The United States and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes against Iran on Saturday following weeks of warnings from President Donald Trump regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, dramatically escalating tensions across the Middle East.

According to reports, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike conducted with U.S. backing. Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed his death.

Israeli and American forces began the operation with a series of air and missile strikes targeting key Iranian sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the purpose of the joint campaign was to quote “remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.”

In a video message, Netanyahu added: “Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”

A person briefed on the military effort said the campaign was expected to continue for several days, with Israel’s armed forces concentrating on dismantling Iran’s missile infrastructure.

President Trump addressed the operation in a video posted to Truth Social at 2:30 a.m. ET, describing what he called “major combat operations” that are “massive and ongoing” in Iran. He said the mission was aimed at “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats” from Iran.

The attacks followed a week of indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear activities. A third round of talks on Thursday involving Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner did not produce a diplomatic breakthrough.

According to individuals familiar with the operation, the strikes specifically targeted Iran’s top leadership, including Khamenei and the Iranian president, in what was described as an attempt to eliminate them. Trump later announced on social media that Khamenei had been killed, stating that he could not evade U.S. intelligence and surveillance capabilities. Sources briefed on the matter said Israeli assessments concluded that Khamenei had been struck, and NPR later reported being told by a person informed about the strike that he had died.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that one of the U.S.-Israeli strikes hit a girls school, killing at least 53 young female students and injuring dozens more.

In the aftermath of the operation, Trump urged Iranian civilians to act against their leadership. He encouraged innocent Iranians to “take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations” once what the Pentagon is calling “Operation Epic Fury” concludes. Trump has previously cited the Iranian regime’s treatment of protesters as a potential justification for U.S. military action.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the airstrikes as a “gross violation” of national sovereignty and vowed a forceful response.

Regional fallout followed quickly. The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry reported that Iranian ballistic missiles targeted the country, which hosts U.S. forces at multiple bases.

Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan were all reportedly targeted by Iranian missiles. Each of those countries hosts American troops. Bahrain’s government said the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet service center in Manama was struck, while other nations reported intercepting incoming missiles. The UAE said debris from a missile interception killed an Asian migrant worker. Loud explosions were reported over Dubai by a correspondent on the ground.