Here's the latest
• US and Israel strike: The US and Israel have attacked Iran, with President Donald Trump indicating the “massive and ongoing” military operation is aimed at overturning the government in Tehran. The attack included strikes on the Iranian supreme leader’s compound and killed several senior figures, according to an Israeli military official, though details remain limited.
• Massive retaliation: Iran launched an unprecedented wave of strikes at US military bases, Israel and targets in other countries across the Middle East, disrupting air travel and oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian drone struck a high-end, densely populated neighborhood in Dubai.
• Global reaction: The United Arab Emirates called the conflict a “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.
Tel Aviv residents have spent the day in and out of shelters
Residents of Tel Aviv, Israel, have spent the day running in and out of shelters, as sirens warning of potential attacks have gone off more than a dozen times today, according to a CNN producer on the ground.
Earlier, Israel ordered the public to carry out essential activities only following its strikes on Iran, expecting retaliatory action from Tehran. Public gatherings, as well as going to work and school, were prohibited, with some exceptions made for specific sectors.
As missiles have been launched toward Israel throughout the day, residents have at times received alerts instructing them to seek shelter within 10 minutes. Typically, a few minutes after the alerts, sirens have sounded, warning residents that they have limited to time to barricade themselves in.
At one point today, residents were told to stay in shelters for nearly an hour, after consecutive alerts were distributed warning of multiple missiles fired.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, who has been reporting live from Tel Aviv today, has at times been reporting on air from a bunker because of this danger. You can watch some of his reporting in the video at the top of this post.
FBI counterterrorism teams on elevated alert, official says
The FBI’s counterterrorism and counterintelligence teams are on elevated alert nationwide after the US strikes in Iran, a bureau official told CNN.
The increased security posture mirrored that of police departments, including in New York City, which stepped up patrols in case of violence on US soil after the attack. Such moves are common in the wake of global events like those on Saturday.
US-Israeli attack is an "egregious act of aggression," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson says
Iran views US and Israeli attacks as an “egregious act of aggression without any reason,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told CNN on Saturday.
Baghaei accused President Donald Trump’s administration of being “dragged” into a conflict in which “the only beneficiary” would be Israel.
“The American people should be reminded that we were again in the middle of the diplomatic process that was progressing,” he said.
The spokesperson also defended Iran’s retaliatory strikes throughout the region.
“This is in accordance with our inherent, legitimate right of self-defense. This is our responsibility, our duty as a state to defend our territory and our sovereignty against this unlawful act,” Baghaei said.
“Every country in the region recognizes the threat that is coming from Israel’s attack against Iran,” he added.
When asked if the conflict could widen throughout the region, Baghaei suggested that “anything is possible.”
Iran “didn’t welcome this war — it was imposed on us,” he said.
What we know so far about the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the ongoing retaliation
We’re bringing you breaking news out of the Middle East after Israel coordinated with the United States to strike Iran.
If you’re just joining us this Saturday afternoon, here’s what you should know:
- Strikes across Iran: Israel launched an operation Saturday morning according to the Prime Minister’s Office, across multiple cities in Iran. The strikes targeted ballistic missiles and missile launchers, which Israel has viewed as a serious threat, as well as senior Iranian figures, two Israeli sources familiar with the operation told CNN. It is unclear if any of the officials were hit. Israel is preparing for several days of strikes and “even more if needed,” an Israeli source tells CNN.
- US involvement: The strikes were coordinated with the United States and months of “close and joint planning” took place between the two countries, according to the Israel Defense Forces. A US official says the US strikes are currently focused on military targets, but declined to elaborate citing an ongoing operation. Another US official said the goal of the strikes is to address the Iranian military threat and protect US forces. The US military is also planning for several days of attacks, according to two sources.
- What Trump said: In a video, President Donald Trump described the military campaign as “massive and ongoing,” intended to prevent the country from putting US lives at risk. He said American lives may be lost and encouraged Iranians to seize control of their government when US military operations conclude. The president is continuing to monitor the strikes from his Mar-a-Lago resort, a White House official told CNN. He is not expected to deliver any more formal remarks today.
- Iran’s response: In response to the US and Israeli strikes, Iran appears to be striking US targets in several countries at once, with blasts heard from the beaches of Dubai to the streets of Doha. Iran’s army said it will deliver a “historic lesson” to Israel and the US.
- Across the region: There are reports of multiple explosions in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, all of which have US bases. Qatar and Jordan say military forces intercepted missiles targeting their countries. One person was killed by falling debris after air defenses intercepted missiles targeting sites in Abu Dhabi, state-run WAM news agency said, citing the UAE defense ministry.
CNN’s Oren Liebermann, Eugenia Yosef, Tal Shalev, Brad Lendon, Jeremy Diamond, Kevin Liptak, Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene, Oren Liebermann, Mostafa Salem, Adam Pourahmadi, Riane Lumer, Eyad Kourdi, Tim Lister, Kaitlan Collins, Abbas Al Lawati, Samantha Waldenberg, Jeremy Diamond, Jomana Karadsheh, Catherine Nicholls, Jim Sciutto contributed reporting.
Potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates weigh in on Iran strikes
Democrats eyeing a presidential run in 2028 criticized President Donald Trump’s move to strike Iran and argued the conflict poses risks to American troops.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that while he supports regime change in Iran and believes the country should not have nuclear weapons, it “does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people.”
- Pete Buttigieg, former Transportation secretary, similarly said the strikes put Americans at risk and added, “It does nothing to help with the urgent problems here at home that Americans face every day.”
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recalled the “long term impacts” of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and argued that Trump “owes Congress and the American people a full explanation as these actions put American troops at significant risk.”
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker described the strikes as having “No justification, no authorization from Congress, and no clear objective.” He added: “But none of that matters to Donald Trump — and apparently neither do the safety and lives of American service members.”
CNN’s Christian Sierra and Kit Maher contributed to this post.
White House working to arrange full Senate and House briefings this week
The White House is working to arrange full Senate and House member briefings on the Iran strikes this week, a White House official told CNN.
The briefings would be the most expansive opportunity yet for lawmakers to learn about the attacks, though the bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders known as the Gang of Eight did receive some information.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that prior to the attacks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio “called all members of the gang of eight to provide congressional notification, and he was able to reach and brief seven of the eight members.”
Israel has treated 89 lightly injured casualties so far
Israel has treated 89 lightly injured people as Iran and Israel trade attacks, according to Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency service.
The casualties included a 16-year-old male injured by shrapnel in Kafr Qassem and an approximately 50-year-old man injured by blast impact in Ka’abiyye-Tabbash.
Video also showed damage but no injuries in a building in Petah-Tikva.
MDA teams are at “peak readiness,” the service said in a press release.
A look at the military strikes Trump has ordered in his second term
President Donald Trump launched a new level of attacks against Iran today, but his second term — just over a year in — has been marked by a bevy of military strikes. Here’s a recap:
- In February 2025, Trump announced that he “ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia.”
- The following month, Trump announced that the US military, in coordination with the Iraqi and Kurdish governments, killed “the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq.”
- Also in March 2025, Trump ordered strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to attacks on the USS Harry Truman.
- Over the summer, Trump launched Operation Midnight Hammer, targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities, which he said were “obliterated.”
- On Christmas, ISIS terrorists in Nigeria were targeted by the US military, as Trump accused them of “slaughtering” Christians.
- In early January, Trump launched airstrikes against Venezuela, capturing Nicolas Maduro. The attack also occurred on an early Saturday morning, while Trump was at Mar-a-Lago.
- On January 10, the US announced it struck ISIS targets in Syria, in continued response to the killing of two US service members who hailed from Iowa. “Operation Hawkeye Strike” launched in December, according to US Central Command, striking “more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery.”
Reporting from Kevin Liptak, Natasha Bertrand, Aleena Fayez and Haley Britzky contributed to this post.
What the airspace over Iran looked like before and after the strikes
These graphics provide a glimpse at how air travel patterns in the region have changed in response to the conflict:
Images show compound of Iran's supreme leader before and after strikes
The two images above show the compound of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, before and after it was struck by missiles on Saturday. You can move the slider from left to right to compare.
The site appears to have been severely damaged, and a plume of black smoke can be seen in the vicinity of the compound.
As we reported earlier, “several” senior figures in Iran were killed in a set of targeted strikes in the opening salvo of the joint US-Israel strikes, according to an Israeli military official.
CNN earlier reported that there was growing optimism in Israel about the attacks, which targeted the Supreme Leader and other top figures in the regime, although there has so far been no final confirmation about whether Khamenei has been killed.
IRGC likely to fill any Iran leadership void in short term, US intel officials believe
The US intelligence community has assessed that in the event of a successful regime change operation in Iran that deposed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would likely fill any leadership void in the short term, CNN has reported.
But intelligence has not been definitive on the issue, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in January that “no one knows” who would take over if the regime falls.
The IRGC “is definitely prominent and functions above the standard military bureaucracy, but it is hard to predict exactly what would happen in a regime collapse scenario,” said one source familiar with recent US intelligence reporting on the matter.
The US has also lacked clear insight into the IRGC’s hierarchy following the US assassination of Iran’s most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, during Trump’s first term.
Israel’s strikes on Iran Saturday morning targeted senior Iranian figures, including Khamenei, armed forces Chief of Staff Sayyid Abdolrahim Mousavi, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, among others, two Israeli sources familiar with the operation told CNN. But it is unclear if any senior Iranian figures were hit in the attack.
Israel begins another wave of attacks against Iran
Israel has started another wave of strikes targeting “missile launchers and aerial defense systems in central Iran,” the Israeli military said.
Tehran streets are mostly quiet with distant explosions
The streets of Tehran are generally quiet, an Iranian told CNN, after a series of strikes hit Iran’s capital on Saturday.
The Iranian said distant explosions can still be heard from Tajrish, a neighborhood in northern Tehran.
People can be heard yelling, “Death to the dictator!” out their windows, he told CNN.
The first round of strikes led to a flurry of traffic that took people hours to get home, he said.
Shahed drone seen hitting heavily populated part of Dubai
An Iranian Shahed drone struck near the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai, causing a large explosion and fire, according to numerous geolocated videos and eyewitnesses.
One witness told CNN she saw the drone strike while walking on the West Palm Beach near the hotel. Initially, she thought the drone was “a bird falling out of the sky,” then saw the drone bank left sharply before detonating.
“Now, we’re all sitting underneath the parking lot” taking shelter, she added.
Video shared with CNN shows the moment of impact. The drone, its wings clearly outlined against the sky, dropped at a steep angle between several high rise buildings before bursting into flame when it reached the ground.
Big picture: The Fairmont is located in Dubai’s high-end Palm Jumeirah, a thickly-settled manmade island off the city beach, known for its luxury apartments, hotels and restaurants.
The landfall of an Iranian drone in the middle of one of the wealthiest, most populated cities in the United Arab Emirates is virtually unprecedented. The strikes also come during Ramadan, and CNN staff on the ground in Dubai heard blasts in between calls to prayer from mosques in the city.
CNN’s Anna Chernova, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Zeena Saifi and Isa Cardona contributed.
Iran is in a near-total internet blackout, data shows
Iran is in a near-total internet blackout with “national connectivity at 4% of ordinary levels,” according to internet monitoring experts at NetBlocks.
In a post to X, the monitor said the blackout follows US and Israel’s attack on Iran and “matches measures used during last year’s war with Israel.”
The blackout follows an already bleak outlook for Iranian internet access. Since Iran’s brutal crackdown earlier this year, the regime has made progress to allow only a subset of people with security clearance to access the international web, experts said.
After previous internet shutdowns, some platforms never returned. The Iranian government blocked Instagram after the internet shutdown and protests in 2022, and the popular messaging app Telegram following protests in 2018.
CNN’s Lauren Kent contributed to this report.
New York and DC police departments say they are monitoring developments in Iran
The police departments of New York City and Washington, DC, said today that they are “closely monitoring” developments in Iran following US and Israel strikes.
The NYPD announced that it will increase patrols in various “sensitive locations” across the city.
“As is our protocol and out of an abundance of caution, we will be enhancing patrols to sensitive locations throughout the city, including diplomatic, cultural, religious, and other relevant sites,” the NYPD said in a post on X, adding that New Yorkers should “remain vigilant.”
Meanwhile, the Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department said there are currently “no known threats” to the nation’s capital but added that it is “prepared” to boost police presence if necessary. The department also urged residents to be vigilant.
Economists expect oil prices to surge after US strikes in Iran
Oil prices could increase drastically when futures begin trading on Sunday, experts warned.
The US and Israel strikes on Iran raise concerns that retaliations in the Middle East could disrupt the flow of oil trades, which is heavily dependent on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, which controls the strait, also controls the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves.
Brent futures open on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET and oil prices could increase as much as $5 per barrel, if not more, warned Lipow. He added that Iran could attack oil tankers in the region, shutting the waterway.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, topped $70 a barrel on February 18 for the first time since July — shortly after the last time the United States attacked Iran. On Friday, Brent crude rose 2.87% to $72.87 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 2.87% to $67.02 a barrel.
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, said investor reactions to the strikes “will be an all skate” and expects that crude “will roof on the open.”
Those higher prices could take a toll on US gas prices, which the Trump administration has touted during the president’s second term.
CNN’s Matt Egan contributed to this report.
Top Senate Armed Services Democrat: Trump's strike on Iran "will outlast this presidency”
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee is warning that President Donald Trump’s decision to take US military action against Iran will have consequences for years to come.
“Against the clear wishes of the American people, President Trump has thrust our nation into a major war with Iran — one he never made a case for, never sought congressional authority for, and for which he has no endgame,” Sen. Jack Reed said in a statement.
He added later: “President Trump has chosen the path of war while diplomacy was still within reach. That is a decision with consequences that will outlast this presidency.”
Reed also called for the administration to provide lawmakers with an “immediate briefing” so that Congress can provide necessary oversight.
Another Democrat on the committee, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, echoed Reed’s concerns Saturday, saying she is troubled by the president’s military actions over the past year.
In a statement, Rosen warned that the administration’s “history of repeatedly withholding information and misleading Congress could lead us into another protracted Middle East conflict, without authorization from Congress.”
She added that “the American people are wary of prolonged military engagements abroad, especially when the objectives are unclear,” emphasizing that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war and authorize the use of military force.
Here's where Iran has targeted retaliatory strikes
Iran said it targeted US military facilities in several countries in the Persian Gulf — as well as sending barrages of missiles toward Israel — after the US and Israel began strikes against Iranian military and government targets on Saturday morning local time.
The sound of explosions reverberated in several countries across the region as missile defenses were deployed to intercept the incoming missiles. There were also several drone attacks by Iran.
The US and Israel say they are targeting Iran’s senior leadership, including strikes on a compound linked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei near Tehran University. Iranian officials say their senior leadership survived the initial wave of strikes.
Iran launched “dozens” of ballistic missiles toward Israel, according to Nour News, an outlet affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Israel said about 40 ballistic missiles had been fired by midafternoon local time. Some slight injuries were reported.
A number of missiles were intercepted over the United Arab Emirates, but debris from one killed an Asian national in Abu Dhabi, according to the UAE’s official news agency. A fire broke out in the upscale tourism area of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, injuring four people, according to the Dubai Media Office. It’s unclear whether the fire was started by a direct impact or by falling debris.
One missile impacted a US navy facility in Bahrain. Later Saturday, an Iranian drone struck a military facility in Bahrain.
Qatar’s Defense Ministry said all three rounds of Iranian missiles targeting the emirate had been intercepted.
Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Eastern Province were also targeted by Iranian missiles, the official Saudi Press Agency said. The kingdom described the attacks as “cowardly,” without giving details of damage.
Jordan said its air defenses had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles.
Kuwait also said Iranian missiles were intercepted over an air base in the emirate. Later Saturday, an Iranian drone struck the country’s international airport, injuring several people.
Iranian leaders were likely surprised by daybreak strikes
CNN’s international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson breaks down why leaders in Tehran were likely caught off-guard by the timing of the US and Israeli attacks:
CNN's Nic Robertson breaks down the element of surprise in the US and Israel's joint attack on Iran.
