DUBAI, Feb. 28 -- 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 to Reuters 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?,...