In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, the United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, marking one of the most significant military actions in the region in decades. President Donald Trump confirmed U.S. involvement via his Truth Social platform, declaring the start of “major combat operations” aimed at destroying Iran’s missile capabilities and preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Strikes Begin
The joint operation — codenamed Operation Roaring Lion by Israel and Operation Epic Fury by the U.S. Department of Defense — targeted multiple Iranian cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the assault as a “pre-emptive attack” intended to “remove threats to the State of Israel,” while seven missiles were confirmed to have struck the district of Tehran where Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei normally resides, along with the presidential palace and National Security Council.
Trump addressed the nation with unambiguous resolve, vowing: “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground”. He also called on members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to lay down their arms, warning that refusal would mean “certain death,” while telling the Iranian people that “your hour of freedom is at hand”.
Iran Strikes Back
Iran did not wait long to retaliate. The IRGC announced that a first wave of retaliatory missile and drone attacks had been launched against Israel. The IDF confirmed it was actively intercepting the incoming missiles. Meanwhile, rocket attacks also targeted a U.S. military base in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, signaling Iran’s intent to strike American interests across the broader region.
According to Iran International, thousands of IRGC personnel were reported killed or wounded as several military bases were struck, and the port city of Bushehr was also hit — though it remained unclear whether the nuclear reactor there sustained damage.
Background and Road to War
The strikes did not emerge from a vacuum. As far back as January 23, 2026, Trump announced a U.S. “armada” was heading to the Middle East, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and guided-missile destroyers. Washington had presented Iran with three core demands: a permanent end to all uranium enrichment, strict limits on its ballistic missile program, and a complete halt to support for regional proxy groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Iran rejected all three.
Earlier in the same week as the strikes, indirect talks between the two sides over Iran’s nuclear program were still underway, with Trump warning that if diplomacy failed, the U.S. had the capability to react “with speed and violence, if necessary”. This is the second time in less than 12 months that U.S. forces have struck Iran — in June 2025, during what came to be known as the “12 Day War,” the U.S. joined Israel in strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, after which Iran struck an American base in Qatar before a ceasefire was reached.
Symbolic Timing
CNN noted that the timing of the attacks carries symbolic significance in Judaism, as they were launched ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 2 — a holiday that itself commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from a Persian (Iranian) threat.
This latest offensive represents a calculated and consequential shift in U.S. policy toward Iran. Unlike past “maximum pressure” campaigns that relied on sanctions and proxy posturing, the Trump administration has now committed American military forces to a direct, declared war footing. Trump openly acknowledged that U.S. casualties are possible, framing the mission as a sacrifice for future security. Whether this intervention leads to a rapid degradation of Iran’s military apparatus or a protracted regional war remains the defining question. Iran’s swift retaliation suggests that Tehran is neither willing to capitulate nor to absorb the strikes without response — raising the specter of a wider conflict that could draw in U.S. allies and adversaries across the entire Middle East.
