The United States launched nearly 900 strikes within the first 12 hours of a joint operation with Israel that officials say killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in one of the most dramatic escalations in Middle East tensions in decades.
Dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the assault began at around 9:30am local time in Tehran and involved coordinated attacks from land, air and sea. An unnamed US official told Fox News that the strikes were carried out while American forces simultaneously defended against hundreds of incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.
President Donald Trump described the campaign as “major combat operations”, aimed at dismantling Iran’s military capabilities and eliminating what he called the threat of Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran later formally confirmed his death.
900 strikes in 12 hours: How Operation Epic Fury unfolded
According to the US official cited by Fox News, American forces carried out nearly 900 strikes in the first half-day of fighting. The targets included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, missile and drone launch sites, air defence systems and military airfields.
One of the earliest targets was near Khamenei’s compound. The 86-year-old cleric had ruled Iran since 1989 and wielded ultimate authority over the country’s political and military structures.
The official said Iran fired around 300 missiles during the same 12-hour period. Despite what the US military described as “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks”, American bases reported no casualties and only minimal damage.
Iran’s arsenal is believed to include roughly 2,000 long-range missiles and another 2,000 shorter-range systems, replenished after previous US and Israeli strikes last summer. The stated objective of Operation Epic Fury, the official said, is to ensure Iran no longer has the “capability to attack its neighbours: no drones, no missiles, no navy”.
Washington also claims it knows where Iran is stockpiling highly enriched uranium, though the official admitted the sites are difficult to reach. Several Iranian air defence systems remain operational, meaning further suppression efforts are expected before US and Israeli aircraft can operate freely over Iranian skies.
The campaign could last “a couple of weeks”, though Trump retains the option of ending it sooner.
Iran strikes back as region braces for wider conflict
Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Bahrain said a missile targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, though the US official claimed the strikes hit “empty warehouses” and did not affect operational aims.
Kuwait reported a drone strike on its main international airport, injuring several employees, while shrapnel wounded troops at Ali Al-Salem air base. Explosions were also reported in Qatar, and Jordan said it intercepted dozens of drones and ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia said it repelled attacks targeting Riyadh and its eastern region.
Inside Israel, the military said “dozens” of Iranian missiles were fired, many intercepted. Emergency service Magen David Adom reported 89 people lightly injured.
Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, said at least 201 people were killed and more than 700 injured in the initial wave of strikes. A local governor told state television that more than 80 people were killed at a girls’ school in the south, with dozens wounded. The US military said it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties.
Trump calls on Iranians to rise up
In an eight-minute video posted online, Trump framed the operation as part of a broader confrontation with Iran’s leadership dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“When we are finished, take over your government,” he said. “It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
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The strikes came days after renewed US-Iran talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme stalled. In recent months, Washington had built up a substantial military presence in the region, including deployments of the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, alongside guided-missile destroyers and more than 10,000 additional troops.
Airspace closures across Israel, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Syria left tens of thousands of travellers stranded, while markets braced for potential disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a third of the world’s seaborne oil exports pass.
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