President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday (local time) that the United States had launched a major military strike against Iran, declaring "We just began significant combat operations inside Iran."
Iran, which suffered the preemptive attack, warned it would retaliate against Israel, which joined the assault, as well as American assets abroad.
"Our goal is to protect the American people by eliminating the imminent threat from Iran," Trump said in an eight-minute video posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
"We considered and attempted negotiations multiple times," he said. "Iran would appear willing to negotiate, but as they have for decades, they refused to negotiate and abandon their nuclear ambitions."
After citing past Iranian terrorist attacks against the United States, Trump stated, "It was Iran's proxy Hamas that carried out the horrific attack on Israel on October 7, massacring more than 1,000 innocent people including 46 American citizens and taking 12 American citizens hostage."
"Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and recently murdered tens of thousands of its own citizens in the streets during protests," Trump said. "They are trying to rebuild their nuclear program and develop long-range missiles that could threaten Europe, our friend and ally, and US forces stationed abroad—and soon could reach the American homeland."
"We will destroy their missiles, completely devastate their industrial facilities, and annihilate their navy," Trump declared. "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military, and police will face certain death if they do not lay down all their weapons tonight."
Iran signaled massive retaliation. An Iranian official told Reuters that Iran is preparing to respond to the attack. Tehran has previously warned it would strike Israel, US military assets in the Middle East, and allied infrastructure if attacked.
Iran has also raised the possibility of blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world's oil passes. An escalating US-Iran conflict risks further destabilizing global security already shaken by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, while threatening severe damage to the world economy.
Trump had previously prioritized diplomatic solutions while keeping military options open, but his announcement marked a definitive breakdown in negotiations.
The United States had deployed two carrier strike groups and a large contingent of fighter jets to the Middle East while conducting three rounds of nuclear negotiations with Iran through Switzerland and Oman.