The US-Israeli strikes launched on Iran Saturday could become an extended operation, with strategic goals both multiple and complex -- aiming to decapitate the Islamic republic and eviscerate its security capabilities.

In the 12-day war in June last year, the Israelis, backed by the Americans, carried out targeted strikes aimed at destroying key Iranian nuclear sites.

This time "we are embarking on an operation that is unfolding on a completely different scale, more complex and more complicated" than in June, Israel's army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned.

On a visit to Texas on Friday, US President Donald Trump gave a raucous speech on the economy and then stopped off at a fast food joint.

"Hamburgers for everyone!" Trump declared to cheering customers at the Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, before the 47th president left clutching a bag with the order number 47.

Nine hours later, in the dead of night, Trump announced from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that he had ordered the start of a major attack against Iran.

MILAN, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto was stuck in Dubai with his family on Saturday as flights were suspended after U.S and Israeli attacks on Iran, a source close to the ministry said on Saturday.

The minister left Rome on Friday evening aboard a civilian flight to join his family, already in Dubai on holiday. He was scheduled to return to Italy on Saturday afternoon.

The Italian carrier ITA Airways said it had suspended flights to and from Dubai until Sunday.

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, plunging the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation.

Tehran responded by launching missiles at Israel and called the strikes against it unprovoked and illegal.

Below is international reaction to the attacks:

UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES

By Matt Spetalnick, Andrea Shalal and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - With his large-scale attack on Iran, Donald Trump has seized a legacy-defining moment to demonstrate his readiness to exercise raw U.S. military power. But in doing so, he is also taking the biggest foreign policy gamble of his presidency, one fraught with risks and unknowns.

Trump joined with Israel on Saturday to plunge into war with Iran, providing little explanation to the American public for what could become the biggest U.S. military campaign since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

VIENNA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday it had seen no "radiological impact" from U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran or retaliatory strikes in other countries in the region, though it did not say whether Iranian nuclear sites had been targeted.

"The IAEA is closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, and urges restraint to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region," the International Atomic Energy Agency said on X. "The IAEA is in permanent contact with countries in the region, so far no evidence of any radiological impact."

Explosions rocked Dubai's Palm Jumeirah man-made island and drone debris caused a fire at the Burj Al Arab ultra-luxury hotel as waves of Iranian missiles targeted the UAE on Saturday, authorities said.

Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international traffic, and Jebel Ali seaport also suffered damage as the unprecedented attacks hit some of the city's major landmarks and revenue-earners.

Two witnesses on the Palm -- an upscale, palm tree-shaped residential and leisure development -- heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from a five-star hotel.

By Erin Banco

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - In the run-up to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Saturday, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency assessed that even if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the operation, he would likely be replaced by hardline figures from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), two sources briefed on the intelligence said.

By Parisa Hafezi

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Among the first targets in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday was the headquarters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an inveterate foe of the West who has crushed internal opposition while supporting proxy forces across the region.

A source with knowledge of the matter said Khamenei had been transferred in advance to a secure location outside Tehran, but Reuters could not immediately verify his status, as satellite images showed significant damage to his Tehran compound.

Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will meet on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, plunging the Middle East into a new conflict.

U.N. diplomats said the 15-member body would meet at 4 p.m. local time in New York (2100 GMT). The meeting will be chaired by Britain, which holds the monthly council presidency.

Russia's U.N. mission said Russia and China requested an emergency meeting "in connection with the unprovoked act of armed aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran."