Iran Red Crescent says attacks hit more than 20 provinces

The Israeli military said it spent months preparing its campaign of simultaneous airstrikes targeting senior Iranian political and military officials at several locations in Tehran on Saturday.

The plan included a major intelligence effort to “identify an operational opportunity at the moment when senior regime officials would convene,” the military said. A decision was made to strike in the morning rather than at night despite Iranian preparedness, and the army said it succeeded in “achieving tactical surprise for the second time,” referring to its strikes during the June 2025 war.

Intelligence officers spent thousands of hours compiling targets, increasing their number “by hundreds of percent,” and conducted research “in parallel with precise location tracking of Iranian commanders and senior leadership,” the military said. It added that US confidence in Israel’s “intelligence and operational capabilities” was a significant factor in Washington’s decision to join the operation.

Satellite imagery published by a New York Times reporter shows destruction at the compound of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran following an Israeli airstrike.

Khamenei was among several senior Iranian leaders targeted in Israeli military strikes earlier in the day, according to an Israeli official, though the outcome of the strike remains unclear.

Air raid sirens sounded in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain in the early hours, news agencies reported.

Iran’s Guards said they had begun an operation dubbed “True Promise 4.”

In Qatar, a government official told Agence France-Presse that air defenses intercepted an Iranian missile, adding that US-made Patriot systems destroyed the projectile.

Qatar hosts the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the region. Qatar’s Interior Ministry later said the attack caused no damage.

Bahrain said a facility linked to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet had been targeted in a missile attack, according to a statement carried by the country’s national communications center, without giving further details.

Kuwait’s military said it had dealt with missiles in its airspace, state news agency KUNA reported.

Jordan’s military said it had shot down two ballistic missiles targeting the country.

Residents in Abu Dhabi told AFP they heard loud explosions, and the UAE state news agency said one person was killed after Emirati forces intercepted Iranian missiles.

The UAE condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty and international law and said it reserved the right to respond.

Explosions were also reported in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, according to AFP. Saudi authorities did not immediately comment.

An air strike targeted an Iraqi military base hosting a pro-Iran militia, causing casualties, a security official and sources within the Popular Mobilisation Forces told AFP on Saturday.

The strike hit the Jurf al-Sakher base, used by the PMF and largely hosting Kataeb Hezbollah, the sources said, with Hezbollah-aligned al-Mayadeen reporting at least two killed and five wounded.

Iran’s airspace was largely empty of civilian aircraft on Saturday following joint US and Israeli strikes, according to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, as several countries in the region closed their skies and major airlines canceled flights.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq were among countries that shut their airspace, while airlines suspended services to destinations across the Middle East amid escalating tensions.

Germany’s Lufthansa said it would suspend flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman through March 7, and halt flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday. Dutch carrier KLM canceled its scheduled Amsterdam-Tel Aviv flight for Saturday.

Air France said it would cancel flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut planned for Feb. 28. Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air suspended all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until March 7.

Air Arabia said it had canceled flights to Iran, Iraq and other destinations in the region.