Israel launches preventive strike against Iran, Khamenei not in Tehran

Israel has launched a preemptive attack on Iran and declared a state of emergency, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Saturday. An Israeli security source says the attack under way in Iran is a joint US-Israel operation, Israel’s Channel 12 reports. The unconfirmed report says one of the targets is an Iranian presidential facility. It cites Iranian opposition reports that homes of Iranian leaders are being targeted. The office of Iran's Supreme Leader, the main headquarters of Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran, has been targeted in an attack on Saturday. Khamenei is not in Tehran and has been transferred to a secure location, Reuters reported citing an Iranian official. US strikes against Iran are being carried out by air and sea, a US official tells Reuters. 

ISRAEL LAUNCH ‘PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE’ ON TEHRAN — RT EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE pic.twitter.com/UOmD66Mk1Q

— RT (@RT_com) February 28, 2026

The source says Israel is going “all out” in this operation, and the US is “on the same page.” The source also says the “initial phase” of the joint attack is planned to last for four days. US President Donald Trump has said he was “not happy” with the progress of recent US negotiations with Iran, that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons and that it should not have uranium enrichment capabilities. He said Friday that “sometimes you have to” use force.
⁠Iraq's ​transport ​ministry said ​it ‌closed ⁠the country's national ‌airspace after ⁠Israel launched what its ​defence ‌minister said ‌was ​a pre-emptive attack against Iran, according to the country's state ​news ​agency. Thousands of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been killed or wounded following attacks on several military centers and positions, the semi-official ISNA reported.