U.S. and Israel Launch Strikes on Iran
The U.S. and Israel have jointly launched significant military strikes on Iran, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," with explosions reported in Tehran. Israel is framing it as a “preemptive strike” against an “extremely serious” threat, while Iran has declared a state of emergency. President Trump released a video calling the action "major combat operations" and urged Iranians to overthrow their government, though U.S. intelligence sources reportedly dispute the administration's claims about an imminent missile threat.
The joint military operation was planned for months, with the initial phase of the attack expected to last for at least four days. The U.S. has named its mission "Operation Epic Fury," while Israel's component is dubbed "Lion's Roar." In the lead-up, the U.S. deployed significant naval power to the region, including the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carriers. These strikes follow the recent breakdown of indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, mediated by Oman, which ended without a new nuclear deal. The International Atomic Energy Agency recently warned it could no longer verify that Iran's nuclear program was exclusively peaceful after access to key sites was lost following earlier strikes in June 2025. Before those previous attacks, the IAEA estimated Iran possessed over 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short technical step from the 90% required for a weapon. In immediate response to the joint strikes, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched retaliatory missile attacks. Targets reportedly included U.S. bases such as Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE, and the U.S. Fifth Fleet's headquarters in Bahrain. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates reported one fatality from missile shrapnel. The conflict has heightened fears of a major disruption to the global energy supply via the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway, located between Oman and Iran, is a critical chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes daily. Most crude exports from OPEC members Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Iraq transit through the strait. International reactions to the escalation have been swift and divided. European leaders, including those from the UK, France, and Germany, have urged restraint and a return to diplomacy. Russia condemned the strikes as a "preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression," while Brazil and Ireland expressed "grave concern." The official U.S. justification for the strikes contradicts some of its own intelligence assessments from prior to the conflict. In March 2025, the Director of National Intelligence testified that the intelligence community assessed Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon. President Trump publicly dismissed that assessment at the time, aligning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's view of a more imminent threat.
