The Middle East has crossed a point of no return. In a dramatic late‑night statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Israel has carried out a direct strike on Tehran, declaring that “the era of immunity for the Iranian regime is over.” Within minutes, social media filled with the first shaky phone videos: fireballs over the capital, air‑defense tracers clawing at the sky, and distant booms rattling apartment blocks.

According to Israeli officials, the operation targeted Revolutionary Guard command facilities and advanced missile sites on the outskirts of Tehran, launched from a mix of long‑range aircraft and stand‑off precision weapons. Katz insisted the attack was a “pre‑emptive act of self‑defense” after intelligence allegedly showed Iran preparing a massive missile and drone barrage on Israeli cities.

Iranian state TV has branded the strike a “cowardly act of war,” claiming civilian casualties and vowing “total, crushing retaliation” not only against Israel but any country that “assisted or hosted” the operation. Sirens have sounded in Tel Aviv and Haifa amid fears of incoming missiles, while U.S. bases across the region have gone to maximum alert.

At the UN, emergency meetings are under way as energy markets spike and airlines begin rerouting flights away from Iranian airspace. But on the streets of Tehran and Jerusalem, there is only one reality: the long‑feared, shadowy conflict between Israel and Iran has burst fully into the open — and no one yet knows where the next strike will land.