The long‑running shadow conflict between Israel and Iran has burst into the open, after Israeli forces launched direct air and missile strikes on targets in and around Tehran, sending shockwaves through the Middle East and global markets alike.

Residents of the Iranian capital reported deafening blasts, shaking buildings and air‑raid sirens wailing across the city shortly after midnight. Social media filled with shaky videos of fireballs rising from the outskirts, anti‑aircraft tracers clawing at the sky and families sheltering in underground garages as secondary explosions echoed for minutes.

The IDF confirmed it had conducted “precision strikes on military infrastructure of the Iranian regime,” naming Revolutionary Guard command centers, drone depots and missile facilities as primary targets. Israeli officials insist the operation was a pre‑emptive response to what intelligence described as an imminent large‑scale attack on Israeli cities and energy infrastructure.

Tehran has denounced the assault as “naked aggression and a declaration of war,” claiming civilian casualties and vowing a “crushing, multi‑front” response through its missile forces and regional proxies. IRGC units have been placed on maximum alert, while allied militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen are signaling readiness to join the fight.

In Washington and European capitals, emergency meetings are under way as oil prices spike, airlines divert around Iranian airspace and diplomats warn that the conflict is now one miscalculation away from a region‑wide inferno. For millions watching live feeds from Tehran, Tel Aviv and the Gulf, one reality is clear: the era of limited, deniable strikes is over — the war everyone feared has fully arrived.