Israel launched a “pre-emptive” attack against Iran on Saturday, February 28, 2026, plunging the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation and further dimming hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran’s nuclear dispute with the West.
The United States military initiated a series of strikes against targets in Iran, two U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity. told Reuters.
The scope of the air and sea operations was not immediately clear. The campaign is expected to last for multiple days, said a U.S. official.
Iran was preparing a crushing retaliation, an Iranian official said.
President Donald Trump, who built up a vast U.S. military presence in the region to force Tehran to make concessions in nuclear talks, said in a recorded message shared on Truth Social that the U.S. launched a “massive and ongoing” operation against the Islamic Republic, vowing to ensure Tehran will not obtain a nuclear weapon.
On the issue of Iran’s ballistic missile programme, which was a significant sticking point in negotiations, Trump said Iran was developing long-range missiles that threaten the United States and others and threatened to raze their missile industry.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said.
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A source disclosed that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location.
The attack follows a 12-day air war in June between Israel and Iran and repeated U.S.-Israeli warnings that they would strike again if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
“The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Israel launched the attack against Muslim-majority Iran during Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting observed from dawn to sunset.
The strike also came ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which traditionally commemorates the salvation of Jews from annihilation in ancient Persia and which begins on Monday.
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