Trump announced 'Operation Epic Fury' in the early hours of Feb. 28
Credit: Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty; ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- President Donald Trump has announced “massive and ongoing” military action in Iran as the U.S. and Israel began bombing in the early hours of Feb. 28
- In a message posted to Truth Social, the president said that the United States had begun “major combat operations” as bombs were seen falling in the Iranian capital of Tehran
- “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” Trump warned. “That often happens in war.”
In the early hours of Saturday, Feb. 28, President Donald Trump announced that the United States is taking "massive and ongoing" military action in Iran following repeated threats from his administration to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters and nuclear threats.
In an eight-minute video he posted to Truth Social at 2:30 a.m., the president said, "A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world."
"For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops, and the innocent people in many, many countries," he continued. "They've rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can't take it anymore… For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground."
"I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration, and there is no military on earth even close to its power, strength, or sophistication," Trump continued. "My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to US personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war."
"But we're doing this not for now. We're doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission. We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm's way. And we trust that with his help, the men and women of the armed forces will prevail."
Trump also sent a message to the people of Iran as bombing began in Tehran, saying, "I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
"For many years, you have asked for America's help, but you never got it," he continued. "No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let's see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass. May God bless the brave men and women of America's armed forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all. Thank you."
The president has been directly threatening U.S. intervention in Iran for over a month. Protests turned violent in the streets of Tehran in late December 2025 as citizens spoke out against the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following another sharp fall in the rial, the currency of Iran.
On Jan. 4, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he and his administration were monitoring the situation in the country "very closely."
"If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States," the president said at the time.
Days later on Tuesday, Jan. 13, Trump promised protesters that U.S. intervention was imminent.
"Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!" he wrote in a post on Truth Social. "Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP."
Reuters reported on Jan. 14, that a U.S. official said the Trump administration had begun withdrawing some personnel from Middle Eastern bases.
"All the signals are that a U.S. attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy," a Western military official told the outlet.
The New York Times published a similar warning that same day, reporting that the U.S. was "evacuating an unspecified number of nonessential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar."
In June 2025, Iran fired missiles at Al Udeid — the U.S.'s largest base in the Middle East and main air operations hub in the region — in retaliation for the attack on three nuclear sites earlier that month. At the time, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Majed Al Ansari said Qatar’s air defenses "successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles."
"The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter," Al Ansari added.
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Trump addressed the nation following the attack on the Iranian nuclear sites, calling the operation "a spectacular military success." The White House website published a recap of the mission on June 25, 2025, titled "Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News," which was still live at the time Trump made his announcement of the February 2026 military operations.
The president praised the troops involved at the time, adding that while the international conflict "cannot continue," the U.S. believed that Iran had many more viable targets.
"If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill," he said.
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