Trump confirms U.S. began major combat operation against Iran

[Flags of United States of America, Israel and Iran painted on the concrete wall with soldier shadow.]
Tomas Ragina/iStock via Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military has begun “major combat operations” in Iran, confirming American participation in coordinated strikes after Israel launched attacks on Iranian targets.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in a video message on his Truth Social account.

Airstrikes carried out by both the U.S. and Israel have targeted multiple provinces across Iran. Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Republic is preparing what it described as a “crushing response.”

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz described the attack as being done “to remove threats.”

The attack followed after the third round of talks failed between the U.S. and Iran. Ahead of the discussions, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s reluctance to talk about its ballistic missile development program, alongside its nuclear program, was a “big, big problem.” Iran had said it was willing to compromise when it came to its nuclear program, but had repeatedly said Tehran’s missile program had never been part of the talks’ agenda.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned earlier in February that “really bad things” would happen unless Tehran agreed to a deal over the future of its nuclear program. The attack, which comes after a significant build up of military assets in the oil-rich Middle East region.

Iran, a founding member of OPEC, is a key global oil producer and controls territory along the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

Last June, the U.S. carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, with intelligence assessments indicating significant damage to Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran later retaliated with a strike on a U.S. air base in Qatar, reportedly causing minor damage and no casualties.

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