[AFP]The United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes against targets in Iranian cities on Saturday triggering explosions and columns of smoke in the capital Tehran. Trump said Washington's goal was "eliminating imminent threats" from Iran, and Israel's defence minister Israel Katz described the action as a "preventive strike". Iran, Iraq and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic once the strikes were underway, and the US embassies in Qatar and Bahrain urged US citizens to take shelter. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel for talks on Iran on Monday, the State Department said. 'Very big problem'Trump in his State of the Union address Tuesday alleged Iran was developing missiles that could strike the United States.

Source: Standard Digital February 28, 2026 16:19 UTC