IDF chief: Israel faces ‘fateful, unprecedented campaign’ to remove existential threat from Iran
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, in a video statement, says that Israel is ahead of a “significant, fateful and unprecedented campaign to destroy the capabilities of the Iranian terror regime.”
“The IDF, together with the United States military, has begun striking strategic targets in Iran. We are prepared with high operational readiness, both in defense and offense. Ahead of us is a significant, fateful and unprecedented campaign to destroy the capabilities of the Iranian terrorist regime — capabilities that constitute an ongoing existential threat to the security of the State of Israel,” Zamir says.
He says that the operation “will ensure our existence and our future here.”
Zamir says that during the 12-day war against Iran in June 2025, the military “set back and pushed back the nuclear project, struck the ballistic missile array, and undermined the plan conceived and led by the Iranian regime with its regional partners to destroy the State of Israel.”
He says the June operation “proved that this regime is vulnerable. We cracked its internal stability and, for the first time, created historic cooperation together with the US military in Operation Midnight Hammer, in which American aircraft delivered a lethal blow to Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
“Since then, we have been monitoring developments in Iran. Despite the severe blow it sustained, the radical Iranian terror regime has not abandoned its vision and its malicious intentions to advance the plan to destroy Israel, including continuing to advance the nuclear project, restoring and increasing the pace of ballistic missile production, and destabilizing the region by arming and financing terrorist proxies,” Zamir says.
Zamir says that in recent months he led, in coordination with his American counterparts, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of CENTCOM, “a joint and in-depth battle plan.”
“This is close and unprecedented cooperation between the IDF and the US military. The IDF is competent and prepared for a range of scenarios. At this very moment, Israeli Air Force pilots are striking hundreds of targets across Iran, at great risk and in coordination with American strikes,” he says.
Zamir says air defense systems and the Israeli Navy are “deployed to defend the country’s skies and shores against missile barrages and aerial and maritime threats,” and ground troops “are deploying along the borders in order to thwart and repel any attempt to infiltrate the territory of the State of Israel.”
“As we all know, there is no hermetic defense. We must not underestimate the enemy’s ability to harm us. In the coming period, we will face difficult tests. We surpass our enemies in our courage, in the determination of our troops, and in the justice of our path. Our resilience is our strength. Time and again, our enemies learn that the resilience of the Israeli home front cannot be defeated,” he continues.
Zamir calls on Israeli civilians to adhere to the Home Front Command’s guidelines. “Adhering to these instructions saves lives,” he says.
“We are focused at this time solely on victory. Upon entering my position, I said that before our eyes at all times stand victory and the defeat of the enemy. Every enemy who threatens Israel’s security will pay a heavy price. Trust in us and rely on the power of the IDF to act forcefully and without compromise in all arenas,” Zamir adds.
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Loud explosion heard, plume of smoke rising over Dubai
AFP correspondents heard a loud explosion in Dubai on Saturday and one of them saw a plume of smoke rising from the city.
The explosions came in the wake of wide-ranging Iranian attacks on the Gulf, in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
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IDF launches new wave of strikes against Iranian missile launchers
The Israeli Air Force is conducting a new wave of airstrikes against Iranian ballistic missile launchers, the IDF announces.
“The air force has begun a sortie and is currently striking missile launchers in Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” the military says in a statement.
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Ahead of strikes, Trump was told Iran attack is high risk, high reward
Ahead of the US attack on Iran, US President Donald Trump received briefings that not only delivered blunt assessments about the risk of major US casualties but also touted the prospect of a generational shift in the Middle East in favor of US interests, a US official tells Reuters.
The launch of what the Pentagon called “Operation Epic Fury” plunged the Middle East into a new and unpredictable conflict. The US and Israeli militaries struck sites across Iran, triggering retaliatory Iranian attacks against Israel and nearby Gulf Arab countries.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says the briefers described the operation to the president as a high-risk, high-reward scenario.
The briefings from Trump’s national security team help explain how the president decided to pursue arguably the riskiest US military operation since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Ahead of the strikes, Trump received multiple briefings from officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
On Thursday, Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command, flew to Washington to join discussions in the White House Situation Room.
A second US official says that prior to the strikes, the White House had been briefed on a number of risks associated with operations against Iran, including retaliatory strikes on multiple US bases in the region by Iranian missiles that could overwhelm defenses, as well as Iranian proxies attacking US troops in Iraq and Syria.
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UN calls emergency Security Council meeting after strikes on Iran
The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes by Tehran.
The session, due to start at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT), will address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations said. The meeting was urged by France and Bahrain, according to the Israeli delegation to the world body.
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In Persian message, IDF says war with regime, not Iranian people
In a message in Persian, the IDF says Israel’s war is not with the Iranian people, but only with the regime.
“The Islamic Republic dragged the region into this campaign, but this is not our war with the Iranian people. The regime is responsible for squandering the people’s resources on terror organizations, missiles, and a murderous nuclear program against Israel and the region,” says Persian-language spokesman Lt. Col. Kamal Penhasi in a video.
“The regime will continue to threaten and tell you lies through its various channels, but we urge you to listen only to our official Persian-language channels,” he says.
“Israel is acting in coordination with the United States solely against the regime as part of our right to defend ourselves. We are not enemies of the Iranian people, but enemies of the dictatorship that oppresses them,” Penhasi adds.
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Germany’s Merz speaks to Netanyahu
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, a German official says.
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No injuries reported in missile fragment impact in central Israel
No injuries were caused following the missile fragment impact in central Israel, medics say.
Footage published by the Magen David Adom ambulance service shows a flaming car after a missile fragment landed in a residential area.
Iran has launched several waves of missiles at central Israel in the past hour.
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The U.S. and Israel launched a wave of strikes against Iran, targeting its leadership and military assets in an attack that risked sparking a wider conflict in one of the most economically sensitive regions in the world.
Iran retaliated by firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. bases throughout the region, including ones in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The U.S. military intercepted multiple Iranian missiles.
President Trump said he had launched a major combat operation to ensure Americans would never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. He called on Iranians to take control of the government. “I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” he said in a video posted on Truth Social.
Iran promised a crushing response to the attack.
Explosions rocked the Iranian capital of Tehran, and other cities, and traffic clogged roads as Iranians fled.
Sirens sounded across Israel on Saturday, and multiple explosions could be heard across the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. and Israel plan to carry out several days of intensive attacks, people familiar with the matter said.
Israel called up 70,000 reservists.
The strikes were preceded by a monthlong U.S military buildup that followed a Trump pledge to com to the aid of protesters who challenged the regime at the beginning of January. The president had repeatedly warned Iran it could face military action if it failed to give up its nuclear program.
Tankers diverted from the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices have been rising over fears of conflict.
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