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U. S. , Israel Begin ‘Major Combat Operations’ in Iran

Foreign Policy

Saturday 28.2.2026

    “They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore,” Trump said.

    A plume of smoke rises in a blue sky behind a cityscape.
    A plume of smoke rises in a blue sky behind a cityscape.
    A plume of smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran on Feb. 28. AFP via Getty Images

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    The United States military has begun “major combat operations in Iran,” U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a video posted to Truth Social early Saturday morning. 

    “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said. 

    The United States military has begun “major combat operations in Iran,” U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a video posted to Truth Social early Saturday morning. 

    “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said. 

    In the eight-minute video, Trump listed a litany of historical grievances against Iran, including the 1979 hostage crisis, the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon by the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah, attacks by other proxy groups on U.S. forces in the Middle East, and the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. “It’s been mass terror. And we’re not gonna put up with it any longer,” Trump said.

    He also cited the country’s nuclear program, which has been the focus of intense negotiations in recent weeks. “They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore,” Trump said. He did not mention that Iran in 2015 signed a comprehensive agreement with the United States and several other world powers that put strict, verifiable limits on its nuclear program, or that the country was in compliance with the deal when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from it in 2018.   

    “For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” Trump said. “We are going to annihilate their navy, we are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region and the world. … And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.” 

    Trump also called on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as Iran’s armed forces and police to “lay down your weapons and have complete immunity or you will face certain death.” 

    And he exhorted the Iranian people to stay safe and sheltered during the U.S. operation—but to rise up against the regime once the U.S. operation has ended. “To the great, proud people of Iran, I say to you tonight, the hour of your freedom is at hand. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.” 

    “In a brief phone call with The Washington Post just after 4 a.m. Saturday, President Donald Trump said his main concern is ‘freedom’ for the Iranian people, and that the U.S. is working to make Iran a place that’s ‘safe,’” the Postreported. 

    “All I want is freedom for the people,” Trump told the Post, asked about what he hoped his legacy would be as a result of the operation. “I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have.”

    Israel also launched what it called “a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday. An Israeli defense official told Reuters that the operation had been planned for months in coordination with Washington and that the launch date was decided weeks ago.

    Iran has responded with ballistic missile barrages against Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.  

    Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday that the country would target all U.S. bases in the region. The country’s semi-official Fars news agency said that U.S. bases in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Bahrain were being attacked. Explosions have been reported in Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi; and Iraq. Jordan’s military also said it had downed two missiles targeting the country. 

    A missile attack struck the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet at Naval Support Activity in Bahrain, according to the country’s official communications center. Staffing at the base had been reduced in recent days in case of retaliatory strikes, Fox News had previously reported, citing U.S. officials.

    Trump is expected to address the nation again later on Saturday. He, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, are monitoring the situation from Mar-a-Lago, the president’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida. 

    Jennifer Williams is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. X: @jenn_ruth

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