Elaina Batista Asst. Social Media Editor
On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes against multiple targets in Iran, marking the beginning of a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict.
President Trump accused Iran of building nuclear weapons that could potentially threaten the U.S. and its allies. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was assassinated that same day during a predawn attack by the United States and Israel. According to President Trump’s announcement on Truth Social, his passing was later verified by Iranian state media.
In Trump’s speech, he stated, “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.” The statement released by Trump after the joint attack contradicts the government 2025 assessment that said Iran is years away from the ability to produce long-range missiles.
In the early mornings of March 4, NATO air defenses shot down an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Turkey. Additionally, the United States sank an Iranian navy ship in international waters with several European nations deploying military assets to the region to protect their interests.
On March 4, republicans blocked a bill that would have limited President Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran without congressional approval. Thus, rejecting a democratic attempt to require Congress to provide input on a broad and unrestricted military campaign.
At least six American service members have died since the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran on Saturday. The Trump administration has stated that more American casualties are anticipated and that the war may continue for weeks.
The four U.S. service members were identified as Capt. Cody A. Khork and Sgts. Nicole M. Amor, Declan J. Coady and Noah L. Tietjens. Later on Wednesday, the fifth member was identified in the morning as Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien. The Department of Defense believes the sixth member to be Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan. They were all reported to have been killed Sunday, during an unmanned aircraft system attack in the Shuaiba port in Kuwait.
Following the initial strike, several Middle Eastern countries have been targets or intercepted attack drones, missiles and bombers: Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been involved in the conflict. In addition, France, the United Kingdom and Greece are allies and supporters of the United States.
It has been found that there have been 788 distinct attacks and 1,860 missile and drone launches. Since the attack, more than 1,300 Iranians have been killed and more than 160 children have lost their lives after a strike on an all-girls school. Additionally, according to the Associated Press, oil prices surged to their highest level since September 2023 because of the war. It has also been reported that Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East. Iran continues to launch missiles and drones toward Gulf Arab nations that collaborate with the U.S. military. The U.S. military’s Central Command said Iran fired seven attack drones at residential neighborhoods in Bahrain.