President Trump officially announced that the US military has begun "large-scale combat operations" in Iran.
In this way, he confirmed the information that the Israeli attacks on Tehran were coordinated with the United States.
He posted an eight-minute video on Truth Social.
"Iran has attempted to rebuild its nuclear program and is developing long-range missiles that threaten the United States and other countries. We will destroy Iran's missiles and dismantle its missile industry. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. They will never have nuclear weapons. I will repeat it - they will never have nuclear weapons."
"We will eliminate the threat posed by the brutal Iranian regime. Our goal is to protect the American people by eliminating the threat posed by the Iranian regime," Trump declared.
Nuclear program
The escalation comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.
News of Israel's preemptive strike on Iran comes after the United States and Iran resumed talks in February in an attempt to resolve the decades-long dispute over Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs through diplomacy and avert the threat of a military confrontation that could destabilize the region.
However, Israel insists that any agreement between the US and Iran include dismantling Tehran's entire nuclear infrastructure, not just halting the uranium enrichment process, and is pressuring Washington to include the issue of restrictions on Iran's missile program in the negotiations.
Iran has said it is ready to discuss restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions imposed on it so far, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.
Tehran has also said it will defend itself against any attack. It has warned neighboring countries hosting US troops that it will take action against US bases if Washington strikes Iran.
In June, the United States joined an Israeli military campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities, the most direct American military intervention yet against the Islamic Republic. In response, Tehran fired missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar, the largest such base in the Middle East.
Western powers warn that Iran's ballistic missile program threatens regional stability and could be used to deliver nuclear weapons if developed. Tehran denies seeking to build an atomic bomb
