The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, reported that his government is not involved in the attacks launched by Israel against Iran in Friday early (local time).
“Tonight, Israel undertook a uniltareal action against Iran. We do not participate in attacks against Iran and our top priority is to protect US forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement issued by the White House.
“Israel informed us that this action is necessary for his own defense. President Donald Trump and the government have taken all necessary measures to protect our forces and maintain close contact with US regional partners,” he added.
“Let’s be clear: Iran should not attack the interests or personnel of the United States,” he said.
The attacks are being directed to the Iranian capital, Tehran, according to Israel Katz, Minister of Israeli.
Katz said that Israel is under emergency and said the country provides for reprisals.
In Jerusalem, residents woke up with sirens followed by a telephone alert.
The attacks are target Iran’s nuclear program and other military objectives, according to an Israeli official.
Until now, President Trump has not referred directly to the attacks.
The BBC correspondent in the White House, Bernd Debusmann Jr., said that before the start of the bombings, the president said he still did not want to see any Israeli attack in Iran.
“While I think there may be an agreement, I don’t want it to be made [el ataque]”, He said, adding that any offensive could ruin the ongoing negotiations.
However, he warned that he believed that an attack was “quite close.”
“I don’t want to say it is imminent,” he said about a possible Israeli attack. “But it seems something that could happen well.”
Referring to Iran, Trump said that “they will have to be willing to give us some things that are not willing to give us right now.”
All flights at the main Tehran International Airport have been suspended, according to Iranian state media.
From Jerusalem, the BBC correspondent in the Middle East Jo Floto said that a senior Israeli military officer declared that Iran has enough material to create nuclear bombs “in a matter of days.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamín Netanyahu announced that the attacks are part of the Ascending León operation.
This is “a military operation aimed at counteracting the Iranian threat to Israel’s own survival. This operation will continue during the days that are necessary,” he said.
“If you don’t stop, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time,” he added.