Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei's Tehran offices reportedly targeted in joint Israel-US strikes — what we know so far

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Tehran offices were reportedly the target of the joint Israel-US strikes on Iran on Saturday.

According to the Associated Press (AP) report, citing state television, an explosion was reported in the area of Khamenei's offices. Roads to his compound in downtown Tehran had been shut down by authorities as other blasts rang out across the capital.

The Iranian officials, as quoted by a local daily, said that he was not in Tehran at the time of the strike and has been transferred to a secure location.

Khamenei hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States have grown.

More explosions struck Iran’s capital after Israel said it was attacking the country. Authorities have offered no casualty information from the strikes.

Iran has shut down its airspace and mobile phone services were cut. The warning to pilots came out as explosions rang out across Tehran, the Iranian capital.

Is the US participating in the attack?

The United States is participating in the strikes, a US official told the AP. However, it is not clear the full extent the American involvement.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the country's participation in the strike and said that its “objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

Trump shared his address to the nation in a Truth Social post and said, “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

“Iran attempted to rebuild its nuclear program; we are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” he added.

The attack comes as the US assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region to try to pressure Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.

Trump had wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests.

What did Israel say?

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the attack as being done “to remove threats.”

Several hospitals in Israel launched their emergency protocols, including moving patients and surgeries to underground facilities.

Sirens sounded across Israel at the same time as it closed its airspace. The Israeli military said that it had issued a “proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the state of Israel.”

Will Iran strike back?

Tehran is preparing for retaliation, an Iranian official told Reuters, adding that the response will be crushing. Iran had previously warned that American military personnel and bases spread across the region would be targets for any retaliation.

Iran had also said that it hopes to avert a war, but had maintained it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.