especially if sanctions relief were limited,” said Sanam Vakil, of London-based think tank Chatham House.

Deterrence and leverage

Even if Iran is sincere in its declarations that it will never pursue a bomb, enrichment provides it powerful strategic leverage as a nuclear threshold state – one with the capability to build a weapon should it choose to. In Tehran’s thinking, its ability to change its mind at short notice is a way to prevent coercion or attack from its adversaries.

Iran demonstrated this after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, gradually enriching uranium to levels far beyond what is required for civilian power generation. The implicit message to Washington was clear: the 2015 deal placed internationally verifiable limits on Iran’s enrichment, and without it, those limits no longer applied.

But that strategy backfired. Instead of getting Washington to return to an agreement, it ultimately prompted a surprise Israeli attack in June 2025 and the first direct American military strikes on Iranian territory.

The 12-day summer war “likely forced Tehran to reassess this assumption,” said Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher in the Iran and the Shiite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel. “The scale and precision of US and Israeli strikes demonstrated that threshold status does not immunize Iran from military action.”

Still, Tehran is unlikely to give up on its nuclear program, said Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher in the Iran and the Shiite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel. From its perspective, “abandoning the nuclear program outright would expose Iran to future coercion and possible attack.”

Democratic senator calls for lawmakers' immediate return to curb Trump's war powers

CNN

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim on Saturday called for lawmakers to return to Washington and immediately pass a war powers resolution that would limit the president’s authority to carry out additional military action against Iran without congressional approval.

He continued: “I’m ready to go right back to the Senate today. I think we should be having Congress immediately in session to review this.”

Kim joins Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a key lawmaker behind the war powers effort, in calling on Capitol Hill to demand congressional approval for future US military action.

Daylight attack, days after diplomatic talks, would have likely caught Iranian leadership off guard

CNN

The decision by the US and Israel to conduct its strike in the morning rather than overnight, and just days after positive signals emerged from the diplomatic process, would have likely been deliberately designed to catch the Iranian leadership off guard.

CNN’s International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson said the morning attack would have come as a surprise, given that last year, when Israel struck Iran’s nuclear, missile and military infrastructure, the strikes came in the early morning hours and overnight.

Iran’s leadership – who just days ago were engaging in indirect diplomatic talks with US officials, mediated by Oman in Switzerland – would have likely woken up on Saturday thinking they had staved off conflict for another day.

This tactical suprise would have been enhanced by an atmosphere of understanding that diplomacy was still in play.

Less than a day ago, Oman’s foreign minister said in a social media post that “a peace agreement between the US and Iran is now within reach.” Following the strikes on Saturday morning, Oman said it was “dismayed” that negotiations have been undermined.

It’s also notable that the strikes come on the first day of the working week in Iran, Saturday, meaning that most adults would have been at work and children at school.

A renewed conflict may expose just how weak Iran is

Early indications are of an intensely planned decapitation strike by the US and Israel — one that has caused Iran to escalate almost as hard as it can with a wave of missiles against US bases across the region.

It remains unclear who from Iran’s leadership has been hit. Assurances of the health of top leadership abound, but Israel’s success at decimating Tehran’s security in last year’s 12-day war would suggest they wouldn’t go for it again without thinking similar brutal efficiency was possible.

The ferocity of Iran’s response — from what is surely a less brimming arsenal than they would like — might suggest they have suffered some loss at high levels but also want to get missiles in the air while they still can.

Details of exactly what has been hit across Iran are still coming through, but government buildings are clearly among the targets, and during the 12-day war Israel hit individual rooms, in individual apartment blocks. It’s unlikely, in the chaos after that war, that the Israelis did not amplify their intelligence gathering efforts and may indeed have a better picture of who is doing what in the Iranian security apparatus then they had before.

The extent and continued nature of Iran’s response, in the days ahead, will elucidate whether or not they truly have the hidden strength Israel claims, or are desperately weak and increasingly exposed as such.

UAE warns of challenges ahead amid "historic moment" in Middle East

CNN

The current conflict in the Middle East is a “historic moment filled with a lot of challenges,” a top official from the United Arab Emirates told CNN, adding that his country and others in the region had “failed” to ensure regional stability.

“Our part is to work together with the United States and neighbors like Iran in order to ensure the stability and security of the region… clearly this time we have failed,” Anwar Gargash, the UAE president’s adviser, told CNN’s Becky Anderson.

He said his country and others in the region were working “very hard” to avert this war.

In the first remarks by a Gulf official, Gargash said that the UAE, which was targeted by Iran on Saturday in response to strikes by the US and Israel, does not “totally understand” how this war will develop, and called for a return to negotiations.

“We are extremely, extremely dismayed and condemn Iran’s enlargement of this conflict to include neighbors… but I think at the same time we all understand that the region has to be spared of a military confrontation of dimensions that we don’t totally understand,” he added.

Gargash said the UAE was not given prior notice of a military operation, but expected it based on the outcome of the US-Iran negotiations.

Gargash said while the Iranian nuclear and missile programs posed a threat to regional stability, they had to be addressed through a “political process” and negotiations.

The US and Israel struck Iran this morning, prompting swift retaliation. Catch up here

The United States and Israel carried out strikes on cities across Iran this morning, quickly prompting reaction from Tehran that has resulted in attacks across the Middle East.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know about what’s gone on so far today:

- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said this morning that his country had conducted a “preemptive strike” against Iran.A short while later, US President Donald Trump said Washington had alsobegun a military campaignin the country. - Israel’s strikes targeted senior Iranian figures, two Israeli sources familiar with the operation told CNN.Satellite imageryshowed black smoke rising from the compound of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Damage seen in the image appears to show that several buildings in the compound were hit by strikes. - Iranian state media reported at least 57 students were killedin a strike that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran. CNN is unable to independently verify the reports and has reached out to the US and Israel for comment. - Swiftly after the strikes began, Iranian state-affiliated media said that Tehran was “ preparing for revengeand a crushing response to the Zionist regime.” Approximately two hours after the US and Israeli strikes began, thefirst warning of incoming missilessounded in Israel. - In the hours since, explosions have been heard in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, all of which haveUS military bases.Explosions have also been heard overTel Aviv, IsraelandDubai, UAE. - One person was killed by falling debrisafter air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles targeting sites in Abu Dhabi, the state-run WAM news agency said. - US embassies in countries across the Middle Eastcalled for Americans abroad to shelter-in-place, including in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan. - Leaders across the world have responded to the developments, with some US allies - including the European Union, France and Spain - expressing concern over the US-Israeli action and Iran’s response.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann, Kevin Liptak, Todd Symons, Brad Lendon, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Lauren Kent, Tim Lister, Mostafa Salem, Samantha Waldenberg, Tal Shalev, Jeremy Diamond, Adam Pourahmadi, Tala Alrajjal and Michelle Velez contributed to this reporting.

Iranian state media claims dozens of students killed in strike on school during US-Israel attack

Iranian state media is claiming that dozens of students were killed in a strike that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran on Saturday.

At least 57 students were killed with dozens of others buried under rubble, the Mehr news outlet reported. The county governor of Minab, Hormozgan, where the purported strike took place, had said earlier that 24 students were killed.

CNN is unable to independently verify the reports and has reached out to the US and Israeli militaries for comment. The Pentagon said it had nothing to share at this time.

“The US & Israel launched an egregious, unwarranted act of aggression against Iran by indiscriminately targeting Iranian cities,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmael Baqaie, who claimed that “tens of innocent young girls” had been killed and maimed at the school in Minab.

Another Iranian news agency posted video purporting to show extensive damage to the school, with smoke rising from the building, as well as cranes lifting debris.

Saturday is the first day of the school week in Iran.

Two high-school students were killed in a separate missile attack in Tehran, according to Iranian media outlets.

Top Senate Democrat says Iran strikes raise "serious legal and constitutional concerns"

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the US and Israeli strikes in Iran raise “serious legal and constitutional concerns.”

“The Constitution is clear: the decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations – particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States – raises serious legal and constitutional concerns,” he said in a statement Saturday.

CNN previously reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio notified some of the members of the “Gang of Eight” in advance of the strikes — including Warner — but they were not given a full accounting of the legal justification, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.

“Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification, a defined end state, and a plan that avoids dragging the United States into yet another costly and unnecessary war,” Warner added in his statement.

In photos: Strikes across Iran, Israel and Bahrain

The US and Israel launched strikes across Iran Saturday, following what the Israeli military said was “months of joint planning.” The US is planning for several days of attacks, sources tell CNN.

Iran has launched its own retaliatory strikes across the Middle East. Explosions were reported in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and in Dubai, where all flights to and from airports have been suspended.

Oil tankers avoid Strait of Hormuz after US-Israeli strikes on Iran

Some oil tankers were avoiding sailing through the Strait of Hormuz – located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman – on Saturday following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, vessel-tracking data seen by CNN showed.

Other vessels though were continuing to sail through the waterway, which is the only way to ship crude oil from the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the rest of the world, data from Marine Traffic showed. Meanwhile, some ships had begun to pile up on either side of the strait.

Trading sources told Reuters that some oil companies had suspended their shipments via the waterway amid the attacks and retaliatory Iranian strikes.

Key lines from Trump's overnight video announcing “massive and ongoing” military operation

In a video posted on social media overnight, President Donald Trump described the US military campaign in Iran as “massive and ongoing,” warned American lives may be lost and called on Iranians to “take over your government.”

“The United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests,” the president said in the message. “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.”

Trump also accused Tehran of working to rebuild its nuclear program after massive US strikes last summer that he previously said had obliterated the facilities. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The strikes come with political risk at home for Trump, who warned that US lives could be lost in the operation.

“The Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”

Trump also appeared to call for regime change in Iran, saying in part that Iranians should “take over your government.”

“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” he said.

This post has been updated with additional lines from Trump’s remarks.

Five explosions heard in Dubai, UAE

CNN

Five explosions were just heard by CNN’s staff in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Four of those explosions were very loud.

It is unclear if the explosions were from strikes, intercepts by the UAE’s air defense systems or something else.

Dubai is the UAE’s commercial and tourism hub and is not home to any known US military facilities.

A video taken by one CNN staff member shows smoke rising from an area near Dubai’s Jabal Ali port, a major global shipping and logistics hub.

A separate video obtained by CNN shows what appears to be an explosion from an intercept.