Israeli strikes (28 February 2026)

Carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with US assets, the strikes targeted a regime that had already lost popular legitimacy amid mass protests since late 2025. Iran fired rockets produced over a decade ago in its initial response; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed more advanced reserves remained unused. Khamenei's death within days triggered a constitutional succession crisis.

Operation Roaring Lion / Epic Fury, the joint US-Israeli strike package of 28 February 2026, hit Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah in a single coordinated wave, striking military, nuclear, and leadership targets simultaneously. Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on his Tehran compound; Iran fired dozens of Ballistic Missiles at Israel and US bases across seven countries within hours.

The 28 February strikes are the pivot on which the entire conflict turns: they removed supreme leadership, fractured military command, and set off the IRGC-backed succession of Mojtaba Khamenei. Between 600,000 and one million Iranian households were displaced in the first fortnight, the fastest such displacement in the region in decades. No Security Council resolution passed; the US vetoed binding action while Russia and China condemned the operation.