US & Israel Launch Major Strikes on Iran
The U.S. and Israel have launched large-scale military strikes against Iran, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," with explosions reported in Tehran. In a televised address, President Trump confirmed the U.S. is engaged in "major combat operations" and explicitly called for regime change. The move, framed as a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear program, has sparked speculation about the public absence of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during the crisis.
The current military action follows a significant escalation in the long-running covert "shadow war" between Israel and Iran. Tensions broke into open military confrontation in 2024, with a suspected Israeli airstrike on an Iranian embassy compound in April and a subsequent direct Iranian missile barrage against Israel. This was followed by another major Iranian missile attack in October 2024 in retaliation for the killings of the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas. This isn't the first direct US military intervention. In June 2025, a 12-day war erupted after Israel launched "preemptive strikes" on Iran. The U.S. joined the conflict, directly attacking three of Iran's key nuclear facilities. A tenuous ceasefire was reached on June 24, 2025, but the period since has been marked by heightened tensions and a major U.S. military buildup in the region. The strikes target an Iranian nuclear program that has advanced significantly. After President Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018, Iran ramped up its atomic activities. As of mid-2025, Iran had amassed a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short technical step from the 90% needed for a weapon. This advanced stockpile has dramatically shortened Iran's potential "breakout time" — the time needed to produce enough fissile material for one bomb. While that timeline was estimated at a year under the original nuclear deal, by late 2024, some analysts assessed Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb in less than a week, and enough for several more within a month. Israel's part in the joint offensive, dubbed "Operation Roaring Lion," is reportedly focused on targeting Iran's leadership. Satellite imagery showed extensive damage at the compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, though his whereabouts are unconfirmed. The 86-year-old leader has ruled for over three decades, crushing numerous protests and surviving previous crises, including the 12-day war last June. Iran has already launched retaliatory missile strikes against Israel and U.S. military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. This follows a pattern of responding to attacks, such as when it fired ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq after the 2020 assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. The offensive was launched just two days after a round of indirect nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland, ended without a breakthrough. Omani mediators had stated a deal was "within our reach" just a day before the strikes, but President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the talks. International reactions have been swift, with the European Union calling for "maximum restraint." Meanwhile, the British government confirmed that its planes were in the air over the Middle East as part of "coordinated regional defensive operations." Saudi Arabia, a regional rival to Iran, reported and condemned a "blatant and cowardly" retaliatory attack from Tehran on its capital.
