By Asiye Latife Yilmaz
ISTANBUL (AA) - As explosions rocked Tehran and Israel announced "preemptive" strikes against Iran, US President Donald Trump also confirmed launching "major combat operations" in the Islamic republic.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social account.
The president vowed to destroy Iran's missiles, raze its missile industry to the ground and annihilate the navy, reiterating that it cannot have a nuclear weapon.
“We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated,” Trump said.
The attacks come as talks over Iran’s nuclear program have been ongoing under Oman’s mediation. A new round of talks in Geneva ended on Thursday.
Last June, the US struck three Iranian nuclear sites towards the end of the 12-day Israel-Iran war.