BREAKING RANKS: Senator Fetterman applauds President Trump as the U.S. launches a joint attack with Israel against Iran in “Operation Epic Fury.”

United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes against Iran in the early hours of Saturday, February 28, 2026, in what President Donald Trump announced as “major combat operations” targeting military installations, government ministries, missile production facilities, naval assets, and nuclear infrastructure across multiple Iranian cities. The Pentagon designated the American component of the operation “Operation Epic Fury”; the Israel Defense Forces named their component “Operation Roaring Lion,” later also reported in some Israeli sources as “Operation Lion’s Roar.” Trump confirmed the strikes in a video message posted to Truth Social at approximately 2:30 a.m. Eastern time while at Mar-a-Lago. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said. “Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.”

In his video address Trump catalogued what he characterized as forty-seven years of Iranian aggression against the United States and its allies, beginning with the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran. “For 47 years the Iranian regime has chanted death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder,” Trump said, adding that “among the regime’s first acts was to back a violent takeover of the US embassy in Tehran holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days.” He characterized Iran’s support for Hamas as directly responsible for the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, stating “it was Iran’s proxy Hamas that launched the monstrous October 7th attacks on Israel,” and declared that his administration had sought repeatedly to reach a nuclear agreement but that Iran had refused. “They rejected every opportunity to reach their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore,” Trump said. He vowed that “we are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” that the United States would “annihilate their navy,” and that “we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.” Trump acknowledged that the operation could produce American casualties and stated it was expected to continue for several days. At the close of his address he urged the Iranian population to remain indoors until the time was right, and called on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to lay down its arms in exchange for “complete immunity,” warning that those who refused would face “certain death.”

The first strikes on Saturday morning local time in Tehran were reported in the vicinity of the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the Associated Press, though no confirmation was immediately available that Khamenei himself was targeted. Iranian sources and Reuters reported that Khamenei had been moved to a secure location prior to the start of the operation. Confirmed targets as reported by open-source monitors included the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, the Ministry of Defense, the Office of the Supreme Leader, the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, and the military base at Parchin. Explosions were reported in Tehran, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Karaj. Iranian state television confirmed a blast in central Tehran but provided limited detail. Smoke was visible rising from the capital in news agency video footage. Internet connectivity monitoring organization NetBlocks reported that internet access in Tehran dropped to approximately 54 percent of normal levels in the immediate aftermath of the initial strikes, with further disruptions reported across Iran as the operation continued. Iran’s airspace was reported closed for at least six hours from the start of the strikes.

An Israeli defense official stated that their Operation Roaring Lion had been planned for months in coordination with Washington, and that the specific launch date was decided weeks in advance. The IDF statement said that “in the months leading up to the attack, close joint planning was carried out between the IDF and the US Army, which enabled the broad attack to be carried out with maximum synchronization and coordination between the armies.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the joint operation “will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.” Israel declared a state of emergency, closed its airspace to civilian traffic, ordered hospitals to move patients to underground protected areas, and closed schools and workplaces with exceptions for essential sectors. The US Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert directing all US government personnel and family members in Israel to shelter in place.

“The coming days of operation ‘Roaring Lion’ require patience and steadfastness from all of us. We will stand together, fight together, and together ensure the eternity of Israel,” Netanyahu emphasized. He thanked US President Donald Trump for his “historic leadership” and noted that Tehran cannot be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons, “which would allow it to threaten all of humanity.”

Iranian retaliation began within hours of the initial strikes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that its missiles and drones had targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, US military bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and what Iranian state media described as “military and security centers” in Israel. Bahrain’s state media confirmed that the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters was the target of a missile attack, with smoke reported rising over Manama. The Israeli military confirmed missile launches from Iran toward Israel and activated warning sirens across multiple regions. Israel’s Home Front Command sent cell phone alerts warning that “alerts are expected in the area in a few minutes” and directing the public to enter protected spaces. The IDF stated that it was “operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat” but cautioned that “the defense is not hermetic.”

The strikes came hours after Oman’s foreign minister, who has been mediating nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran in Geneva, stated that the two sides had made “significant progress” in talks on February 26 — progress that proved insufficient to forestall military action. Trump had built up a substantial US military presence in the region in preceding months, including two aircraft carrier strike groups, hundreds of aircraft, and Tomahawk cruise missile inventories, as part of what he described as pressure to force Iran to the negotiating table. On January 28 Trump had posted to Truth Social that “a massive Armada is heading to Iran,” warning that “time is running out, it is truly of the essence.” The operation, as described by Axios, started precisely as a ten-day deadline Trump had issued to Iran expired. Congressional reaction divided along imperfect partisan lines: Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky characterized the strikes as an act of war “unauthorized by Congress,” while Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina wrote on X that “God bless @POTUS for planning and now executing Operation Epic Fury, making America more safe and eventually more prosperous,” and declared that “the end of the largest state sponsor of terrorism is upon us.” Democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said Trump had been “willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.” The situation remained highly fluid as of this posting, with Iranian retaliatory strikes underway and the full scope, duration, and ultimate objectives of the operation not yet established.