Middle East crisis Iran war

Loud bangs heard in several major cities in the Middle East

Powerful explosions were heard in several places in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, witnesses told Reuters and AFP. It is unclear whether any targets were hit, and if so, which ones.

Local authorities in Dubai say the sounds are from air defenses shooting down incoming projectiles.

At the same time, a high-ranking commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard says that Iran intends to strike all major economic centers in the region if their own major cities are attacked. 

Trump contradicts Rubio: “I pushed Israel”

The United States attacked Iran because it was perceived that the Iranians themselves were about to attack. Donald Trump said this during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is visiting the White House, according to Reuters.

– If anything, it was me who pushed Israel, he says.

This contradicts what Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday, namely that the US attacked Iran because Israel was about to do so and there was a fear of retaliation against US forces in the region.

Trump also claims that "everything in Iran has been knocked out" and that another attack was carried out today against Iran's leadership. He does not specify, but according to several media outlets, a government building in Qom was bombed today where 88 members of Iran's Assembly of Experts had gathered to elect a successor to Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iranian government building bombed: "Wanted to prevent them from electing a new leader"

A government building in Qom, Iran has been completely destroyed in an airstrike, state media reports. Sky News has verified video footage taken after the attack.

The building belonged to the council that will select the country's new supreme leader after the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. The council has a building in Tehran and one in Qom, which has now been destroyed.

An Israeli defense source told Axios that the airstrike took place as votes were being counted.

“We wanted to prevent them from electing a new supreme leader,” the source said.

It is unclear how many of the council’s 88 members were present at the time.