How the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran

The United States and Israel have launched strikes on Iran.

US President Donald Trump described the strikes as a “major act” and called on the Iranian regime to disarm.

Earlier, Israel’s defense minister said Israel had launched an “attack on Iran”, with explosions heard across the country.

This comes after weeks of threats and attempts to reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

Here’s what we know:

What happened in Iran?

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. local time, media in Tehran reported hearing explosions in the capital.

The BBC showed smoke rising from Jomhouri Square and Hassan Abbas Square.

Explosions were also reported in other cities in the country, including Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah. It is not yet known what damage the attacks caused.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said Iranian airspace had been closed since the first reports of the attack.

Trump described the incident as “serious and ongoing.”

What was Iran’s response?

Israel said it had detected that Iran had fired missiles at its territory, but said it was working “to intercept them and strike targets it considers a threat.”

Loud explosions were heard in the Israeli city of Haifa and other areas, but it was unclear whether the missiles hit the cities or were the sounds of them being fired.

In the Middle East, Bahrain’s state news agency reported that “missiles were fired” at the US Fifth Fleet operations center in the country.

The move comes after the country’s interior ministry said a state of emergency had been declared, urging residents to remain calm but to seek shelter in the nearest safe havens.

Qatar’s security forces said they had “succeeded in thwarting an attack”, state media reported after reports of explosions in the capital, Doha.

The country is home to the US air base at Al Udeida, the largest in the Middle East.

Israelis have been warned against gathering in one place and have been warned not to go to school or work unless absolutely necessary.

Authorities said the restrictions would remain in place until 8pm on Monday.

Israeli media also said all commercial flights had been grounded across the country.

Regional flights suspended

A number of major airlines have suspended flights to parts of the Middle East.

German airline Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, as well as to major cities in Israel, Lebanon and Oman, until March 7.

Wizz Air also suspended flights to Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman in Jordan until March 7.

Virgin Atlantic said it would temporarily suspend flights over Iraqi airspace, and cancelled its London-Dubai flight on Saturday.

Kuwait Airways said it would suspend all flights to Iran until further notice.

Other countries in the region – including Iraq and Jordan – have also closed their airspace. The United Arab Emirates said it had “temporarily closed part of its airspace” to conduct reconnaissance, according to the country’s state media.