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Summary
We’re about to launch a fresh blog on this morning’s retaliatory Israeli strikes on Iran. In the meantime here’s a recap of the latest developments. And all our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East can be seen here.
Israel launched airstrikes against Iran early on Saturday, with at least seven explosions reported over the capital, Tehran, and nearby Karaj just after 2.30am local time.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had begun to launch “precise strikes on military targets in Iran” in response to “months of continuous attacks” from Iran against Israel.
Iranian state TV reported several strong explosions heard around Tehran. There were no casualties, the state news agency IRNA said.
Fresh blasts were reportedly heard around Tehran on Saturday shortly after reports of earlier ones. Continuous explosions and light trails were visible across the sky in central Tehran, Agence France-Presse said.
A US official confirmed that Israel notified Washington before carrying out the strikes, and that the US had no involvement in Israel’s military operation. The White House said it understood Israel was conducting the strikes “as an exercise of self-defence”.
There was no immediate official Iranian comment about the source of explosions, which Iranian news outlets reported were under investigation.
Some of the blasts reportedly occurred near Imam Khomeni international airport. Iran’s Tasnim news agency said civilian flights were operating normally as of Friday morning.
