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Iran retaliates with strikes targeting U.S. military bases, Israel and civilian targets
By Miriam Raftery
Photo via U.S. Navy: USS Abraham Lincon aircraft based in San Diego has been dispatched to the region
February 28, 2026 (Tehran) – The U.S. and Israel today launched massive air strikes in Iran. President Donald Trump has said the operation aims to overturn Iran’s government. Trump and Israeli sources have said that Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed in the air strikes, CNN and Reuters report.
Iran has retaliated with unprecedented attacks targeting U.S. military bases, Israel, and civilian targets across the Middle East. According to the BBC, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait - all home to US military bases - said they had intercepted missiles fired towards them, however black smoke was seen rising from a U.S. base in Bahrain and an explosion was heard in Kuwait. A luxury hotel in Dubai and the Abu Dhabi international airport were also struck. In Israel, one person died and 25 were injured in an attack on Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The U.S. State department is advising Americans around the world to “exercise extreme caution.” The military conflict has also resulted in disruptions to air travel.
Trump has acknowledged that U.S. lives may be lost in the conflict, though thus far no deaths of U.S. military members or civilians have been reported.
Trump has called on the Iranian people to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled Iran since 1979.
Among the military forces converging in the region is the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Times of San Diego reports.
Republican Congressman Darrell Issa posted on X, “May God bless and protect our brave service members as they carry out their duties and their mission.”
Democratic Congressman Sara Jacobs, who also represents portions of San Diego County, condemned the U.S. air strikes on Iran as “one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in American history.” A member of the House Armed Services committee, Jacob added in a statement, “He’s failed to learn from history that the United States has an abysmal track record of success for military adventures in the Middle East. He’s putting our service members and our country at immediate risk for retaliation, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, and setting us up for another endless war—all for regime change, that in the end will likely backfire.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned both the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran as well as Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel and the Gulf region. Gutteres noted that U.N. member states must “respect their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations” which prohibits “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.” He called for an immediate halt to hostilities and deescalation to avoid risk of a wider regional conflict with potentially grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.
The International Atomic Energy Agency indicates it is closely monitoring developments in the Middle East and urges “restraint to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region.”
The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at 4 p.m. eastern time today to discuss the attacks, according to a statement issued by the U.N.
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Trump the aggressor...