In a joint effort with Israel, President Trump launched an initial strike on February 28 on Tehran, Iran, assassinating the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other department heads and military officials. Operation Epic Fury, as it’s been codenamed, was started to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons programs and to “remove existential threats”.  

Trump had a “gut feeling” that Iran would attack, so he and the Israel military led the first strike. “We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first, I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen.” 

The same day and in the days after the attack, more missiles and air defense systems have been targeting other major Iranian cities. “Some 100,000 people fled Tehran in the first 48 hours of attacks” because of the devastation in the city.  

At least 1,300 civilians in Iran and nearby countries have been killed in the attacks and the numbers continue to rise, according to the Council on Foreign Relation.  

A monumental attack was the airstrikes that hit Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran. The school is located on a military base which hasn’t been in use for more than 10 years.  At least 168 people were killed in the attack and 95 injured, most of which were children. The US has been found to be behind the attack, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying “Of course, we never target civilians, but we’re taking a look at investigating that”. According to the New York Times, the attack was “one of the most devastating single military errors in recent decades.”  

Multiple hospitals, sports arenas, and other commercial areas and businesses have also been hit, some of which were a result of strikes to nearby military bases and police stations. 

Following the February 28 attacks, Iran has attempted to shut down nearby US military bases. These attacks so far have caused the deaths of 7 American service members when a base in Saudi Arabia was attacked. Stated Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, “If President Trump didn’t want to see Iran hitting back … President Trump should have not started this war from the beginning. It was a war of choice.” 

Trump claims that he encourages Iran to decide their own future as a country and come up with new leaders. However, he also says that he has a few good choices for who he would instate as their leader.  

A similar event to Operation Epic Fury took place June of 2025, called Operation Midnight Hammer. According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, the United States struck three potential nuclear facilities in Tehran to halt or prevent their nuclear weapons program.  

In July of 2015, the UN Security Council and the EU satisfied the nuclear weapons conflict with “The Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)…Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief.” However, President Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, and in response, Iran expanded their nuclear program again. President Joe Biden attempted to rejoin the JCPOA, but no deal was reached.