The US and Israel made unprovoked air striked against Iran. Iran has retaliated quickly by launching missiles and drones not just at Israel but also at bases across the region. I am relying considerably upon Twitter for updates but will also hoist from mainstream live blogs. I will keep updating this post through 9 AM EST; after that, I will provide any additional links and tweets in comments to keep the post from becoming too long to be useful.
Note as we cover soon as best we can, Iran has quickly retaliated. Al Jazeera reports (along with others) missile interceptions in Qatar and explosions in Abu Dabai, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Thomas Keith on X (a credible source) reports a mass casualty event on a US base in Saudi Arabia.
A big open question is if and when Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz. As about 6:15 AM EST, Bloomberg reported it was still open:
Forgive me for giving you not much filtered information. First from Bloomberg, Trump Starts Massive Strikes, Urging Iranians to Seize Power:
President Donald Trump says the US has begun major combat operations against Iran
Airstrikes against Iran have been carried out by Israel and the US, with multiple provinces hit
Israel reported missile launches from Iran. Tehran also targeted a US base in Bahrain with explosions heard in Kuwait and Qatar downing an Iranian missile
Comes after weeks of talks failed to produce a fresh agreement on Iran’s nuclear program
OPEC+ will consider the option of a larger supply increase when key members meet on Sunday
From the Wall Street Journal:
The U.S. and Israel said they launched an attack on Iran, which retaliated with strikes on Israel and targeted U.S. bases. President Trump confirmed major combat operations against the regime, and urged Iranians to “take over your government” as the strikes continued.
“I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social. He said the military operation would strike Iran’s missile and nuclear programs as well as its navy. The focus of the strikes, he said, was to ensure Americans “will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran.”
The U.S. and Israel plan to carry out several days of intensive attacks, people familiar with the matter said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they had launched missile and drone attacks toward Israel.
Tehran is unleashing its stockpile of missiles against all but one of the U.S. bases in the Gulf.
A civilian was killed in the United Arab Emirates by falling debris from intercepted missiles.
Tankers diverted from the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices have been rising over fears of conflict.
And an update at the Journal from around 6:30 AM EST:
Iran has fired dozens of missiles at Israel since the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran began, according to an Israeli military official. The missiles have prompted repeated blaring sirens across the country instructing Israelis to enter safe spaces. Emergency services in Israel haven’t reported any serious injuries so far.
Israel has a sophisticated multi-layered air-defense system, much of which it developed alongside the U.S. Defense systems include the Iron Dome, which is designed to shoot down short-range rockets, and the Arrow 3, which is for the interception of long-range ballistic missiles that leave the Earth’s atmosphere during flight.
From the Financial Times:
Donald Trump called on Iranians to overthrow their government as the US and Israel launched air strikes in what the president described as a “massive and ongoing operation” against the Islamic regime on Saturday morning.
Trump’s address from his Mar-a-Lago resort came as huge explosions rocked Tehran, with smoke rising on Pasteur Street, where the Iranian president’s office is located.
The attack prompted swift retaliation from Iran, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard launching what it said was a “first wave of a massive missile and drone strike” against Israel.
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which both host US military bases, said they had thwarted retaliatory missile attacks, while Jordan said it has intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting the country…..
The military operation appears to be the US and Israel’s most significant attempt to overthrow the Islamic regime since it swept to power in 1979, in a revolution that redrew the political map of the Middle East and transformed Iran into one of America’s biggest adversaries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strikes would “create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands”.
Analysts said that the assault, which the Pentagon has dubbed Operation Epic Fury, risked pushing up oil prices when trading reopens on Monday,
Note that these interceptions do not even begin to say that the US or its regional allies are out of the woods. In the 12 Day War, Iran sent slower and older missiles and drones in the opening days to deplete Israeli’s air defenses, then launches more potent weapons that had much higher penetration rates both due them being faster on average and the Israeli Iron Dome becoming threadbare.
This bit from the pink paper is cringe-making:
Donald Trump urged Iran’s armed forces to lay down their weapons or “face certain death”, and called on the Iranian people to take down their government.
Trump said in a video on social media on Saturday:
“To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or in the alternative, face certain death. So lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.”
From the BBC in US and Israel carry out joint attack on Iran as Tehran launches retaliatory strikes:
US and Israel launch an attack on Iran, as President Donald Trump confirms “major combat operations” are under way and calls for a regime change
The Israel Defense Forces says retaliatory strikes have been launched by Iran towards the country – and explosions have been heard in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait…
Following US and Israel’s strikes on Iran – and Tehran’s retaliation – we’ve been hearing from world leaders:
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reminds us that the European bloc has adopted “extensive sanctions” in response to Iran’s “murderous regime”. “We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law.”
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office expresses solidarity with Iran’s civilian population, saying it continues to demand respect for civil and political rights. The office adds that Meloni will consult allies and regional leaders to support efforts to ease tensions.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his country “stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression” and supports the US in efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry describes the US and Israel’s actions as “reckless”, saying they violate international law. Russia calls for a return to political and diplomatic solutions.
Earlier, a UK government spokesperson said the country does “not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict”, adding, “we stand ready to protect our interests”.
From the Guardian, which already has a lot of images from Iran posted:
Videos and images filtering out of Iran on public Telegram channels appear to record extensive strikes across the country; with smoke hovering over buildings, the noise of car horns honking, conversation, and occasional cheering, and fires and jets tearing across the sky.
These videos, many of which appear to be from Iranian civilians, suggest there have so far been strikes in Kermanshah, near the border with Iraq, in the city of Minab, Homorzgan province, on the IRGC brigade there, in the city of Bushhehr, on the Persian Gulf, and on Iranian army bases near Chabahar, near the border with Pakistan.
They also appear to indicate extensive strikes on Tehran.
More videos suggest that the military complex in Parchin, which allegedly produces chemical weapons, has been struck. So has a site in Kahrizak, where thousands of protestors were massacred earlier this month, as well as an IRGC base near Mount Damarvand. One more video appears to indicate that the house of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been struck, in downtown Tehran; in the video, crowds of people wander about, filming the low flames.
The Guardian also reports, not surprisingly, that flights across the region have been cancelled.
The Times reports that the strikes hit Khamenei’s secure compound in Tehran and that the UAE claimed to have hit by defense missile debris.
If you have the stomach, The Times of Israel has a live blog. The Jerusalem Post reports Senior IRGC, regime officials killed in Israel-US strikes on Iran, source says.
Now to tweets:
Video shows plumes of smoke rising after Iran targeted a United States military base in Bahrain, following Israel–US attacks across Iran. Two missiles were intercepted over Qatar and explosions were reportedly heard in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/5jS08X8d64
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 28, 2026
I have many years of experience following Israel’s wars, and sirens sounding in different parts of the country. What it happening today is unprecedented. There are nonstop sirens and alarms throughout the country, in every region. It is wild. I’ve never seen anything like this https://t.co/HbumEbQyMN
— Alon Mizrahi (@alon_mizrahi) February 28, 2026
Statement No. 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC):
Headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain Targeted by IRGC Missiles and Drones
In response to the aggression of the criminal U.S. military and the child-killing Zionist regime, and with divine…
— Iran Military Monitor (@IRIran_Military) February 28, 2026
Iran strikes King Fahad and Prince Sultan air bases in Saudi Arabia, while a reported mass casualty event unfolds at the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, with multiple American soldiers reported killed or injured.
— Thomas Keith (@iwasnevrhere_) February 28, 2026
No country ever dared to target so many US military bases in only an hour.
The entire Gulf country has suspended all fights. The real issue is that all oil exports are blocked.
— Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 (@ejmalrai) February 28, 2026
Republic News is excitable but also on top of developments:
And some initial commentary:
The term “preemptive” is pure propaganda. The U.S. once again used the veneer of negotiations as a cover to bomb Iran. Tehran had just offered terms that went far beyond the 2015 nuclear deal. What was preempted was diplomacy. The same propaganda tactics used in 2003 Iraq war.
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 28, 2026
Iran has not attacked a country unprovoked in it’s 5000 year old history. Israel has attacked six in one year. Who is the threat here?
— Pistachio 🇮🇷🇵🇸 (@HarleyShah) February 28, 2026
The attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States are illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable.
Peace and diplomacy was possible. Instead, Israel and the United States chose war.
This is the behaviour of rogue states — and they have jeopardised the safety of humankind around…
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 28, 2026
Make no mistake. The US/Israel war against Iran is a colonial war. Like the genocide in Palestine, the invasion of Iraq and Libya, the incineration of Vietnam and Laos, it is war to subjugate the people of the global South and annihilate their resistance. Colonialism has no…
— Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) February 28, 2026
The world’s two rogue states, Israel and the USA, have started a war not against Iran but against the whole world. We stand with Iranians, with Humanity, against the notion that Israel and the US can bomb anyone their fancy takes them to bomb. https://t.co/Xn8bo7q5Xc
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) February 28, 2026
UPDATE 7:20 AM: From Aljazeera:
‘This is not your war’: Omani foreign minister urges US ‘not to get sucked in further’
We have the first public reaction by Badr Albusaidi, the foreign minister of Oman, who had been mediating the recent rounds of indirect talks between the US and Iran.
In a social media post, Albusaidi said he was “dismayed” by today’s attacks.
“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined. Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this. And I pray for the innocents who will suffer,” he added.
“I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.”
