Following weeks of negotiations and throughout deployments of U.S. military assets in and around the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and regional air bases, the U.S. joined Israel in attacks on Tehran and other sites throughout Iran on Saturday, February 28th. ¹

A unique opportunity for a strike came the morning of Saturday, February 28th, as top military leadership AND Ayotallah Ali Khamenei were scheduled to be in the same location — and above ground. At 9:40 AM, three waves of attacks from Israel, and later the United States, made certain that compound was the last thing any of them would see. By Monday, March 3, Israel had targeted 600 sites, and the U.S., 1,000. The first wave was intended to take out Iran’s leadership; the second, its anti-aircraft capabilities, and the third, its ordnance. ^{2, 3}

Israel may have gained some cooperation from India. Independent media reports suggest India used its influence to draw the attention of Iran’s armed forces toward its border with Pakistan, and may have shared intelligence with Israel on port operations in Chabahar, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. The same source reported, and Bloomberg confirmed, that Indian PM Modi flew to Tel Aviv the day before the initial attack. ⁴

Iran has conducted counterstrikes against sites throughout the Arabian peninsula, and Hezbollah in Lebanon have engaged Israel from the north. ⁵

Back at home, President Trump’s decision to engage with Israel seems wholly unpopular. There has been no declaration of war, so one assumes Mr. Trump acted consistent with the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which authorizes military commitment at the discretion of the Commander in Chief for no longer than 60 days (with an additional 30 days for withdrawal). Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that U.S. forces would have been in danger anyway even if they had not participated in the strikes. (Hot take: I concur with Rubio’s statement, but I think one could argue that the recent deployment of air and sea assets to the region (TWO carrier strike groups!) would have provoked the response anyway.) Congress is expected to receive a full briefing on the operations tomorrow, March 3. Some members of Congress, who attended a classified briefing today, were not convinced Iran posed “an imminent threat” to the United States. ^{6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

I’ve seen unconfirmed reports that U.S. troops, angry over yet another extension aboard the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, have been stuffing socks and tee shirts into plumbing pipes in an effort to force the flagship carrier back to port. (Reporting from the Wall Street Journal did confirm sewage problems, but did not characterize it as being widespread or intentional.) The Ford has been extended twice now, having been redirected to the Caribbean Sea to support operations in Venezuela, and again to support pressure operations on Iran. U.S. Navy officials say the Ford is on track for the longest deployment ever in the history of our nation’s naval service. ¹¹

The DoD is estimated to have spent US $779M within the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury. ¹²

Responding to the potential for U.S. involvement in another “forever war,” the Administration’s response seems, well, flippant: Defense Secretary Hegseth and President Trump have both said there is no interest in any sort of nation-building engagement following the military campaign — statements which, taken together with the events of the past 72 hours, have stunned allies in Europe. ^{13, 14}

As previously reported, threat neutralization in Iran was set as a conservative policy goal before Trump began his second term. It was outlined as one of a small handful of priorities for the U.S. State Department in Project 2025. ¹⁵

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1. DeYoung, K., George, S., & Francis, E. (2026, February 26). U.S., Iran complete round of talks as Trump weighs diplomacy against strikes. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/02/26/iran-nuclear-talks-trump-strikes-geneva-oman/ ↩︎
2. Business Today. (2026, March 2). ‘There was not a thing he could do. . .’: CIA tracked Khamenei for months before attack on Iran. Business Today. https://www.businesstoday.in/world/story/there-was-not-a-thing-he-could-do-cia-tracked-khamenei-for-months-before-attack-on-iran-518697-2026-03-02 ↩︎
3. Halbfinger, D., & Bergman, R. (2026, March 1). How the Assault on Iran Unfolded. The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/world/middleeast/iran-israel-strikes.html ↩︎
4. Sen, A. R. S. S. a. S. R. (2026, March 2). Modi faces backlash over Israel trip days before Iran attacks. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/modi-faces-backlash-over-israel-234617907.html ↩︎
5. Goldbaum, C., & Livni, E. (2026, March 1). Fighting Between Israel and Hezbollah Reignites as Iran War Expands. The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/world/middleeast/israel-strikes-beirut-hezbollah.html ↩︎
6. Wikipedia contributors. (2026f, March 1). War powers resolution. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution ↩︎
7. Taylor, A. (2026, March 2). Rubio says U.S. faced “imminent threat” from Iran if Israel attacked first. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/03/02/us-israel-iran-hezbollah-military-strikes-live-updates/#link-M5JAWJEFPFAFXC73Y2535MXQMI ↩︎
8. Melimopoulos, E. (2026, March 3). How much could the Iran war cost the US? Here’s what we know. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/3/how-much-could-the-iran-war-cost-the-us-heres-what-we-know ↩︎
9. Robertson, N. (2026, March 2). Lawmakers offer opposing reactions to Iran briefing. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/03/02/us-israel-iran-hezbollah-military-strikes-live-updates/#link-A2MLG45WJZABBIVMHNACH6AMTQ ↩︎
10. Volz, D., Ward, A., & Seligman, L. (2026, March 2). Trump’s Case for War With Iran Faces Growing Scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trumps-case-for-war-with-iran-faces-growing-scrutiny-96648cb9?mod=politics_lead_pos4 ↩︎
11. Seligman, L. (2026, February 21). Missed Funerals and Blocked Toilets: Iran Deployment Takes a Toll on U.S. Sailors. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.wsj.com/us-news/missed-funerals-and-blocked-toilets-iran-deployment-takes-a-toll-on-u-s-sailors-7e230962 ↩︎
12. Ozkan, E. (2026, March 2). US offensive on Iran burned through an estimated $779M on first day. Anadolu Ajansı. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-offensive-on-iran-burned-through-an-estimated-779m-on-first-day/3847189 ↩︎
13. War in Middle East widens as Israeli and U.S. planes pound Iran and Tehran and its proxies hit back. (2026, March 2). PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/war-in-middle-east-widens-as-israeli-and-u-s-planes-pound-iran-and-tehran-and-its-proxies-hit-back ↩︎
14. NPR’s International Desk. (2026, February 28). Here’s how world leaders are reacting to the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730352/world-leaders-reaction-operation-epic-fury ↩︎
15. Farrell, T. (2026e, January 31). Venezuela, Iran among Predefined Priorities for U.S. Department of State. On Current Events. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://currentevents.blog/2026/01/02/state-department-venezuela-iran/ ↩︎