US & Israel Launch Joint Strikes on Iran
The U.S. and Israel have launched joint airstrikes on Iran, codenamed "Operation Epic Fury," with explosions reported in Tehran and targeting missile sites. President Trump publicly called for regime overthrow, while media analysis confirms the coordinated attacks. The move triggered a surge in oil prices and a sharp decline in global financial markets over fears of a wider conflict.
This direct military engagement, a significant escalation from the long-running "shadow war," follows years of covert operations. These previously included the Stuxnet computer worm, which is believed to have been a joint U.S.-Israeli cyberweapon that destroyed nearly a fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges, and the targeted assassinations of several of Iran's top nuclear scientists. The strikes come after the 2018 U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. That agreement had limited Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. After the U.S. withdrawal, Iran began to exceed the deal's limits on uranium enrichment. President Trump stated the objective of "Operation Epic Fury" is to "destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground" and to "annihilate their navy." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added that the joint operation's goal is to "remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran" and create conditions for the Iranian people to "take their destiny into their own hands." Initial targets reportedly included military and naval facilities, missile depots, and sites near the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retaliated by targeting U.S. military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and the Fifth Fleet's headquarters in Bahrain. Iran possesses one of the largest and most diverse missile arsenals in the Middle East, with a self-imposed range limit of 2,000 kilometers, sufficient to reach Israel and regional U.S. assets. Prior to the strikes, its military was ranked 16th globally by Global Firepower, with approximately 610,000 active-duty personnel. International reaction has been swift, with Russia condemning the strikes as a "pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression." The European Union described the situation as "perilous," while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar all reported being hit by Iranian retaliatory missile attacks. This operation represents a significant U.S. military buildup in the region, reportedly the largest since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The U.S. has deployed multiple naval assets, including the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, to the area. Early reports on casualties are emerging, with Iran's IRNA news agency claiming strikes hit a girls' school, killing dozens of students. The UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported one fatality from shrapnel from an Iranian missile. These numbers have not been independently verified.
