Mapped: Where strikes and explosions have been heard throughout the Middle East as Iran retaliates | EUROtoday

The United States and Israel have launched a wide-scale army assault on Iran, plunging the Middle Eastern area into turmoil as Tehran retaliates.

Several nations, together with Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan, have since been focused following the assaults ordered by Donald Trump and Israel on Saturday morning.

It has prompted the closure of airspaces throughout the area, with international airways cancelling flights all through the Middle East and Dubai International Airport, the most important international aviation hub, suspending all journey.

Confirming the assaults, Donald Trump mentioned the US had launched “major combat operations”, geared toward “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime”, together with to forestall Iran from growing nuclear weapons.

The US President referred to as the regime “a vicious group of very hard, terrible people”, including that “its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.”

He mentioned: “Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror, and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested.

“It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again, they can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Which nations have been focused?

In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) mentioned it was focusing on all Israeli and US army bases within the Middle East with websites struck “by the powerful blows of Iranian missiles”.

“This operation will continue relentlessly until the enemy is decisively defeated,” it mentioned.

Explosions have been heard all through a number of areas throughout Iran, and army websites have been focused in Kermanshah, Qum, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Kara, in accordance with experiences.

In response to the assaults, Ebrahim Azizi, the top of the nationwide safety fee of the Iranian parliament, mentioned: “Now you have started down a path which end is no longer in your control.”

Israel was focused shortly after, with witnesses reporting explosions in Tel Aviv. The Israeli Defence Force mentioned it was “operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat.”

Iran has additionally launched a number of assaults on Doha, with a number of waves of blasts heard within the Qatari capital. Its overseas ministry mentioned it reserved the fitting to answer Iran.

The US Navy’s fifth Fleet service centre in Bahrain has additionally been subjected to a missile assault, in accordance with state media.

The UAE, which additionally homes US army bases, has reported a number of strikes, with one particular person killed in Abu Dhabi after its army intercepted Iranian missiles.

Reports of assaults have additionally been made in Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

Global airways have cancelled flights throughout the Middle East amid the battle, with airspaces over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain and Jordan empty early as flights have been diverted round it on Saturday.

The European Union’s aviation regulator really useful that its airways keep out of the airspace affected by the army intervention.