Long queues formed at gas stations, and many Iranians began heading out of cities in search of safety, witnesses said, as an attack by the United States and Israel on Iran spread fear and panic throughout the country.
Explosions rocked Tehran and columns of smoke rose into the sky on Saturday morning, shaking the city at the start of the Iranian working week. One man, speaking from the capital, said he was rushing to get his children from school.
"We are scared, we are terrified. My children are shaking, we have nowhere to go, we will die here," said Minou, a 32-year-old mother of two from the northern city of Tabriz, one of many areas where explosions were reported.
"What is going to happen to my children?" she said.
Iran's top security body said it expected attacks to continue in Tehran and some other cities, and therefore urged people to "travel to other cities where possible so that you may remain safe from the harm of these two regimes’ acts of aggression".
Schools and universities would be closed until further notice. The attack marks the latest for Iranians, just weeks after nationwide protests, and comes just eight months after last year's 12-day war with Israel, during which the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
US President Donald Trump said the operation would end a security threat to the United States. The Pentagon said that US strikes against Iran were named 'Operation Epic Fury.'
Security forces blocked roads in the area of Tehran, which is home to the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and parliament, witnesses said. The attacks came after the latest round of negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva on Thursday failed to secure a breakthrough over Tehran's nuclear programme, though Omani mediators had reported progress.
"They said the nuclear talks are going well. They fooled us again," said a resident of Tehran.
Western governments have long suspected Iran aims to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran has always denied this.
Witnesses said people were rushing to buy hard currency.
In Isfahan, another area where attacks were reported, some said they were unable to withdraw cash from ATMs.
Reza Saadati, 45, said he was taking his family to the city of Urumieh near the Turkish border. "If the border is open, we will cross and then fly to Istanbul," he said.
Mohammad Esmaili, 63, speaking from the town of Ilam, some 500 km from Tehran, said he would leave the town with his family.
A mother of three from Tehran said: "People are shocked, scared. What is going to happen to us? Save us, please."
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