When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours.
In the early hours of a February morning, the United States and Israel struck Iran with coordinated force, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and targeting the architecture of a nation's military and nuclear ambitions. More than 200 lives were lost on Iranian soil, among them at least 85 schoolgirls in Minab, while Iran's retaliatory missiles arced across the Middle East, touching bases, airports, and hotels from the Gulf to the Levant. The event marks one of those rare, terrible hinges in history — a moment when the accumulated tensions of decades collapse into a single day of fire, and the world must reckon with what comes next.
- The killing of Khamenei and the destruction of Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure in a single day represent a threshold crossed that cannot be uncrossed — the region is now in open, multi-front conflict.
- At least 85 girls died when a strike hit their school in Minab, and over 700 people were wounded across 24 Iranian provinces, making the human toll impossible to reduce to geopolitics alone.
- Iran answered within hours, launching missile barrages at U.S. bases across seven countries and striking a Kuwaiti airport and a Dubai hotel, signaling that no corner of the Middle East would be insulated from the fallout.
- The Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world's oil flows — was effectively threatened with closure, sending airlines grounding flights and global markets bracing for an energy shock.
- Trump framed the operation as liberation, calling on Iranians to seize their government, while Congress fractured over whether the president had the authority to bring the country to the edge of a wider war without a vote.
Saturday morning shattered Tehran's quiet. The United States and Israel had launched what Trump called the opening phase of a massive, ongoing operation — strikes designed to dismantle Iran's nuclear program and sever its reach across the Middle East through allied militias. Before the day was over, more than 200 people were dead, hundreds more wounded, and a region already strained by years of proxy conflict had stumbled toward something larger.
Trump announced on Truth Social that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed, calling him one of the most evil people in history. Iran confirmed the death. The news split the world: celebrations broke out among parts of the Persian diaspora in Los Angeles and in some corners of Tehran itself, while protesters gathered in Times Square to condemn what had happened.
Israel executed what it described as the largest aerial campaign in its history — roughly 200 warplanes, hundreds of munitions, approximately 500 targets. The strikes leveled symbols of Iranian state power in Tehran and sent explosions rippling through Isfahan, Qom, Kermanshah, and beyond. In the city of Minab, a strike on a girls' school killed at least 85 students. Iran's Red Crescent reported hits across 24 of the country's 32 provinces. In Tehran, grocery shelves emptied and highways out of the city became motionless rivers of cars. A woman named Zainab loaded whatever she could into her vehicle and set out for her sister's house, knowing the drive would take ten hours.
Trump addressed the Iranian people directly in a prerecorded video, urging them to take over their own government — framing the strikes as an opening for regime change, a theme he had already tested weeks earlier when U.S.-backed forces removed Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro. He acknowledged that American service members might be lost. That often happens in war, he said.
Iran did not absorb the blows quietly. Missiles struck U.S. military bases across the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. A hotel in Dubai was hit. A Kuwaiti airport took a direct strike. Israel faced multiple waves of Iranian ordnance. The Iranian Foreign Ministry declared that Iranians had never surrendered to aggression — a statement made even as the foreign minister who had been negotiating in Oman just days before condemned the strikes as wholly unprovoked and illegal.
The ripple effects reached global commerce almost immediately. Airlines suspended service across the region, stranding tens of thousands. Messages attributed to Iran's Revolutionary Guard ordered ships away from the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes. Russia demanded a halt to military operations. Oman's foreign minister mourned that serious negotiations had once again been undermined.
In Washington, the strikes divided Congress. Democrats and a handful of Republicans argued that Trump had bypassed legislative authority on a decision of historic consequence. Senator Mark Warner pointed to Trump's own admission of potential American casualties as reason enough to have sought congressional approval. Representative Ro Khanna introduced legislation requiring authorization for further operations, saying Americans were exhausted by regime-change wars. Others, like Senator Roger Wicker, called it decisive and necessary. The broader Congress had been sidelined — only the Gang of Eight, the top leaders of both chambers, had been notified in advance.
Saturday morning in Tehran, the capital woke to the sound of explosions. The United States and Israel had launched what President Trump described as the opening phase of a "massive and ongoing operation" against Iran—strikes aimed at dismantling the country's nuclear program and severing its ability to project power through allied militias across the Middle East. By day's end, more than 200 people were dead across Iran, hundreds more wounded, and the entire region had lurched toward a wider war.
Trump announced on Truth Social that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in the attack. "One of the most evil people in History, is dead," Trump wrote, framing the death as justice for Iranians and Americans alike. The Iranian government confirmed the death. The claim electrified different corners of the world in opposite directions. In parts of Tehran and in Los Angeles, where a large Persian diaspora lives, people celebrated in the streets. In New York's Times Square, protesters gathered to condemn what had happened.
The Israeli military executed what it called the largest aerial campaign in its history, with roughly 200 warplanes dropping hundreds of munitions on approximately 500 targets. The strikes hit Tehran's presidential palace, Khamenei's compound, the National Security Council, the ministries of defense and intelligence, the Atomic Energy Organization, and military installations. Beyond the capital, explosions rippled through Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Qom, and Urmia. In the city of Minab, a strike on a girls' school killed at least 85 students and injured dozens more. Iran's Red Crescent reported that 24 of the country's 32 provinces sustained hits, with more than 700 people injured overall.
In Tehran, panic seized the streets. Grocery store shelves emptied as residents rushed to stock supplies. Highways leading northeast out of the capital became parking lots—one woman named Zainab, loading her car with whatever fit, told someone the drive to her sister's house would take at least ten hours, but she was going anyway. By nightfall, the city had hollowed out, residents sheltering indoors as blasts echoed through the darkness.
Trump, in an eight-minute prerecorded video, addressed the Iranian people directly. "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." He positioned the operation as an opportunity for regime change—a theme he had already tested eight weeks earlier when U.S. forces he deployed toppled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He also acknowledged the cost: American military forces "may have casualties," he said. "That often happens in war."
Iran did not absorb the strikes passively. Within hours, it unleashed waves of missiles across the Middle East. Barrages struck U.S. military bases in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. One missile's debris killed a person in the UAE; another hit a hotel in Dubai. A Kuwaiti airport took a direct strike. Israel faced multiple waves of Iranian ordnance; residents in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon watched vapor trails crisscross the sky and heard the thunder of air defenses. The Iranian Foreign Ministry declared that "Iranians have never surrendered to aggression." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who had been leading negotiations in Oman aimed at de-escalation just days before, called the strikes "wholly unprovoked, illegal and illegitimate."
The retaliation sent shockwaves through global commerce and diplomacy. Airlines suspended service to affected countries, leaving tens of thousands stranded. Messages purporting to come from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ordered ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz—a waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes. A closure would spike energy prices instantly and cripple shipping worldwide. Russia, whose relationship with Iran has grown closer in recent years, demanded a halt to military operations and called for diplomatic settlement. Oman's Foreign Minister, who had brokered the failed negotiations, expressed dismay that "active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined."
Back in Washington, the strikes fractured Congress along familiar lines. Democrats and a small group of Republicans accused Trump of bypassing legislative authority on a decision that could trigger a regional conflagration. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia noted that Trump's own words—"American heroes may be lost"—should have demanded the highest scrutiny and congressional approval. Representative Ro Khanna of California, co-sponsoring legislation to require congressional authorization for further Iranian operations, said Americans were exhausted by regime-change wars. But other lawmakers rallied behind the president. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi called it "decisive action" and "a pivotal and necessary operation." The Secretary of State notified members of Congress's Gang of Eight—the top leaders in both chambers—but the broader legislative body had been sidelined.
Citas Notables
When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.— President Trump, in prerecorded video address to Iranian people
Iranians have never surrendered to aggression.— Iranian Foreign Ministry statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did this happen now? The source says negotiations were happening just two days before.
Trump said Friday that Iran wasn't negotiating in good faith, that they weren't giving ground. But Oman's foreign minister said a deal was within reach. So there's a question about whether the talks actually failed or whether Trump decided he preferred military action.
And Khamenei's death—how certain is that?
Trump announced it, and Iran's government confirmed it. So by the official record, it happened. But we're in a moment where verification is difficult. Communications were disrupted after the strikes began.
The school in Minab—85 students. That's a specific, devastating number.
It is. And it matters because it shows this wasn't surgical. Whatever the stated targets were—nuclear facilities, military sites—civilians died. Children died. That's the human weight of the operation.
What about the Strait of Hormuz? That feels like the thing that could reshape everything.
Exactly. If Iran closes it or if the chaos closes it, one-fifth of global oil moves through there. Energy prices spike, shipping halts. The war stops being regional and becomes global, economically anyway.
And Congress didn't authorize any of this?
No. Trump moved forward without asking. The Secretary of State told the Gang of Eight—the top leaders—but that's notification, not authorization. Some lawmakers are now pushing legislation to require approval before further action.