President Donald Trump of the United States says the US air strikes are aimed at ending a decades-long threat from Iran and ensuring it cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
Trump said this on his Truth Social as he sought to justify a risky gambit that seemed to contradict his professed opposition to American involvement in complex overseas conflicts.
This is coming shortly after the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed and his body found.
“This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, Israel has said that it launched another wave of strikes on Iran on Sunday, as Iranians grappled with uncertainty after the killing of their supreme leader in the US and Israeli attacks that threaten to destabilize the wider Middle East.
Israel’s military said it targeted Iran’s ballistic missile and air defense systems with strikes on Sunday morning.
Iran’s armed forces would soon retaliate again with their biggest offensive against U.S. bases and Israel, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed in a statement on Sunday.
Shortly after 6 a.m., air raid sirens repeatedly sounded across Israel, warning residents of an incoming attack.
In Tel Aviv, a series of explosions were heard as Israel’s sophisticated air defense system sought to intercept the latest Iranian offensive. There was no immediate report of any damage or injuries.
However, Iran had responded to Saturday’s initial attacks by launching hundreds of missiles and drones targeting US troops and cities in Israel and Arab countries allied with Washington, prompting widespread cancellations of Middle East flights.
