The United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes against multiple cities in Iran on Saturday, marking a significant escalation in their campaign against the Islamic Republic. The attacks, which targeted key military and civilian infrastructure, began at 9:45 a.m. local time in Tehran, according to reports. The strikes included Iran’s supreme leader’s complex, the offices of the president, and the Supreme National Security Council, among other missile and nuclear facilities.

Immediate Reactions and Escalation

Iran responded swiftly, launching volleys of missiles at Israel and several Gulf nations, including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, which have either hosted U.S. forces or facilitated the strikes. Loud explosions were reported in cities from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi as missiles either impacted or were intercepted by air defenses.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both emphasized that the goal of the operation is regime change. Trump described the U.S. attack as ‘massive and ongoing’ and urged Iranians to take shelter, warning that ‘bombs will be dropping everywhere.’ He called on the Iranian people to ‘seize control of your destiny’ and ‘unleash the prosperous and glorious future’ that awaits them.

Netanyahu stated that the U.S. and Israel had ’embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,’ which he claimed had ‘spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people.’ He added that the joint strikes would allow the ‘brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands’ and ‘rid themselves of the yoke of tyranny.’

Strategic Goals and Regional Implications

Trump outlined the campaign’s objectives, stating that it would ensure Iran ‘never have a nuclear weapon’ and that the U.S. would ‘destroy Iran’s missile arsenal, annihilate its navy, and stop the threat of Iran’s regional militia allies.’ He also highlighted a list of anti-American actions by Iran over its 47 years in power.

A senior Israeli official told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Axios that the operation aims to ‘create all the conditions for the downfall of the Iranian regime,’ targeting the entire leadership—political and military—past, present, and future. According to Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, the campaign is ‘a regime change war’ and not aimed at resolving a narrow set of problems but ‘to resolve the problem altogether by getting rid of this regime.’

Vaez noted that while the use of air power alone for regime change has no precedent, the situation is ‘a ‘use it or lose it’ moment for the Iranians.’ He said that from their perspective, this is an existential threat, and they would have to respond with everything they have, as failing to do so would mean they would not get a second chance.

Historical Context and Future Risks

The American-Israeli strikes began just hours after Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who has been mediating nuclear talks in Geneva between the U.S. and Iran, announced ‘significant progress’ had been made in the third round. However, the talks were scheduled to resume on Monday, and the progress was conditional on ensuring that Iran could not build a nuclear weapon ‘forever.’

The Israel Defense Forces issued an ‘urgent warning’ to Iranians to vacate weapons production factories and military infrastructure or risk their lives. Analysts have warned that the risks of a prolonged Iran campaign echo those of the American 2003 invasion of Iraq, which successfully toppled dictator Saddam Hussein but led to a years-long military quagmire that left more than 4,000 U.S. servicemen dead.

Vaez said that if the Islamic Republic is toppled, the success of the U.S. would also depend on the ‘day after.’ He criticized Trump’s call for Iranians to ‘lay down your weapons’ in exchange for ‘total immunity’ or face ‘certain death,’ stating that ‘this is a war of choice with consequences that could last for a generation.’

Vaez added that it is ‘wishful thinking’ to believe that the people of Iran would come out in the aftermath of this war and finish the job of dismantling the regime. He noted that foreign intervention without boots on the ground has never resulted in regime change anywhere in the world and that there is simply no precedent for it.

The U.S. has expanded its reasons for striking Iran to include not acceding to stated U.S. demands to give up its nuclear program, limit missile ranges, and dismantle its regional network of militia allies. Iran has been preparing for this since June, when Israel assassinated a top echelon of Major Guard commanders and the U.S. hit nuclear sites with bunker-busting bombs during a 12-day military campaign. The regime has put measures in place to ensure that its command structures can continue even if top-level leaders are killed.