U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday, February 28, 2026, that the United States has begun carrying out “major combat operations” inside Iran, coinciding with a large-scale attack launched by United States and Israel following weeks of American threats of military action and the mobilization of forces in the Middle East.
Trump said in a video clip posted on the Truth Social platform that the strikes aim to destroy Iranian missiles and eliminate its naval fleet, warning that casualties among U.S. forces were possible. He added: “I do not make this statement lightly. The Iranian regime seeks to kill.”
He continued: “Brave American heroes may lose their lives, and we may suffer casualties, which usually happens in wars. But we are doing this not for now, but for the future. It is a noble mission.”
The U.S. president called on members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to lay down their weapons in exchange for immunity, warning that the alternative would be “certain death.” He added: “Iran, as it has done for many decades, has rejected every opportunity to abandon its nuclear ambitions, and we can no longer tolerate that.”
Trump also asserted that Iran “attempted to rebuild its nuclear program,” stressing that it “can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.” He further accused it of developing long-range missiles “that could threaten America and other countries.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2026
These strikes come months after a previous military confrontation between the two sides, following a 12-day war in June 2025.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel and the United States had begun “an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,” according to his description.
Netanyahu said in a statement: “I thank our great friend President Donald Trump for his historic leadership.” He added: “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has called for ‘death to Israel, death to America.’ It has shed our blood, killed many Americans, and slaughtered its own people.”
He continued: “This murderous terrorist regime must not be armed with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity,” stressing that “our joint action will create the conditions that allow the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
In a related development, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu and senior Israeli security officials are holding a meeting at an underground site to follow the developments of the operations in Iran.
Meanwhile, the Iranian state news agency Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian “is well and was not harmed,” following the U.S.–Israeli strikes that targeted Tehran and several other Iranian cities.
The Israeli army announced that Iran launched missiles toward Israel in response to the attack, stating that sirens sounded in several areas after the missiles were detected and that the air force is working to intercept them, while urging residents to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command.
Regionally, the Bahrain News Agency reported on Saturday that the service center of the United States Fifth Fleet in the kingdom had been subjected to a missile attack.
The National Communication Centre confirmed that “attacks targeted sites and facilities within the kingdom’s borders, launched from outside its territory, in a blatant violation of Bahrain’s sovereignty and security.”
In the same context, sirens sounded near the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, while the Qatari Ministry of Defense announced that it had “intercepted missiles targeting Qatar.”
The Qatari government also sent alerts via mobile phones warning people not to approach military facilities and advising residents to remain in their locations.
Residents also reported hearing explosions in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates announced that it had “successfully” intercepted a number of Iranian missiles targeting the country.
In Iraq, the Ministry of Transport announced the closure of the country’s airspace, while the administration of Erbil International Airport confirmed the suspension of incoming and outgoing flights following the Israeli attack on Iran.
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