U.S. and Israel Launch Operation Epic Fury, Killing Ali Khamenei and Dozens in Iran Strikes

On February 28, 2026, U.S. and Israeli forces began joint strikes on Iran, numbering nearly 900 in just the first 12 hours of what the United States dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

Britannica says the opening salvo took out the heart of the Iranian regime, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and triggered a torrent of hundreds of retaliatory missiles and thousands of drones from Iran across the region.

Al Jazeera

Britannica also reports that the initial wave of strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of other top Iranian officials, but it also killed about 170 people when a missile struck a girls’ school adjacent to a naval base in Minab, near Bandar Abbas.

In response to the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, 2026, Britannica says Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. embassies, military installations, and oil infrastructure, including vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium, and he told reporters in the White House garden that, "They have agreed to bring the nuclear dust back to us."

In the same remarks, Trump said, "There is a very high likelihood that we will reach an agreement," and he added that "Iran has almost agreed to almost everything."

Al-Ain Al-Ekhbariya

The Al Jazeera net report also quotes Trump linking Iran to the nuclear file, saying, "Iran killed 42,000 protesters and cannot be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon."

Trump further said the U.S. navy was doing a job in the Strait of Hormuz, asserting, "Our navy is doing a fantastic job in the Strait of Hormuz," while he threatened to resume the military option if negotiations fail, saying, "If we do not reach an agreement with Iran, fighting will be resumed."

As the ceasefire entered its fifty-sixth day, the Other source says Trump claimed that Israel and Hezbollah were deterred from continuing attacks while he also asserted that talks with Iran are proceeding at a rapid pace.

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Britannica

The same source says the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had targeted an 'American Zionist' ship in response to the U.S. attack on an Iranian vessel.

It also quotes Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun saying, "Lebanon has suffered more than 3,000 martyrs and more than one million displaced, and there is no option but negotiation."

In a separate statement, the Other source quotes Trump saying the U.S. is monitoring Iranian nuclear sites from space and warning that anyone who approaches them will be dealt with accordingly, while also saying, "We will prevail in this conflict—whether through negotiations with Iran or by other means—but we will undoubtedly emerge victorious."