U.S and Israel Launch Strikes on Iran, as Trump Promises 'Massive and Ongoing' Campaign

The United States and Israel launched a wave of military strikes against Iran on Saturday in what President Donald Trump said would be a “massive and ongoing” campaign aimed at bringing about a change in the country’s leadership. The strikes once again bring the U.S. into direct confrontation with Iran, and plunge the Middle East into a new regional conflict several months after a wave of U.S. and Israeli bombs hit Iranian nuclear facilities in June. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in an eight-minute video posted to Truth Social at 2.30 am Eastern on Saturday. “Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world,” he continued. Read more: Does Trump Have the Legal Authority to Strike Iran? An Expert Explains Trump also addressed the Iranian people in the conclusion of his speech, telling them 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,” he said. “This will be, probably, your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. 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,” he added. The latest campaign, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the Pentagon, follows efforts by U.S. and Iranian officials to try to craft a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, as well as Iran’s deadly suppression of mass protests inside the country, in which thousands were killed. In January, Trump posted a message assuring protestors “help” was on the way and urging them to “take over” Iran’s institutions. The first wave The first strikes of the attack were heard in Tehran on Saturday, near the residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He had not made a public appearance for days before the attack, and his whereabouts are not currently known. Soon after, Iranian media reported strikes across the country. At least 40 people were reported killed at a girls’ school in southern Iran, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, although TIME could not independently verify that claim. Iran responded by launching a wave of missiles at Israel and other U.S. allies across the region. Explosions were heard in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi. Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, was also targeted. The U.S. military had been signaling Trump’s intention to attack for weeks. Trump had ordered what he called an “armada” of U.S. military firepower to be deployed in the waters near Iran. He moved the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group closer to the Persian Gulf and redirected the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group from the Atlantic Ocean toward the Middle East. The USS Mitscher and USS Michael Murphy, both guided-missile destroyers, had also been deployed in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping passage, according to a tracker of the American fleet kept by the U.S. Naval Institute. U.S. and Iranian officials have been conducting several rounds of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programsbut have failed to come to an agreement. The two sides had one of their “most intense” rounds of negotiations in Geneva on Thursday, but again failed to reach a deal. The next day, Trump said “additional talks” would take place, but signaled time was running out. “I’m not happy with the fact that they are not willing to give us what we have to have,” he told reporters as he left the White House for Texas. “I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens.” During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump accused Iran of restarting “sinister ambitions” related to nuclear weaponry and appeared to indicate that the U.S. would consider taking military action if Tehran did not abandon said ambitions. He claimed Iran was working to “build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.” Trump ratcheted up his threats against Iran’s leadership in January, as the death toll from the crackdown on protests in the country rose dramatically. An internet blackout across the country prevented effective communication with the outside world, but some estimates have the death toll reaching into the tens of thousands. On Jan. 13, Trump appeared to indicate the U.S. would intervene militarily in the country to support protesters. “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump 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.” In response to Trump’s repeated threats, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned that both Israel and “all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets” in the event of an attack. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also threatened on Feb. 17 in a social media post that Iran may attack U.S. ships. “More dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea,” he wrote. Years of pressure  The strikes follow years of pressure on Iran’s leadership by Trump, dating back to his first term as president. In 2018, Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, that had dramatically reduced Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, an essential material for building a nuclear weapon. Trump then ordered the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, further inflaming tensions between the two nations.  Upon returning to office last year, Trump again ramped up the pressure on the Iranian government over its nuclear program. Since Trump had left the nuclear agreement—which was negotiated with Iran and other world powers—Tehran had increased uranium enrichment, built up its stockpile once more, and removed monitoring equipment from nuclear facilities. After years of threatening to take military action to weaken Iran’s nuclear program, Trump authorized the U.S. to join Israel in major strikes on three key nuclear sites in June. Trump claimed the country’s nuclear enrichment facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated,” but questions remained about the survival of key components of the program. The 12-day barrage came on the back of a series of setbacks for Iran’s leaders, including the crippling of its regional allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran’s leadership was left severely weakened following the attack, both regionally and domestically.   Following the attack, Trump threatened further action if Iran didn’t return to the negotiating table. “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” he said. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.” In the aftermath of the bombing campaign, Iranian authorities arrested thousands of people they suspected of being spies—including activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens. United Nations experts estimated that more than 1,000 people were executed between June and September alone.  Economic crisis As Iran picked up the pieces from the strikes, it faced another crisis. In September, the U.N. reimposed nuclear-related sanctions on the country. By late December, Iran was facing an economic downturn, rampant inflation and a collapse in its currency. Protests broke out first in Tehran’s bazaars, as merchants and shopkeepers took to the streets in anger. Those protests quickly grew into much broader demonstrations against the Iranian regime that has held power since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and into calls for the fall of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei.    Whereas previous protest movements had been put down swiftly with violence, these came at a time when the government was already weakened by the Israeli and U.S. attack in June. As the protests grew into a serious threat to the government’s rule, it responded with increasing violence.In January, two senior officials with Iran’s Ministry of Health told TIME the death toll nationwide could be as high as 30,000.