The U.S. and Israel Launch Major Military Strikes on Iran, Khamenei Reported Dead
The United States and Israel launched what the Pentagon dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” in the early hours of Saturday morning, striking targets across Iran with the stated aim of destroying the country's military capabilities, dismantling its nuclear program, and fostering regime change. President Trump announced the operation in a 2:30 A.M. video posted to Truth Social, declaring that Iran has engaged in decades of “mass terror” and promising the U.S. would “annihilate their navy” and “raze their missile industry to the ground.”
The strikes targeted Tehran and sites across the country. Satellite imagery and verified video showed smoke rising over the capital, including near the compound of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the presidential palace. Israel's Air Force struck Iranian senior commanders and political leaders in a parallel operation it named “Lion's Roar,” while closing Israeli airspace, declaring a state of emergency, and calling up roughly 70,000 reservists.
Iran retaliated swiftly, launching missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, and Jordan. A senior U.S. official reported no American casualties as of mid-Saturday morning. The UAE said it intercepted several missiles but that one person in Abu Dhabi died from falling debris. In Iraq, U.S. strikes hit sites near Baghdad linked to the Iran-backed militia Kata'ib Hezbollah, whose leaders vowed to strike back. Jordan intercepted two missiles in its airspace.
Saturday afternoon, the U.S. and Israel reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike, along with seven senior defense and intelligence officials. Khamenei led Iran for over 35 years.
The operation came after a final round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks ended Thursday without a breakthrough, exactly as Trump's 10-day ultimatum expired. Trump called on Iranian citizens to overthrow their government once the strikes concluded, saying it would be “probably your only chance for generations.” He also acknowledged the likelihood of American casualties, saying the “lives of courageous American heroes may be lost.”
This comes after the U.S. struck Iran last June, when they targeted nuclear enrichment sites Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. At that time and since, the Trump administration said Iran’s nuclear program had been “totally obliterated.” But during the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Trump said that Iran had restarted its nuclear program. “They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, and in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue,” he said, adding, “They're starting it all over. We wiped it out, and they want to start it all over again and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions.”
In the weeks leading up to this, the U.S. has been building a massive arsenal in the region.
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