Operation Epic Fury: Everything We Know About the US-Israel Strike on Iran
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NextGen Gpost 2026-03-09 Operation Epic Fury, Strategic deterrenc 110
At 2:30 AM EST on February 28, 2026, Donald Trump posted an eight-minute video on Truth Social. No press briefing, no televised address from the Oval Office. Just a video on a social media platform — and simultaneously, nearly 900 strikes hitting targets across Iran in what the Pentagon Codenamed Operation Epic Fury.
In 12 hours, the Middle East changed permanently.
How It Started
The road to Operation Epic Fury stretched back years, but the final months were a blur of escalation. After the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025 — when the US first struck Iran's nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer — Iran resumed uranium enrichment, expelled IAEA inspectors, and watched its economy crater. By December 2025, protests had erupted across the country, the largest since the 1979 revolution. The government's response was brutal: estimates of those killed range from 3,000 to 32,000.
In February 2026, US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva appeared to make progress. Both sides agreed to continue negotiations. Then, two days later, the bombs fell. The Center for International Policy noted the stark contradiction: military operations launched while active diplomatic talks were ongoing, and without UN Security Council authorization.
Trump, for his part, didn't pretend otherwise. He called it a preemptive strike and added — in the same breath — that the goal was regime change. His administration later offered different justifications at different times: self-defense, preemption, disarmament, and regime change. The shifting narrative left both allies and lawmakers confused.
The Opening Strikes
The operation had a clear division of labor between the US and Israel. According to CSIS analysis, Israel focused on decapitating Iranian leadership — its jets targeted Khamenei's compound directly. The US, through CENTCOM, took on the broader mission: destroying Iran's ballistic missile infrastructure, nuclear sites, air defenses, naval capabilities, and IRGC command centers.
Nearly 900 strikes in 12 hours. That's not a surgical operation — that's a sustained campaign. The targets included Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan, IRGC headquarters, missile production sites, naval bases, and the residences and offices of senior officials. Trump claimed 48 senior Iranian leaders were killed in the opening phase.
One strike hit a girls' primary school in Minab, near Bandar Abbas, killing over 160 students and staff. Both the US and Israel denied deliberately targeting it. The school was adjacent to an IRGC naval base. An investigation was promised, but as of this writing, no findings have been released.
Iran's Retaliation
Iran's response was broad and immediate. Over 500 ballistic missiles and nearly 2,000 drones were launched between February 28 and March 5 — targeting US military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, as well as Israeli territory. Six American service members were killed in Kuwait. An Iranian missile struck the US embassy building in Kuwait, prompting its temporary closure. A Crowne Plaza hotel in Bahrain was hit, causing civilian casualties.
Iran also moved quickly to close the Strait of Hormuz — declaring that any vessel attempting passage would be set ablaze. Over 150 ships anchored outside the strait rather than risk it. Oil prices, which had been trading in the mid-$60 range before the strikes, crossed $100 per barrel within days. For a full breakdown of what the Hormuz closure means for global energy, read:
The Nuclear Question
Perhaps the biggest unresolved issue from the operation is Iran's nuclear program. A preliminary DIA report — leaked and quickly disputed — suggested that Iran had moved much of its enriched uranium stockpile before the strikes, and that the remaining damage set back its weapons timeline by only months. Trump's CIA director John Ratcliffe pushed back sharply, claiming the damage was severe and would take years to repair.
The truth is probably somewhere in between, and unlikely to be confirmed publicly anytime soon.
The Diplomatic Fallout
The operation exposed fractures in the Western alliance that were already there but now impossible to ignore. The UK initially refused to allow the US to use its bases, forcing B-2 bombers to fly 18-hour missions from the US mainland. Spain barred US military planes from its bases entirely, and Trump threatened to 'cut off all trade' with Spain in response. France called the strikes 'outside the framework of international law.' Only Canada and Ukraine offered enthusiastic support.
For a wider look at what this means for America's global standing, read our full analysis:
And to understand the succession crisis the strikes triggered inside Iran:
References
