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Operation Epic Fury / Lion's Roar Special Edition
MIDDLE EAST
Quote:Iran has prevented international inspectors from reaching three nuclear facilities struck by the US this past June, leaving the outside world unable to determine how much near-weapons-grade uranium the Islamic Republic posesses, according to a confidential report.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stressed to member states that it “cannot verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities,” nor can it provide “any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran,” according to the Associated Press.
That “loss of continuity of knowledge over all previously declared nuclear material at affected facilities in Iran needs to be addressed with the utmost urgency,” added the IAEA, which noted that Iran’s stonewalling was in direct violation of its legal obligation under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA after its 12-day war with Israel in June 2025 — during which the US dropped at least six “bunker buster” bombs on nuclear sites at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.
In the absence of access to those three sites, the nuclear agency has been forced to rely on commercially available satellite imagery.
Observation of the Isfahan facility, some 215 miles southeast of Tehran, showed “regular vehicular activity” around the entrance to a tunnel complex used to store enriched material and that appears to have averted destruction in June, the report said, adding that it was unclear whether the site “contains nuclear material or is operational.”
The IAEA also noted that prior to the American and Israeli strikes, Iran said it was setting up another enrichment plant at Isfahan, though the agency does not know its precise location or whether it is functioning.
Activity was also observed at Fordow and Natanz, the former of which is buried 300 feet inside a mountain, but “without access to these facilities it is not possible for the Agency to confirm the nature and the purpose of the activities,” the IAEA acknowledged.
Iran has given inspectors access to its other nuclear facilities “at least once” since June 2025, with the exception of a power plant at Karun that is under construction, the watchdog noted.
Tehran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the US, UN and other Western nations have confirmed an organized atomic weapons program existed through at least 2003.
According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned in an October interview that stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, though he added that does not mean Tehran has such weapons.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Iran left talks with the US without a deal to end its nuclear program shortly before President Trump launched a “massive and ongoing operation” against the regime.
The negotiations in Geneva were inconclusive, with Trump’s self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program ticking down as soon as the weekend approached.
Nevertheless, Iran had said technical talks had been set to resume Monday in Switzerland.
“They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore,” Trump said in his speech announcing the attack that he posted on Truth Social.
“Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing the long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland.”
he initial strikes showed the huge force and capabilities arrayed against Iran. US and Israeli jets carried out dozens of strikes, with large explosions visible in Tehran near the presidential palace, with Iran firing back at US assets in neighboring countries.
With diplomacy failing to achieve US ends of securing Iran’s commitment to end its nuclear and missile program, Trump continued to amass military assets throughout the week — with ships moving into position and hundreds of military aircraft now gathered within range of Iran.
Trump had said he’d prefer a deal, but all options are on the table militarily.
Thursday’s meeting took place exactly one week after Trump told a meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington that he would decide whether to hit the theocratic regime “over the next, probably, 10 days.”
Under deadline pressure, all sides described progress after more than six hours of discussions in Geneva — with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and mediator Badr Albusaidi, Oman’s foreign minister, saying follow-up “technical” talks would happen in Vienna, Austria, on Monday.
The Austrian capital is home to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But Iranian state media said the country had rejected the central US demand that it relinquish its nuclear program — saying representatives “firmly” reiterated Iran’s “nuclear rights” while demanding the end of US sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baqaei bashed the American side halfway through the day’s discussions.
“There are contradictory statements from some US officials, which raise doubts about their seriousness,” he said after a break in talks.
A starkly different tune came from the foreign minister after negotiations concluded for the day, who said that “overall, it was one of the best rounds of negotiations and one of the most serious and longest.”
Who currently holds power in Iran’s political leadership is unclear amid reports that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has effectively sidelined President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in 2024 as a reformer. Both men were reportedly the targets of Israeli strikes Saturday.
“On some issues, understanding has now been established,” the foreign minister said. “And on some issues, it is natural that we have differences of opinion, and perhaps more than in the past, the seriousness on both sides was evident to reach a negotiated solution.”
There was no immediate response from the White House, but War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were spotted departing the executive mansion around the time the Geneva talks wrapped up.
The US team was led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who left a morning session “disappointed,” but later felt the day’s work was “positive,” Axios reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Witkoff and Kushner have demanded that Iran dismantle three key nuclear sites — at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz — that were hit by the US this past June and turn over all of its enriched uranium to Washington.
The American side also reportedly demanded that any agreement be permanent, with none of the so-called “sunset clauses” found in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The outlet later reported that the Iranian side had rejected those demands, and it was unclear how flexible Witkoff and Kushner were willing to be.
During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address to Congress, the president claimed that Iran was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” among other “sinister designs.”
“We are in negotiations with them,” Trump said. “They want to make a deal but we haven’t heard those sacred words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.’”
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump spent Friday repeatedly saying that he was “not happy” about ongoing negotiations with Iran and that he’s nearing a decision on whether to launch a military attack.
“We have a big decision to make. You know that. Not easy, it’s not easy. We have a very big decision,” Trump said during a political rally in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The president is demanding that Tehran completely abandon nuclear enrichment, but US negotiators were rebuffed in Geneva on Thursday despite a massive American military buildup in the Middle East.
Trump sounded increasingly hardened going into the weekend — a period of time that he has favored for military operations.
“We have a country that’s been for 47 years blowing people’s legs off, arms off, their face,” he said.
“They’ve been knocking out ships, killing people —lots of people, not only Americans, lots of people. It’s been terrible. 32,000 people killed over the last two, three months, protesters — 32,000, that’s some number of people, 32,000. They want to make a deal, but gotta make a deal that’s meaningful.”
Trump, speaking with a large Venezuelan oil tanker as his backdrop — after capturing that nation’s president, Nicolas Maduro, in a Jan. 3 military raid — told a gaggle of reporters that Iranian officials “don’t want to say the key words, ‘We’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.’”
“They have to say, ‘We’re not going to have a nuclear weapon’ and they just can’t quite get there. They want to enrich a little bit. You don’t have to enrich when you have that much oil. So I’m not happy with the negotiation.”
Trump insisted that “we haven’t made a final decision” on whether to follow through with a threatened military attack following the massive buildup of naval and air assets within striking distance of Iran.
“We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating. They cannot have nuclear weapons,” he reiterated.
A reporter then asked Trump if there was “a risk that strikes could turn into a long, drawn-out conflict in the Middle East.”
“I guess you could say there’s always a risk,” the president replied. “You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything, both good and bad.”
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner represented the president Thursday in Switzerland and are preparing for follow-up talks Monday in Vienna.
A source familiar with the talks said the US negotiators were disappointed by “multiple” aspects of the Geneva talks, including Iran’s insistence it has an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to be in Israel Monday and Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And he DID attack
as you'll learn 
in the next section.Quote:Israel won’t hesitate to re-invade Gaza to dismantle Hamas if the terror group refuses to uphold President Trump’s peace plan and disarm, Israel’s ambassador to the US said Friday.
In an exclusive sit-down with The Post, Yechiel Leiter stated that the Jewish State wasn’t confident that the terrorist group would cede control of the region in accordance with Trump’s peace plan — and Israel could be forced to take matters into its own hands.
“I don’t see a terrorist organization that defines itself through weapons and through terror disarming,” Leiter said Friday.
“The president has made it clear that if they don’t disarm, Israel is going to have a green light to go back. And we’re not going to live with jihadis on our border and everybody understands that.”
Leiter would not say how long Israel is willing to wait for Hamas to back down, but said officials are “realistic and with a little tilt towards optimism” that the miltant group responsible for the Oct. 7 terror attack would comply with Trump’s peace plan that would transform Gaza into a “deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.”
Should Israel re-invade Gaza, it would do so “in tandem” with the US, Leiter said.
Israel is “very positive,” however, that peace talks are progressing in the right direction, which could eliminate the potential need for a re-invasion.
“But we’re ready to do it if we have to. We’re not going to live with this Hamas terror on our border,” said Leiter.
Netanyahu reportedly does not believe the international body led by Trump to oversee Gaza will be successful in disarming Hamas, which is why he ordered the IDF to prepare a “contingency plan.”
Earlier this month, Israel told The Post that the Israel Defense Forces would implement operations in the Gaza Strip, including in the city of Deir al-Balah, if Hamas refuses to disarm.
THE OPERATION
Quote:Israel said it launched a preemptive attack against Iran on Saturday, pushing the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation and further dimming hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West.
The attack, coming after Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day air war in June, follows repeated US-Israeli warnings that they would strike again if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
“The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian media reported.
The US and Iran renewed negotiations in February in a bid to resolve the decades-long dispute through diplomacy and avert the threat of a military confrontation that could destabilize the region.
Israel, however, insisted that any US deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process, and lobbied Washington to include restrictions on Iran’s missile program in the talks.
Iran said it was prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions but ruled out linking the issue to missiles.
Tehran also said it would defend itself against any attack.
It warned neighboring countries hosting US troops that it would retaliate against American bases if Washington struck Iran.
In June, the US joined an Israeli military campaign against Iranian nuclear installations, in the most direct American military action ever against the Islamic Republic.
Tehran retaliated by launching missiles toward the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest in the Middle East.
Western powers have warned that Iran’s ballistic missile project threatens regional stability and could deliver nuclear weapons if developed. Tehran denies seeking atomic bombs.
Quote:President Trump ordered the Iranian regime, military and police forces to “lay down” their guns or face “certain death” after the US and Israel launched “Operation Epic Fury” Saturday — as he appealed to protesters to control their “destiny.”
The commander in chief warned Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his lackies that they will face the full force of the US military if they don’t heed his warning.
“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,” Trump said during his eight-minute video address Saturday morning.
“So lay down your arms, you will be treated fairly with total immunity or you will face certain death.”
Trump told the Iranian citizens that it was their time to “respond” and seize and take control of the government.
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” Trump said.
“For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let’s see how you respond. 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.”
Quote:A wild video shows the moment US and Israeli missiles rained down on Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s compound — while a witness laughed in apparent disbelief.
The footage shows thick smoke billowing from the fortified complex, which, along with military infrastructure, was targeted in what the State Department called “Operation Epic Fury.”
Upon the realization, a woman can be heard laughing, seemingly stunned at the sight.
“Oh my God, they hit it. They struck it. Oh my God!” the woman says.
“They hit the Supreme Leader compound!”
At least seven missiles struck the area around Khamenei’s fortified complex in central Tehran, with additional strikes near the presidential palace.
The 86-year-old supreme leader was reportedly not in the compound — or in Tehran — when the strikes were launched and has since been moved to an undisclosed secure location.
Airstrikes were also reported in other enclaves, including Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah, but the full extent of the attack was not yet clear early Saturday.
Iran responded with a series of retaliatory attacks across in Bahrain, one of which struck a US Navy base.
The US and Israel joint strike came Saturday morning in response to the regime’s refusal to dismantle its nuclear program after weeks of negotiations.
Operation Epic Fury’s objective was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” President Trump said Saturday.
Trump also called upon the Iranian citizens to overthrow the “violent” regime.
The president had given the Iranian officials a 10-15 day deadline to reach an agreement on a nuclear deal on Feb. 19, asserting the regime would face “really bad things” if it didn’t.
Trump insisted he would not accept a deal that would allow Iran to continue to enrich uranium out of fears the regime is using it to build a nuclear weapon, but Tehran has claimed it was using the material for civilian purposes.
On Friday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged US citizens to evacuate the embassy as soon as possible.
Quote:US Central Command released video Saturday of American missiles obliterating various targets in Iran.
The dramatic footage shows Tomahawk cruise missiles being launched from a US Navy vessel and various types of fighter jets taking off from a ship.
Aerial footage of missiles striking five different targets, including an aircraft and radar station, was also shown.
“As the President stated, our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” CENTCOM wrote on X.
“The President ordered bold action,” the post continued. “CENTCOM forces are delivering an overwhelming and unrelenting blow.”
The military campaign, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, involves “the largest regional concentration of American military firepower in a generation,” according to CENTCOM.
The operation aims to “dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus” and is focused on “imminent threat” locations.
US and Israeli forces began hitting targets, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields, at 1:15 am ET.
In addition to the “precision munitions launched from air, land, and sea,” CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike deployed “one-way attack drones for the first time in combat.”
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement.
After the initial wave of strikes, CENTCOM forces repelled “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”
There have been no reports of US casualties or combat-related injuries.
US installations in the Middle East sustained “minimal” damage that has not impacted operations.
Quote:Saudi Arabia said it’s ready to put “all its capabilities” at its allies’ disposal, warning of “grave consequences” if retaliatory Iranian strikes continue — sparking fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
It comes after the Islamic Republic launched a barrage of missiles on US military bases in Saudia Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Jordan — in retaliation for US and Israel military strikes against Tehran overnight.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces in strongest terms the blatant Iranian aggression,” the Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said on a statement on X Saturday.
Iranian strikes targeted the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the ministry said.
“These attacks cannot be justified under any pretext or in any way whatsoever, and they came despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”
“The Kingdom affirms its full solidarity with and unwavering support for the brotherly countries, and its readiness to place all its capabilities at their disposal in support of any measures they may undertake,” it added.
“It also warns of the grave consequences resulting from the continued violation of states’ sovereignty and the principles of international law.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma later made calls to the leaders of the Gulf states to reaffirm his support, he said in a statement.
The US and Israel launched airstrikes against the Iranian regime Saturday morning, with the initial strike near Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Tehran office.
It came after the countries failed to make progress on a nuclear deal during talks earlier this week.
Quote:At least five people were killed after Iran retaliated Saturday against “Operation Epic Fury” by firing ballistic missiles at nine countries, including a US Navy base in Bahrain.
A massive explosion could be seen close to the base on the Persian Gulf Island nation, according to video obtained by The Post.
The footage was taken from a vehicle passing by the area.
A cloud of dark smoke blasted into the sky after the explosion, which then sent shrapnel flying in all directions.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” the passengers can be heard shouting.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the impact of the strike was on the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, the naval command overseeing the US Navy’s Middle East operations.
Initial reports suggested there were no US casualties in Bahrain.
Military personnel and residents were warned about the incoming missile attack, according to Stars and Stripes.
The hours-long attack on Bahrain included multiple explosions rocking the capital Manama Saturday afternoon, according to the outlet.
In addition to the attack on the American base in Bahrain, Iran launched a barrage of missiles in strikes targeting Israel, and US military bases across the region, including in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Iran launched a barrage of missiles in strikes targeting Israeli and US military bases across the region, including in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Jordan.
Israel bore the brunt of Iran’s ire with at least 125 missiles fired at the central and northern areas of Jewish state by Iran during the first barrage, with 35 successfully entering Israeli airspace, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The other 90 bombs were intercepted.
There was one direct hit on a residential building in northern Israel, first responders Magen David Adom told the outlet.
Only one person suffered minor injuries from that strike.
A second barrage later Saturday afternoon included 15 missiles launched in northern and central Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post.
One bomb from that volley also struck a residential building in central Israel where one person suffered minor injuries, that report stated.
Quote:Law enforcement was on high alert for terror attacks at sensitive sites in and around New York City Saturday following a series of US/Israel missile strikes on Iran overnight.
Video posted on X showed NYPD counterterrorism officers patrolling outside the Iranian Embassy on Third Avenue between East 40th Street and East 41th Street in Midtown, Saturday, video posted to X showed.
The department pledged to send additional officers to potential targets including diplomatic missions, cultural centers, religious institutions and other sites — which is its normal protocol when global tensions are heightened.
“The NYPD is closely monitoring events in Iran and the Middle East and coordinating with our federal and international partners,” the NYPD posted on X. “As is our protocol and out of an abundance of caution, we will be enhancing patrols to sensitive locations throughout the city, including diplomatic, cultural, religious, and other relevant sites.”
While no specific, credible threats were immediately identified, the careful approach came as supporters of the Iranian regime lashed out with anti-US rhetoric, law enforcement sources said.
Pro-Iranian group Kata’ib Hezbollah was threatening to target U.S. military bases in the Middle East, the sources said.
But the NYPD had yet to identify specific calls for targeted attacks in the city or the rest of the US, the sources said.
The Port Authority also upped its tactical patrols — sending more officers to the region’s three major airports along with bus terminals and railroads, the agency said.
Quote:A lush Dubai tourist hot spot was set ablaze Saturday in Iran fired missiles on the middle east nation in retaliation for US-Israeli airstrikes.
Fairmont The Palm, at the Palm Jumeirah — the glitzy tree-shaped island renowned for luxury apartment towers and hotels — looked like a war zone on Saturday, video and images circulating on social media showed.
The massive hotel was engulfed in flames after UAE forces intercepted an Iranian air attack, according to reports.
Debris from the intercepted attack, initially believed to be a missile, were believed to have crashed down near the front of The Palm, setting the facade of the building on fire, photos showed.
Officials have not revealed whether anyone was hurt or killed at the luxury hotel.
The strikes also sparked concerns that the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, may have also been struck.
The UAE military boasted of intercepting three waves of ballistic missiles from Tehran.
Debris from one of the waves intercepted by the UAE Air Defense system fell on several areas in Abu Dhabi, the country’s Ministry of Defense announced on X.
One person was killed in the failed strikes.
A “worker of Asian nationality” was killed in one of the strikes in residential areas of Abu Dhabi, according to the Ministry of Defense.
The UAE stated it “reserves the right to respond” to the Iranian strikes, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Iran launched strikes into other Gulf nations on Saturday after being hit by Operation Epic Fury, including Israel, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Quote:The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic chokepoint for seaborne oil that Iran has long used as a geopolitical bargaining chip, with Tehran repeatedly threatening to close it during times of crisis.
A senior naval commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards again threatened its closure in the event of an attack in late January. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump made good on his warnings of military action should the Islamic Republic fail to cut a deal to curb its nuclear program, with the US and Israel launching a joint operation targeting regime sites and military facilities across Iran.
Despite its frequent warnings of a blockade, Tehran has never acted on them, though it closed part of the strait briefly for “safety” reasons during recent military drills.
Here are the key points to know about the waterway.
Gateway to the Gulf
The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is situated between Iran and Oman’s Musandam exclave, at the tip of a peninsula.
Its narrowness, at around 50 kilometers (30 miles), and shallow waters, at no more than 60 meters (200 feet) deep, make it vulnerable to being sealed off militarily.
The strait is dotted with sparsely inhabited or desert islands, which are strategically important, notably the Iranian islands of Hormuz, Qeshm, and Larak.
Also among them are the disputed islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Mussa, which lie between the UAE and Iran and provide a vantage point over the Gulf, and have been under Iranian control since 1971.
Oil transit hotspot
The strait is a vital corridor connecting the oil-rich Gulf with markets in Asia, Europe, North America, and elsewhere.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Strait of Hormuz is “one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.”
About one-fifth of global oil and petroleum product consumption flows through the strait, averaging 20 million barrels per day in 2024, according to the EIA.
Quote:The Israeli Air Force has completed another wave of airstrikes in Iran, targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems, the military says.
According to the IDF, the missile launchers and air defenses were struck in western and central Iran. The military also says it “attacked several launch sites in central Iran that had not yet been targeted.”
One of the targeted missile launch sites, in the Qom area, was utilized by Iran to store “H-1” Ghadr missiles, capable of carrying warheads with hundreds of kilograms of explosives, the military says.
The IDF says the strikes on the launchers and other infrastructure at the sites “thwarted dozens of launches toward the territory of the State of Israel and dealt a severe blow to the regime’s most central offensive capability.”
The military publishes footage showing some of the strikes.
Quote:Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, says that Israel and the United States will “regret their actions” after Jerusalem and Washington said the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani posts on X.
Citing Red Crescent figures, Iranian media report 201 people killed, 747 wounded in U.S.-Israeli strikes that hit 24 provinces
Ayatollah Ali Khomenei 1939-2026
Quote:Multiple high-ranking Islamic Revolution Guard Corps commanders and regime officials — including IRGC Commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour and Iranian defense minister Amir Nasirzadeh — may have been killed in Operation Epic Fury, according to reports
Pakpour was named head of the IRGC after Israel’s June attacks on Iran killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami, and oversaw the deaths of thousands of protestors during weeks-long unrest in December.
Multiple sources said the joint Saturday strikes were believed to have eliminated Pakpour and Nasirzadeh, according to Reuters.
US and Israel launched at least seven missiles on Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s fortified compound, killing numerous senior officials, Iranian sources told the outlet.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News also admitted that at least two Iranian commanders were killed in the attack, but did not confirm any names.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, may have also been killed, according to Iranian media.
Another 40 people were killed when Israeli missiles landed on a school, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media.
Under his rule as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ top commander, Pakpour oversaw the deaths of 3,117 civilians across the nation — including bystanders and witnesses — during nationwide anti-regime protests.
Soldiers allegedly opened fire into the crowds indiscriminately — and put the country under a media blackout to hide the bloodshed.
“I was there that night. The security forces opened fire on people. They killed my child,” one mother told Reuters about Dec. 28.
UN human rights experts warned Tehran’s crackdown on anti-regime protesters has resulted in as many as 20,000 Iranian demonstrators, including children, being killed.
Iranian officials have claimed at the time that the mounting deaths during the protests were the fault of “rioters,” “terrorists,” and foreign influence.
Last month, Pakpour threatened that Iran’s “finger is on the trigger” as US military resources were allocated to the Middle East, and warned the US and Israel “to avoid any miscalculation.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were also targeted in Saturday’s attack, though the fate of both officials remains unknown.
Conflicting reports about whether Khamenei, 86, survived the bombing swirled.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei is alive “as far as I know.”
Pezeshkian’s son claims his father survived the attack, stating: “The assassination attempts failed and other officials are also healthy.”
President Trump said in an address early Saturday morning that the strikes were targeting Iranian leadership and that Operation Epic Fury’s objective was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Airstrikes were also reported in other enclaves, including Isfahan, Qom, Karaj and Kermanshah, but the full extent of the attack is not yet clear.
President Trump says a ‘large number’ of Iranian leaders were killed in the US-Israeli joint strikes
Quote:President Trump believes a “large” amount of Iranian leaders have been killed from the U.S.-Israeli strikes today.
In a three-minute phone call with NBC News, the President said “a large number of their leaders have also been killed.”
“I don’t mean like two people,” the President told NBC, without specifying a number. Fox News reported 40 top Iranian leaders were killed.
The U.S. conducted three attacks, which consequently killed a number of Iranian leaders, according to NBC News.
When asked who he believes will replace Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump joked, “I don’t know, but at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like.”
“I’m only being sarcastic when I say that,” he added.
DEAD!
Quote:Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike Saturday as part of a massive joint military operation between the U.S. and Israel, Israel's ambassador to Washington told U.S. officials.
The latest: President Trump told NBC News that "we feel certain" Khamenei is dead, along with "most" of Iran's senior leadership. "The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone," he said.
An Israeli official confirmed to Axios that Khamenei is dead and his body was recovered from his destroyed compound, according to Israeli intelligence.
Why it matters: The 86-year-old Khamenei led Iran for 35 years, making him one of the world's longest-serving authoritarian rulers. His death is a massive blow to the regime and could accelerate its collapse, which U.S. and Israeli officials have stated as a goal of their operation.
The big picture: Khamenei's killing sets off an immediate succession crisis with no clear answer.
- Under Iran's constitution, an interim council assumes power while the Assembly of Experts — a body of 88 Islamic clerics — selects a new supreme leader.
- But Israel says its opening strikes decimated the chain of command — killing seven senior defense and intelligence officials and targeting 30 top military and civilian leaders overall.
Those confirmed killed include:
- Khamenei's top security adviser Ali Shamkhani
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour
- Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh
- Khamenei's chief military secretary Mohammad Shirazi
- Head of Iranian military intelligence Saleh Asadi
- Chairman of the SPND (Iran's nuclear weapons research organization) Hossein Jabal Amelian
- Former SPND chairman Reza Mozaffari-Nia
What to watch: One senior official who survived is Ali Larijani — secretary of Iran's supreme national security council, former parliament speaker and one of Khamenei's closest confidants.
With much of the leadership killed, Larijani has emerged as the most senior civilian official still standing. In a post on X Saturday, he vowed Iran would deliver Israel and the U.S. an "unforgettable lesson."
Between the lines: Whether the IRGC moves to seize control — or whether the strikes create the popular opening Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump have both called for — remains unclear.
Israeli officials said Israel targeted Khamenei's sons, but intelligence assessments suggest they survived the strikes.
Mojtaba Khamenei, one of the supreme leader's sons, had been widely discussed as a possible successor to his father.
Context: Khamenei took power in 1989 following the death of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and spent 35 years consolidating near-total control over the Iranian state.
As supreme leader, he held authority over the judiciary, state media and all security forces — including the IRGC.
He wielded that power ruthlessly against dissent. Thousands of protesters were killed under his watch during the most recent nationwide uprising, and his forces have repeatedly crushed reform movements over the decades.
What to watch: In an overnight video address, Trump called for the Iranian people to remain in their homes during the bombing campaign — but rise up and "take over your government" when it concludes.
Iran's exiled former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, a leading opposition leader who has organized mass protests against the regime, also called for the Iranian people to take to the streets.
Pahlavi urged Iranian security forces: "Join the nation and help ensure a stable and secure transition. Otherwise, you will sink with Khamenei's ship and his crumbling regime."
Quote:Feb 28 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who turned the country into a powerful anti-U.S. force and extended its military influence across the Middle East while crushing repeated domestic unrest, was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes, a senior Israeli official told Reuters on Saturday.
There was no immediate Iranian confirmation of his fate.
The United States and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran on Saturday, targeting its top leaders and plunging the Middle East into a conflict that President Donald Trump said would end a security threat to the U.S. and give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers.
Khamenei, 86, became Iran's highest authority in 1989, following the death of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. As supreme leader, he held ultimate control over Iran's political, military and religious institutions, shaping domestic policy and guiding foreign relations.
Israel long saw him as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, citing his backing for Iran's network of militant allies, including Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah. When Israel and Iran fought a 12-day air war in June 2025, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate him, saying the supreme leader "cannot continue to exist."
That war saw Israel launch a surprise strike that struck Iran's underground nuclear site, killed senior commanders and nuclear scientists, and wiped out much of the military leadership. Khamenei's killing deals another blow to a country already reeling from war and economic hardship.
Khamenei upheld the conservative vision of his predecessor, Khomeini, quashing the ambitions of elected presidents who sought more open policies at home and abroad. Under his rule, authorities crushed repeated protests and sidelined reformists pushing for less confrontation with the West.
Iran became a powerful regional anti-U.S. force under Khamenei, extending its influence across the Middle East. He backed the 2015 nuclear deal brokered with world powers and pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, which briefly eased Iran's isolation. But tensions spiked after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Iran has seen its allies weakened. Hamas and Hezbollah suffered heavy blows from Israel, while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, long propped up by Tehran, was toppled in December 2024.
The post of Supreme Leader was created after the 1979 revolution and enshrined in Iran's constitution, giving a top cleric ultimate authority over the president and parliament. The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body vetted by a hardline watchdog aligned with Khamenei, formally selects the leader.
Quote:Channel 12 news reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump were shown an image of the body of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, after it was recovered by Iranian authorities from his compound in Tehran.
Israel carried out a massive strike on Khamenei’s compound in the opening salvo of attacks on Iran this morning.
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter updated American officials that Israel had succeeded in killing Khamenei, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel, confirming reporting in the Axios news site.
Quote:Iran’s militant and unyielding supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades and oversaw an era of harsh internal repression and confrontation with the United States and Israel, has died following the Israeli strike in Tehran, as his compound was reduced to rubble, a senior Israeli official told Fox News Digital.
"Khamenei was the contemporary Middle East’s longest-serving autocrat. He did not get to be that way by being a gambler. Khamenei was an ideologue, but one who ruthlessly pursued the preservation and protection of his ideology, often taking two steps forward and one step back," Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital.
"Khamenei’s worldview was shaped by his militant anti-Americanism and antisemitism, which first manifested itself in his protests against the Shah of Iran," he added.
Born April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, eastern Iran, Khamenei was among the Islamist activists who played a central role in the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. A close ally of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei rose through the new system and served as president from 1981 to 1989 before becoming supreme leader after Khomeini’s death that same year.
Decades in power, Khamenei consolidated control over Iran’s political and security system, presiding over repeated crackdowns on dissent and maintaining a hardline posture toward Washington and Jerusalem.
"Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule has been marked by unrelenting brutality and repression, both within Iran and beyond its borders," said Lisa Daftari, an expert on Iran and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk. She pointed to executions and the enforcement of strict social controls as defining features of the system under Khamenei’s leadership.
His ultra-conservative style of leadership did face challenges, however. In 2009, following disputed elections in which Khamenei declared victory for the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, massive protests erupted across the country.
Mass demonstrations also broke out in 2022 after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died while detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly. The protests were brutally put down, with many of those arrested and put to death by his regime.
In late December, Iran was again rocked by protests and a fierce brutal security response. According to an Iran International investigation, as many as 30,000 people may have been killed across two days, Jan. 8 to 9, 2026.
International monitors and rights groups have repeatedly documented high execution numbers in Iran in recent years as well. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities executed more than 1,000 people in 2025, calling it the highest yearly figure the organization recorded in at least 15 years. Separately, a U.N. report said Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024, the highest number since 2015.
Across the region, Khamenei invested heavily in Iran’s network of allied militias and armed groups, a strategy used to project Iranian power beyond its borders. From the West Bank and Gaza, where he backed terror groups such as Hamas, to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi extremists in Yemen, as well as other militant militias in Iraq, Iran under Khamenei’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the terror groups.
However, his prized proxies, as well as the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, collapsed under Israeli military pressure following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. During a 12-day war in June 2025, Israel also succeeded in taking out some of Khamenei’s closest aides and senior security figures, leaving the long-serving leader significantly weakened.
Yet analysts argue that Khamenei’s most enduring legacy may be the institutional machinery he built at home to safeguard the system.
BBC Live Reports - UK Time
Quote:21:21
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is currently addressing the Security Council at an emergency meeting.
He says he is "not in a position to confirm" Israeli media reports that Iran's supreme leader has been killed.
Quote:21:46
Donald Trump has just announced that Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed. Here is his whole post on his Truth Social Platform:
Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS. He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us. As I said last night, “Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!” Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves. That process should soon be starting in that, not only the death of Khamenei but the Country has been, in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated. The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!
Quote:22:00
A social media video, shared on X and verified, external by BBC Persian, shows some Iranians in Karaj celebrating the reported death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - before it was seemingly confirmed by Donald Trump.
US President Donald Trump has just posted on Truth Social to announce Khamenei's death, following earlier reports in Israeli and US media.
Quote:22:12
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah (king), has welcomed the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Ali Khamenei, the bloodthirsty Zahhak [an evil king in Iranian mythology] of our time, the killer of tens of thousands of Iran’s bravest sons and daughters, has been erased from the pages of history," Pahlavi writes on social media.
"With his death, the Islamic Republic has effectively come to an end and will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history."
Pahlavi discouraged Iranian officials from appointing a successor and warned that it was the military, security and police forces "last chance" to join the people.
"This marks the beginning of our great national celebration; but it is not the end of the road."
Pahlavi followed his parents and siblings into exile following the 1979 revolution and has resided in the United States since.
REACTIONS
Quote:Rival opposition figures are jockeying for position in a new Iran, in the wake of the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In dueling messages on Saturday, opposition leader Maryam Rajavi and exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians to unite — while making clear they have different visions for the country’s future.
Rajavi -— president-elect of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran — called for the overthrow of Iran’s ruling clerical regime and the creation of a democratic republic as conflict intensifies over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs following Saturday’s strikes by the US and Israel.
“Our homeland continues to endure greater pain and destruction under the rule of religious fascism,” Rajavi declared in a statement shared with The Post, urging Iranians — particularly the nation’s “courageous youth” — to protect civilians amid mounting instability.
The NCRI, formed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, presents itself as a government-in-exile and says it has a ready blueprint for a six-month transitional administration that would organize free elections and transfer sovereignty to the people.
“Now is the time for solidarity,” Rajavi said. “[Iranians] reject both the Shah and the mullahs,” she added, dismissing any return to monarchy.
That was a swipe at Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last monarch, who has told The Post he also has plans for a democratic transition if the Islamic Republic collapses.
In a post on X, Pahlavi described the US action as a “humanitarian intervention” aimed at the regime — not the Iranian people.
“The final victory will still be achieved by us,” he wrote. “It is we, the people of Iran, who will finish this task in this final battle. The time to return to the streets is approaching.”
Pahlavi also called on President Trump to exercise “the utmost possible caution” to protect civilians if strikes continue, adding that Iranians “will not forget your assistance during the most difficult period of Iran’s contemporary history.”
Both figures appealed directly to Iran’s military and security forces.
Rajavi urged members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other security bodies to lay down their arms and side with the people.
Pahlavi warned security personnel they would “sink with Khamenei’s ship” if they continued defending the regime rather than “protect[ing] Iran and the Iranian nation.”
Rajavi pointed to her “10-point plan” advocating free elections, separation of religion and state, gender equality and a non-nuclear Iran as the framework for a transitional government.
“Our path leads toward the future and the establishment of a democratic republic,” she said, “not a return to the buried dictatorship of the past.”
Quote:California Gov. Gavin Newsom received intense blowback for calling the joint US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran an “illegal, dangerous war” while ripping President Trump’s decision to attack Tehran..
“The corrupt and repressive Iranian regime must never have nuclear weapons. The leadership of Iran must go,” Newsom wrote on X Saturday, after the US and Israel launched the coordinated strikes early that morning.
“But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people.
“President Trump is putting Americans at risk abroad because he is unpopular at home.”
The comments earned immediate criticism from those who questioned the potential 2028 presidential candidate‘s position.
“Which one is it Gavin? They can’t have nuclear weapons and need to be removed? Or the operation is not justified?” one X user responded. “Pick one stance please. If you want to run for President, you should get comfortable making bold statements on where you stand.”
Another defended the Trump’s authority, arguing Trump was within his constitutional powers to authorize the strikes: writing: “Not illegal — but you’d have to be able to read the Constitution to know that,” the user wrote.
A third added that Newsom should simply stand behind his country.
“I know this is hard for you Gavin, so let’s try saying it together: ‘I support America,’” the user wrote.
Some cracked jokes at the governor’s expense.
Quote:NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Squad Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ilhan Omar led a laundry list of far-left pols condemning President Trump for launching airstrikes with Israel against Iran.
“Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression,” Mamdani said Saturday, mere days after the socialist mayor briefly bonded with Trump over potential Big Apple housing investments during a visit to the White House.
“Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.”
Mamdani insisted he’s focused on “making sure that every New Yorker is safe.”
He was in contact with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and emergency management officials to take “proactive steps, including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution,” the mayor said in a statement.
“Additionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders,” said the Ugandan-born pol. “You will be safe here.”
Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) also accused Trump of “dragging” Americans “into a war they did not want,” alleging the president “does not care about the long-term consequences of his actions.
“This war is unlawful. It is unnecessary. And it will be catastrophic,” she ranted.
Omar (D-Minnesota) also piled on the president, accusing Trump of “unilaterally dragging this nation into an illegal and unjustified war with Iran without congressional authorization, without a clear objective, and without any imminent threat to the United States.”
Quote:Venezuela condemned the US and Israeli strikes on Iran — while also criticizing Tehran’s “undue” retaliatory attacks on US military bases across the Gulf region.
“Venezuela condemns and regrets deeply that, in a context in which diplomatic efforts and ongoing negotiations are being developed, the military route was opted for, through attacks against Iran,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement Saturday.
The strikes caused “undue and condemnable military reprisals against targets located in different countries of the region by Iran,” it added.
Venezuela has been an ally of Iran, but the interim government in place since US forces captured dictator Nicolas Maduro last month has been walking a tight rope in diplomatic relations with the Trump administration.
Quote:Chinese Communist Party sympathizers helped spur protests Saturday planned for the Big Apple and other cities across the country in opposition of Trump administration and Israel launching airstrikes against Iran.
Tech mogul and alleged CCP propagandist Neville Singham and other CCP mouthpieces are major backers of many far-left groups sponsoring the “STOP THE WAR ON IRAN!” protests set for Times Square, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago and roughly 70 other locations nationwide.
The sponsors include The People’s Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement, CODEPINK, Black Alliance for Peace, Democratic Socialists of America, ANSWER Coalition, National Iranian American Council, 50501 and American Muslims for Palestine, according to a statement put out by the coalition.
“Trump’s unprovoked, illegal attack on Iran is an act of war that threatens to cause unthinkable death and destruction,” the coalition said.
“But the people of this country reject another endless war and will take to the streets now and make our voices heard.”
The State Department earlier this month transmitted a report to Congress Tuesday linking lefty nonprofits Code Pink and the People’s Forum to Chinese influence operations.
The report on “Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference” alleges that China “spreads propaganda through influence campaigns run by nonprofit organizations like Code Pink, the People’s Forum and groups linked with the notorious Singham network.”
The so-called “Singham network” are nonprofits funded by Singham, whose activist wife Jodie Evans is a co-founder of Code Pink and also presides over New York City-based the People’s Forum.
Singham — an American expat living in Shanghai, China — “works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide,” the New York Times reported in 2023.
The People’s Forum and affiliated entities have also been involved in anti-Israel demonstrations in the city following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel as well as pro-Nicolas Maduro demonstrations after the former leader of Venezuela was captured by US forces in January.
Singham has also been accused to pushing his domestic chaos and a sympathetic CCP narrative by helping fund the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition.
Quote:Iran posed an “intolerable risk” to the U.S. with its missile threat and, during negotiations, wouldn’t accept “free nuclear fuel forever” – all of which led up to Saturday’s attack on Tehran.
Senior administration officials briefed reporters on the hours leading up to “Operation Epic Fury.”
One official described Iran’s missile inventory and said it posed “an intolerable risk to the United States.”
The US had “indicators” that Tehran was going to launch a preemptive strike against American assets in the region, pointing to Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US bases in the region, including ones in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as proof.
“The president decided he was not going to sit back and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks from conventional missiles. We had analysis that basically told us, if we sat back and waited to get hit first, the amount of casualties and damage would be substantially higher than if we acted in a preemptive, defensive way to prevent those launches from occurring,” the official said.
Another senior administration official described the final talks in Geneva with Iranian officials and revealed the astonishing offer the Americans made.
“One of the things we offered – we said, we will give you free nuclear fuel forever,” the official said. “And they basically said that didn’t work for them. They needed to enrich uranium.”
The Trump administration said Iran’s nuclear capabilities were destroyed in Operation Midnight Hammer last year, but were concerned Tehran was preparing to ramp them up again.
Quote:As many Americans slept, the US military struck Iran — sparking swift reactions from celebs and lawmakers.
In a combined effort with Israel, a series of attacks was leveled against Iran. The initial attack happened close to the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
The regime has, for months, refused to dismantle its nuclear program after weeks of negotiations. President Trump warned there would be consequences if a deal was not reached. “It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in a video message posted on Truth Social.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was one of the first celebrities to chime in after the attacks.
“I always laugh at yo-yo’s who don’t have the 1st clue what information the President had that forced this decision. Even politicians who despise him but were briefed on the situation seem to agree with this operation. I guess lotta podcasters know better,” he said on X.
“Iran is a terror nation with a long history of some of the worst human rights atrocities in the world. Nobody disputes that fact.They hate Americans. They hate Israel. They hate all Jews. They hate the West. They would kill us all if given the chance. They just murdered tens of thousands of their own people. The rest of the Middle East is on our side. The Iranian people are on our side. It isn’t that complicated to support our Troops and our country this morning. We are on the right side here. God Bless America,” Portnoy added.
Health guru and staunch Trump supporter Jillian Michaels also weighed in on the attacks.
“We all know President Trump declaring war means America’s brave men and women putting on uniforms. It’s moms, dads, and spouses holding their breath. It’s the fate of the Iranian people hanging in the balance. Agree or not, pray for our troops and for the families who shoulder this burden at home. Pray for the people of Iran,” she wrote on X.
“The world has watched their suffering for decades: young women beaten to death for showing a strand of hair, dissidents tortured in secret prisons, protestors hanged from cranes, live rounds fired into crowds chanting “freedom.” A regime that rapes, silences, and executes to cling to power,” Michaels said.
“… But if from this darkness comes liberation for millions, defanging the top funders of terror around the world, and a wider peace in the Middle East, history will mark it as a defining moment,” she added.
Apparently taking the temperature of his social media platform, Elon Musk also jumped on X with a message to those who were hit with a barrage of Iran and politically-related posts.
“You can now select topics for your timeline, so if you’re tired of political ragebait, you can select something else,” Musk said.
The White Stripes lead singer Jack White also took to Instagram to condemn President Donald Trump for his attack on Iran.
“Don’t you love seeing him declare war on a country while wearing a trucker hat that says “USA” on it? Behold the leader of the “Board of Peace”. For the next war announcement donny, may I suggest having your feet up on the Resolute desk while eating a Big Mac in a velvet track suit? Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, Cuba, what’s the difference right? don jr. and barron won’t have to fight or die, just other people’s children, so…invade and bomb away! New sign ups for the “board of peace” starting at one billion dollars! Can you believe donny hasn’t received a real Nobel Peace Prize yet? Unfair! Maybe in his third term he’ll get one.
PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT
February 26th
Quote:Pakistan bombed Taliban government forces in Afghanistan’s major cities overnight, the first time it has directly targeted its former allies, and described the situation as “open war,” raising tensions in a volatile, nuclear-armed region.
The Pakistani strikes hit the capital, Kabul, and the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders are based. It was the first time Islamabad has attacked the Taliban rather than militants allegedly backed by them, a stark rupture in ties between the Islamic neighbors.
Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes involved air-to-ground missile attacks on Taliban military offices and posts in Kabul, Kandahar as well as Paktia province.
There were ground clashes in multiple sectors along the border between the Islamic nations.
The Taliban said they launched what they described as retaliatory attacks on Pakistani military installations.
Both sides reported heavy losses, issuing sharply differing figures that Reuters could not independently verify.
“Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan),” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday.
The strikes threaten to unleash a protracted conflict along the 1,615-mile frontier with relations between Kabul and Islamabad shattered by a long-running dispute over Pakistan’s accusation that Afghanistan harbors militants carrying out attacks across the border.
The Taliban have denied the charge and said Pakistan’s security is an internal problem.
Pakistan is nuclear-armed and its military capabilities are vastly superior to Afghanistan.
However, the Taliban are adept at guerrilla warfare, hardened by decades of fighting with US-led forces, before returning to power in 2021.
Russia, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia were trying to mediate, diplomats and news reports said.
Iran, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan, has also offered to help, according to its foreign ministry. The offer came as Tehran holds crucial talks with Washington on resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new US strikes.
Quote:Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes on Pakistani border posts late Thursday, according to the Taliban, after what it said were Pakistani airstrikes. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Afghan forces targeted Pakistani military positions along the Durand Line, with clashes in some areas lasting more than two hours. Pakistan said it was responding to “unprovoked fire” and put security forces on high alert nationwide.
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:KYIV, Ukraine — President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has promised this week he will not sign off on a peace agrement between Ukraine and Russia until Ukrainians feel sure that Moscow will no longer take up arms against them.
“There is no deal here unless Ukraine and its people can believe that they will be able to live in peace if, in fact, there is a diplomatic solution,” Witkoff said in a virtual address to the Yalta European Strategy conference held here Tuesday. “That has to be the end result here — a reality that peace is there.
“That, I believe, will require strong security protocols from the United States backing up strong security protocols from Europe. And we set forth in that Geneva first meeting — we worked long hours — to establish that.”
Witkoff and Jared Kushner are again in Geneva on Thursday, first meeting with an Iranian delegation before talks with Ukraine’s negotiators.
“Today in Geneva we continue our work within the framework of the negotiation process,” said Ukrainian national security adviser and delegation head Rustem Umerov. “Together with the Government’s economic team, we will thoroughly work through the prosperity package: mechanisms for economic support and recovery of Ukraine, instruments for attracting investment, and frameworks for long-term cooperation.”
The teams will also “synchronize positions” ahead of additional talks with Russia, which will include “the issue of possible exchanges” of prisoners of war, Umerov said.
“We expect concrete results regarding the return of our citizens,” he said. “We are focused on practical solutions.”
The US-Ukraine talks come ahead of a fourth trilateral meeting between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow set for next week, during which the three sides will assess whether they can make progress on arranging a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff said Tuesday he “strongly” believed such a meeting could happen — a breakthrough that would rank as the most significant toward resolving the conflict since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.
Quote:PAVLOHRAD, Ukraine — Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv says it is now killing or wounding more Russian troops each month than the Kremlin can replace — a shift they argue could change the war’s trajectory.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s latest figures are staggering: 65,000 Russian troops killed or wounded over December and January alone, according to Kyiv — a number exceeding the roughly 58,000 US troops killed during the entire two decades of the Vietnam War.
Some estimates have the ratio as high as 27 Russian losses for every Ukrainian killed.
While The Post was unable to independently verify the figures, the highly digitized, drone-saturated nature of the war has made battlefield losses easier to document than in past conflicts, with many strikes captured on video.
Kyiv does not disclose its own casualty figures. The total number of casualties (killed, wounded, and missing) is at least 1.2 million Russians — which is the most of any major power since World War II, a late-January report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found. In comparison, Ukrainian forces suffered somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties.
Looking at deaths alone, between 100,000 and 140,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the war began, and roughly 325,000 Russian troops have died, CSIS found.
Even though Kyiv wants peace, Russia has so far been unrelenting in its determination to keep sending soldiers into Ukraine. In the meantime, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Yurii Myronenko told The Post this week the goal for summer is even more ambitious — inflicting up to 50,000 Russian casualties every single month.
“We’re not stopping,” he said with a steely resolve. “The task is clear: we will keep killing Russian soldiers and make it impossible for them to continue this war.”
The change comes after a shakeup in the Ukrainian government, with the nation’s energetic, young drone czar Mikhailo Federov — formerly minister of digital transformation — becoming the country’s new defense minister last month.
The Post spent Friday with a unit in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ “Spartan” brigade as they hunted for Russian troops across the countryside — not from trenches, but from a heated command room lined with screens.
About 25 troops sat in a dim room, scanning dozens of live feeds for sudden movement — a flicker in a tree line, a shadow in the rubble of villages that were once home to thousands of people now buried beneath them or evacuated far away.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
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My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
