Iran fires back at US bases across Middle East after Trump confirms combat operations

The United States and Israel launched coordinated and large-scale military strikes against Iran on Saturday, February 28, 2026, in an operation designated “Operation Epic Fury” by the United States Pentagon and “Lion’s Roar” by the Israel Defense Forces. United States President Donald Trump announced in a video address posted to Truth Social at approximately 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time that the United States had begun “major combat operations” in Iran, marking the largest military intervention of Trump’s second presidential term and the second direct United States military offensive against Iranian territory within eight months.

The joint offensive targeted Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, nuclear program facilities, senior military commanders, and senior political leadership, including Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to United States and Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately confirmed whether any senior Iranian officials were killed. Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told NBC News early Saturday that Khamenei and Iran’s president were alive “as far as I know.”

What were the stated objectives of the United States and Israel in launching Operation Epic Fury against Iran on February 28, 2026?

President Trump stated in his eight-minute video address that the objective of the military operation was to defend the American people by eliminating what he described as imminent threats from the Iranian regime. Trump declared that the United States would destroy Iran’s missile industry, obliterate its missile program, and annihilate Iran’s navy. Trump also stated that the United States would ensure Iran’s proxies could no longer destabilise the Middle East and that Iran would not obtain a nuclear weapon. Trump called on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to surrender, offering immunity to those who complied and warning of “certain death” for those who did not.

In a broader statement of intent that went beyond conventional military objectives, Trump urged the Iranian people to take shelter during the strikes and then to “take over your government” when operations concluded, stating that the moment would be “probably your only chance for generations.” In a brief telephone interview with The Washington Post conducted after the video address, Trump stated that his goal was “freedom for the people” of Iran, adding: “All I want is a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s participation and stated that Israel and the United States had “embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,” thanking Trump for what Netanyahu called “historic leadership” and stating the joint operation would last “as long as needed.”

How did Operation Epic Fury relate to prior United States and Israeli military action against Iran’s nuclear program in 2025?

The February 28, 2026 operation was the second direct United States military strike against Iranian territory under President Trump. In June 2025, Trump directed United States forces to strike three Iranian nuclear facility sites in a joint operation with Israel. A subsequent United States intelligence assessment concluded that Iran’s nuclear program had been set back only by a matter of months, contradicting Trump’s public assertions that the program had been “completely and fully obliterated.” Trump subsequently cited Iran’s continued nuclear development as justification for the February 2026 strikes, stating the program had been rebuilt since the June 2025 attacks.

The strikes on February 28, 2026, came precisely as Trump’s stated 10-day deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear agreement expired. The United States and Iran had been engaged in diplomatic negotiations conducted in Switzerland and Oman in the weeks preceding the attack. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, a key mediator in those talks, had traveled to Washington on Friday, February 27, 2026, to meet United States Vice President JD Vance in what appeared to be a final diplomatic intervention. Al-Busaidi stated on Saturday that “active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined” and urged the United States not to “get sucked in further.”

Where did Iran’s retaliatory strikes land and which United States military installations and allied countries were targeted?

Iran retaliated rapidly following the commencement of Operation Epic Fury. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had launched a “first wave” of drones and ballistic missiles targeting Israel, prompting the Israel Defense Forces to activate air raid alerts across several Israeli regions and direct the Israeli Air Force to begin interception operations. Israeli officials reported only light injuries in Israel from the initial Iranian retaliatory strikes.

Iranian missiles and drones also struck or targeted United States military installations and allied government facilities across the Middle East region, including in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain’s government confirmed that a missile attack targeted the headquarters of the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain and serves as the command centre for United States naval operations across the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Oman.

The United States Embassy in Bahrain announced it would close on Sunday, March 1, 2026, citing ongoing Iranian missile strikes, and cancelled all consular appointments. In Jordan, the Jordanian government stated it had intercepted and downed 49 Iranian drones and ballistic missiles. In the United Arab Emirates, one person was killed by shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, according to the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency, representing the first confirmed fatality attributed to Iranian retaliatory strikes. A prominent hotel in Dubai was also struck. Saudi Arabia reported Iranian strikes targeting its capital, Riyadh, and its eastern region, which Saudi officials said were repelled.

A senior United States official stated that as of 7:10 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, there were no confirmed American casualties at United States military installations in the region.

What was the scale of Iranian civilian casualties reported on February 28, 2026, and what is known about the reported school strike in Minab?

Iranian state media, citing the Iranian Red Crescent, reported that at least 201 people had been killed across 24 Iranian provinces as a result of United States and Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026. Iranian media additionally reported that an Israeli airstrike struck a girls’ primary school in the southern Iranian county of Minab. Saturday is the first day of the Iranian school and work week. The local Iranian prosecutor’s office reported at least 85 children killed, with additional victims reported to still be buried under rubble at the time of reporting. The Israel Defense Forces stated they were examining the reports. International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said the military escalation was “igniting a dangerous chain reaction across the region, with potentially devastating consequences for civilians.” NPR stated it had requested comment from Israeli and United States officials on the reported school strike. NBC News said it was not immediately able to independently confirm the strike or the associated casualty figures.

How did United States congressional leaders and international governments respond to the launch of Operation Epic Fury?

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted all eight congressional Gang of Eight leaders before the strikes to provide advance notification. A White House official confirmed Rubio reached seven of the eight congressional leaders, with one unreachable. The United States Department of Defense notified the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee after strikes had commenced, a sequence that prompted immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, stated that Trump had moved forward without seeking congressional authorisation despite acknowledging that “American heroes may be lost,” and characterised the action as raising “serious legal and constitutional concerns.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that the president must “seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota praised the operation as “a bold, decisive act of strength.”

Internationally, French President Emmanuel Macron stated the conflict carried “grave consequences” for international peace and security, calling the ongoing escalation “dangerous for all.” Egypt, a United States ally, warned the strikes could spark further regional conflicts. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stated it reserved its “full right” to defend itself following what it described as Iranian aggression targeting Qatari territory. The Houthi movement in Yemen, which had been aligned with Iran and had previously suspended attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping, vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel in response to the joint strikes.

Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, a United States-based opposition figure and son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, addressed the Iranian public and military through social media, urging Iran’s security and military forces to “join the people and help bring about a stable and secure transition” and simultaneously asking Trump to “exercise the utmost caution to preserve the lives of civilians.”

Several senior United States national security advisers, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine, had privately cautioned Trump against the operation due to the risk of entanglement in a prolonged conflict without a defined end state, according to Axios reporting published on Saturday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes a “gross violation” of Iranian national sovereignty and a violation of the United Nations Charter. Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi characterised the action as “wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate” and contacted the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq, warning those governments not to permit the United States or Israel to use their facilities or territory to conduct further strikes against Iran.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had monitored the situation overnight from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and had spoken with Netanyahu. Leavitt stated that Trump and his national security team would “continue to closely monitor the situation throughout the day.”

What does Operation Epic Fury mean for Iran, the United States, Israel, and the broader Middle East region?

• The United States and Israel launched joint military strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, in an operation called “Operation Epic Fury,” targeting Iran’s ballistic missile program, nuclear facilities, and senior military and political leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian.

• President Trump declared “major combat operations” in Iran and stated an explicit objective of facilitating regime change by urging the Iranian public to seize control of their government once strikes concluded, representing a stated policy objective beyond military degradation alone.

• Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and at United States military installations and allied facilities in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, resulting in at least one civilian fatality in Abu Dhabi and damage across the region.

• Iranian state media reported at least 201 people killed across 24 Iranian provinces, including a reported Israeli airstrike on a girls’ primary school in southern Iran’s Minab county with at least 85 children reported killed, figures that had not been independently verified by international media as of Saturday.

• United States Democratic lawmakers, French President Emmanuel Macron, Oman’s Foreign Ministry, and the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the escalation, with multiple parties warning of severe humanitarian consequences and the risk of broader regional conflict.