Five takeaways as Trump wages war on Iran

The United States and Israel launched waves of strikes Saturday morning against Iran after weeks of tensions between Washington and Tehran. 

Iran swiftly retaliated, firing drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, along with attacking targets in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. 

The joint mission, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” began shortly after midnight Saturday with strikes aimed at destroying Iran’s regime security apparatus and focusing on locations that posed an “imminent threat,” the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said. 

For weeks, President Trump has weighed authorizing strikes against Iran and on Friday said he was unhappy with the way nuclear talks with Iranian officials were unfolding. 

Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday morning that the regime “may have lost one of two commanders,” but that other high-ranking officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini, survived “as far as I know.” 

Here are the five takeaways: 

US, Israel target key government buildings and military assets

The U.S. and Israel began the large-scale operation at 1:15 a.m. ET, targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control facilities, ballistic missile and drone launch sites, military airfields and Iranian air defense systems.

The Israeli Air Force conducted the largest military flyover in the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) history, with over 200 jets striking Iran’s missile sites and the IRGC’s air defense systems in western and central Iran, the IDF said on Saturday. 

The joint mission killed more than 200 people in Iran and injured nearly 750, Iran’s Red Crescent said to Iranian state TV, adding that the strikes hit 24 out of the 31 provinces. 

One of the sites the Israeli Air Force targeted was a launching site of surface-to-surface missiles in Tabriz. The IDF said its forces hit more than 500 targets, including Iranian missile launchers and aerial defense systems.  

Thick, black smoke could be seen from a burning ship in Iran’s Kanarak naval base, according to satellite imagery provided by Vantor. Drones were dispersed and the runway was blocked at the Konarak drone strip. 

The U.S. military fired munitions from air, land and sea assets in the region, according the Centcom, which added that its Task Force Scorpion Strike used its low-cost, one-way attack drones for the first time in combat. 

Centcom said it was looking into reports that strikes hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, which Iranian officials said killed more than 80 students. 

“The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions........

© The Hill