Iran news and live updates: Donald Trump confirms United States and Israel attack on sites in Tehran

Two officials with different Iran-backed militias in Iraq told The Associated Press that a meeting took place two months ago between Iranian officials and allied Iraqi militias to make plans for a response in case Iran was attacked, including distributing tasks among the Iraqi armed groups.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly.

One of the officials said it was decided that the response would target US forces and interests in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region and in neighboring Jordan.

U.S. troops have vacated bases where they were previously stationed in Iraq in areas under the control of the central government in Baghdad. This followed an agreement to end the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, but U.S. forces remain in the Kurdish region.

This just in from Associated Press:

Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the capital of the United Arab Emirates killed one person Saturday, state media said.

The state-run WAM news agency reported the fatality, the first known in the Iranian counterattack following the United States and Israeli launching a major airstrike campaign targeting Iran.

Trump repeated claims in his video - made in his State of Union address on February 24 - that Iran continues to develop long-range missiles that can threaten Europe “and could soon reach the American homeland”.

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei responded to that speech remark by accusing the US and Israel of “sinister disinformation” and “simply the repetition of big lies”.

According to the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general (ret.) Rahim Noei Aghdam said in a speech in October that Iran had intercontinential ballistic missiles with ranges of 13,000-23,000km.

The distance from Tehran to Washington is about 10,200km.

Newswires AP and Reuters report that Iran has a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting its range to 2000km.

That puts all of the Middle East and some of eastern Europe in its range.

Perth Airport has confirmed the VA21 Perth–Doha flight that departed at about 4.30pm will now return.

“As these decisions are made by the airlines, we recommend passengers should check with their airlines and visit the Federal Government’s Smartraveller website for the latest travel advice,” a spokesperson said.

Qatar Airways then confirmed the temporary suspension of its flights to and from Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

“The airline is working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support impacted passengers and will resume operations when the airspace re-opens,” it said.

A screenshot from aviation tracking website Flight Radar 24 shows how clear the air space is over Iran right now.

Commercial planes are iunderstandably avoiding the arera in droves, despite some busy activity at nearby centres such as Bahrain and Dubai.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says: “Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against opression”.

In a statement released a short time ago, Mr Albanese said for decades the Iranian regime had been a destabilising force “through its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, support for armed proxies and brutal acts of violence and intimidation”.

He said the Federal Government supported the actions in Iran.

“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security.”

The headquarters of US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain has been attacked, according to the National Communication Centre.

“The service centre of the Fifth Fleet has been subjected to a missile attack.”

The Bahraini interior ministry urged residents and citizens “to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place” as sirens sounded.

“MOI assures all citizens and residents that the relevant authorities in Bahrain are making every effort to address the current situation. It calls upon everyone to remain calm & avoid circulating rumours.”

Reuters reports the first apparent strike happened near the 86-year-old Khamenei’s offices, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether he was in them at the time.

He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States intensified.

However, a source told the newswie Khamenei was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location.

Israel Defense Forces has released another statement, saying Operation Roaring Lion will “thoroughly degrade the Iranian terrorist regime and to remove existential threats to Israel over time”.

“The Iranian regime has not abandoned its plan to destroy Israel. The regime has continued financing, training, and arming its proxies positioned on Israel’s borders. These actions constitute an existential threat to Israel and pose a danger to the Middle East and the world as a whole.”

Locals are running for cover as sirens sound in the Israel city of Tel Aviv following Iran’s retaliation strikes.