Russia and Iran have deepened cooperation in recent years, with Tehran supplying drones and other military equipment used by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.

The US has launched “major combat operations” in Iran, designed to eliminate “imminent threats” from the country’s regime, Donald Trump announced on Saturday. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks aimed to “remove the existential threat” posed by the Iranian regime.

Iran’s military capabilities were badly degraded by 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes last year. But analysts say it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies in response to another U.S.

U.S. allies and adversaries responded to the joint attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran with concern over the risks of a new war in the Middle East.

Reactions from world leaders poured out early Saturday after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. The initiation of “Operation Epic Fury,” which came after weeks of threats from President Trump over the Middle Eastern nation’s nuclear program,

The United States has launched 'major combat operations' against Iran, President Trump said. Israeli forces also struck Iranian sites.

Two Russian cargo planes just pulled the classic “nothing to see here” move over Iran. They slipped into Iranian airspace, deliberately turned off their transponders, disappeared from public tracking,

Iran on Thursday held military drills with Russia amid escalating tensions with the United States, after President Trump gave the Middle Eastern country a 10-day timeline for the U.S. and Iran to strike a deal over the latter’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning that the US and Israel had launched an attack on Iran, saying the goal was to eliminate an “imminent threat” from Iran, “raze their missile industry to the ground” and “annihilate their navy,” and for Iranians to overthrow their government.