NEDERLAND — Just over three days after President Donald J. Trump grandstanded his Administration’s work in foreign relations during his one hour and 48 minute State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 23, 2026, the U.S. attacked Iran in a joint military action with Israel, code named Operation Epic Fury.  

"They've already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America," Trump said about Iran in his address. “I will never allow the world's Number One sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon—can't let that happen. And no nation should ever doubt America's resolve.” 

At 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, February 28, 2026, U.S. Central Command commenced Operation Epic Fury at the order of President Trump. According to Secretary of “War” Pete Hegseth, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command facilities, Iran’s anti-air defenses, and various missile and drone launch sites were targeted in the strike. 

The operation is a “culmination of months” if not years of planning and collaboration with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) which involved “thousands” of service members, “hundreds” of fighter aircraft, and millions of dollars worth in missiles, according to the Department of “War.” 

“This rapid buildup of forces demonstrated the joint force's ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of our nation's choosing,” Air Force General Dan Caine explained in a press briefing. 

Caine continued to describe Operation Epic Fury—described by Hegseth to be “laser-focused”—as being designed to “daze and confuse” Iran with a continuous salvo of munitions striking over 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours of the conflict, and resulting in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

For most Americans, the operation had been well underway before the sun rose on Saturday. Though it was later claimed that very specific targets were pre-selected in order to ensure precision strikes, reports immediately came in of the Shajareh Tayyibeh elementary school in Minab having been struck, resulting in a death toll which started at 57 students and staff members, and has risen to above 165.

Middle East-focused influencers on X started claiming that the IRGC Navy base which neighbored the school was responsible for the “accidental” bombing, which was first rumored to be a result of a malfunctioning missile launch. However, those claims were debunked, and neither Iran, the U.S., nor Israel has claimed responsibility for the leveling of the school and the deaths caused.

Local Iranian authorities reported that analysis through satellite imagery shows that the school was directly hit by a guided missile, seconds after a first strike which hit the neighboring naval base. They stated to international news sources that the school was not destroyed by shrapnel, but was perhaps struck deliberately due to 10-year-old intelligence data which shows the building in question as being a part of the IRGC base. 

Such a report alludes to the U.S. having used old intelligence data to plan the “laser-focused” Operation Epic Fury, which, according to The Wall Street Journal’s sources, would have been curated by Anthropic’s Claude AI through Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform, as that was employed by U.S. Central Command to provide target identification and to simulate battle scenarios for the strike on Iran.  

The news of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death did little to quell the scrutiny that America’s leaders had begun to face regarding the justification for Operation Epic Fury, as the seemingly aimless military strike was immediately being called by the President’s detractors as an aggressive act of a proxy war for Israel, and as a desperate distraction from the Epstein Files controversy.

The Trump Administration and the Department of “War,” while avoiding the statement that the country is now in a war with Iran, has also refused to supply any details as to the ultimate goal of the strike, or to how long Operation Epic Fury is expected to take, as it approaches its fifth day as of the writing of this article.

Within his State of the Union speech, Trump mentioned Operation Midnight Hammer, America’s follow-up strike against Iran following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, which targeted the Natanz nuclear facility in June of 2025 in a joint operation to level Iran’s capabilities of building a nuclear weapon.

Trump specifically stated that the 2025 joint strike with Israel on Iran was not enough to deter Iran from continuing to attempt to arm with nuclear capabilities.

For a full report on the 2025 military strike, please read “Colorado prepares after Operation Midnight Hammer,” available here: https://www.themtnear.com/stories/colorado-prepares-after-operation-midnight-hammer,47973.

As Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterates that Iran would never develop nuclear weapons because Khamenei banned them in a religious decree more than 20 years ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—which Iran is obligated to cooperate with under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons—claims that Iran stopped cooperating with them after the conflict back in June. 

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warns that “Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity,” which, once processed to weapons-grade, would provide them the ability to build up to 10 nuclear missiles. 

The day before Operation Epic Fury, Trump railed against Iran after peace talks in Geneva, stating that military force was on the table due to Iran’s perceived reluctance to cease material enrichment and nuclear development.

Meanwhile, Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi told CBS News that Tehran had agreed to never stockpile enriched uranium, and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi maintained that “good progress” was made during the Geneva talks.

Directly following the “failed” peace talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Americans who were in Iran to leave immediately, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned embassy staff to leave Israel “sooner rather than later.” 

Additionally, President Trump and the White House made official statements that intelligence reports proved that Iran was planning an attack on the U.S. Later, congressional staff were told in private briefings the day after Operation Epic Fury was launched that there was no intelligence suggesting such an attack. 

Another reason for the escalation against Iran, proposed by political pundits, is the strategy of regime change. Though the Department of “War” has claimed that toppling Khamenei to liberate the Iranian people was not the initial goal of Operation Epic Fury, American news outlets and social media have spread the message that Iranians are celebrating his death.

“To the great proud people of Iran,” Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social, “ the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.

“America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.”

The loudest call for regime change came after Iranian protests erupted in the streets back in December 2025. The uprising prompted a severe response from the Khamenei regime and resulted in over 30,000 citizen deaths, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health.   

On February 5, 2026, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the Senate that the U.S. had intentionally caused the strife through “economical statecraft,” which involved purposefully restricting Iran’s access to U.S. currency.

The strategy, which Bessent claimed was an attempt at creating pressure on Iran’s current regime without direct military confrontation, caused 40% inflation, 70% food price inflation, with the rial rising from 700,000 to 1.5 million per dollar in a single year.  

Whether or not the aggression towards Iran is based on nuclear armament or regime change, Trump admitted shortly after the start of Operation Epic Fury that his chosen replacements for Khamenei had been mistakenly killed in the joint U.S./Israeli onslaught. Khamenei’s death also has not suppressed Iran’s retaliation, as it has only served to cause the implementation of its Decentralized Mosaic Defense doctrine.

The doctrine provides IRGC and provincial commanders full autonomy to make decisions and launch operations independently of orders from Tehran, and allows for Iran to split its force into over 30 separate military cells, with the intention of surviving the U.S./Israel barrage of missile strikes, and drawing any attacker into a guerilla-style ground war. 

"Bombings in our capital have no impact on our ability to conduct war,” Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted on X. “Decentralized Mosaic Defense enables us to decide when—and how—war will end."

 According to U.S. Central Command, six American soldiers have died in the conflict with Iran since Saturday; however, conflicting reports from media sources around the world show that Iran has struck a makeshift operations center in Kuwait; the U.S. embassy in Riyadh; hotels and apartment buildings in Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates (UAE); a U.S. naval base in Bahrain; an ammunition depot in northern Iraq; the Sharjah Mall in UAE; several residential buildings in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel; the Sorek desalination plant in Israel; and Dubai's Palm Jumeirah district.

However, Iran is not claiming responsibility for the attacks on Saudi Arabia's Aramco Ras Tanura oil refinery, which they are claiming was a “false flag operation” carried out by Israel to “distract the minds of regional countries from its crimes.”  

Iranian state media has made many claims, several of which have yet to be confirmed, including that one of their missile strikes on a Dubai residential complex killed six high-ranking CIA officers; that attacks on the USS Abraham Lincoln were successful and caused it to withdraw; and that 560 American service members have been killed in the conflict so far. Reports that Hezbollah has launched rockets into Northern Israel are confirmed by Israel.

Iran’s most strategic advantage has been their seizure and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 million barrels of oil—20% of the world’s supply—passes through daily. Economists are predicting that the continued closure of the strait could result in a “global recession,” with America set to experience crude oil prices at $100 to $130 a barrel, returning the country to the days of the 1970s energy crisis.     

In addition to Americans feeling the effect of the conflict with Iran in their wallets due to rising oil and gas prices, the exorbitant cost of war is also taking a toll on this country’s economy, as the U.S. military has already spent an estimated $779 million during the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, with just Tomahawk missiles alone accounting for $200 to $400 million.  

Both domestically and internationally, the U.S./Israeli conflict with Iran is extremely unpopular. Both Russia and China have voiced strong opposition, as both superpowers continue to benefit from trade deals with Iran, which includes the exportation of oil and the importation of military technology and defense systems. 

This conflict, however, has exposed the sensitive nature of some of these international agreements, as Iran is reportedly struggling with the HQ-9B air defense systems supplied by China, as they have failed to protect major sites. Though strong words have come out of China condemning U.S./Israel actions, the country has yet to provide Iran with boots-on-the-ground support. 

Meanwhile, America is having its own minor quarrels with its international allies, as Kuwait has reportedly accidentally shot down three of the U.S. military’s fighter jets during Operation Epic Fury. Spain and Saudi Arabia barred the U.S. from using its military bases on their soil, and Saudi Arabian officials have complained that American forces are prioritizing Israel’s protection above any of its other allies. 

Back at home, roughly 60% of Americans are opposed to military action against Iran, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Post. Broken down, 77% of Republicans approve of the military action, compared to only 18% of Democrats and 32% of Independents. Also, 62% of all Americans believe that the President is required to get congressional approval for any military action. 

Though Fox News has highlighted that most Americans fear rising costs at the gas pump, there is a lot of opposition to the conflict, which stems primarily from the fear of being dragged into another long military excursion over oil, with comparisons being drawn to the Iraq War, which lasted from 2003 to 2011 and led to over $1 trillion in national deficit.

There is also concern about the potential for World War III and, given the country’s current low recruitment numbers, the possibility of a national draft for military service—a proposition that is difficult to stomach as the increasingly deadly confrontation in the Middle East continues to grow with little justification behind it.