Trump orders major U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran after failed talks

Massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes hit military, government and infrastructure sites in Iran after weeks of failed diplomacy with Tehran, and smoke was reported over Tehran as the attacks appeared to reach areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Donald Trump called the campaign “major combat operations” and said it was meant to remove what he described as imminent threats from the Iranian regime.

The February 28 order marked a sharp break from negotiations that had produced no deal between Washington and Tehran. Trump cast the offensive as a direct answer to that failure, while later reporting described a broad attack pattern aimed at Iran’s military command, government institutions and critical infrastructure. The scale of the strikes signaled that the United States and Israel were no longer relying on diplomacy to contain the standoff.

The confrontation widened again on June 9 after Trump said Iranian forces shot down a U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important chokepoints. U.S. Central Command said it had begun launching strikes against Iran in response, first calling the operation a “proportional response” and later describing it as a self-defense mission. Trump said the two pilots were safe and uninjured.

That sequence points to a dangerous escalation ladder. A strike on Iranian sites prompted a military response, and a separate incident in the Strait of Hormuz quickly produced another round of U.S. attacks, showing how quickly a limited exchange can move from messaging to battlefield action. Any further blow against U.S. aircraft, ships or bases in the Gulf, or any deeper Israeli strike around Tehran, would raise the odds of a wider regional conflict.

Iran has already signaled that it is preparing for the next move. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iranian armed forces were on constant alert for any violation of Iran’s airspace, land or waters. With Washington framing the strikes as self-defense and Tehran warning that its forces are ready, the confrontation now hinges on whether either side chooses restraint or retaliation.