DAY 1 — FEBRUARY 28, 2026

Operation Epic Fury Begins — Supreme Leader Khamenei Killed in Opening Strikes

The Wartime Report · Published March 20, 2026

Summary

Midmorning on February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military operation against Iran — the largest joint strike operation since the Gulf War. Nearly 900 strikes were conducted in the first 12 hours alone, targeting Iranian missile systems, air defenses, military infrastructure, and senior leadership. The United States dubbed the operation "Epic Fury".

The most consequential strike of the opening salvo killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with dozens of other top Iranian officials. According to U.S. and Israeli officials, the timing of the entire operation was tied in part to intelligence on Khamenei's location before he could go into hiding.

Military Developments

The Opening Strikes

U.S. and Israeli forces struck simultaneously across multiple Iranian provinces. Targets included:

Air defense systems — Iran's integrated air defense network was systematically dismantled in the opening hours
Ballistic missile sites — Launch facilities and storage depots were hit to degrade Iran's retaliatory capability
Military infrastructure — IRGC bases, command centers, and communications nodes
Leadership targets — Precision strikes on locations housing senior Iranian officials

Khamenei Killed

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989, was confirmed killed in the first wave of strikes. His death decapitated the Iranian regime and created an immediate power vacuum. Dozens of other senior officials were also killed.

Civilian Casualties

U.S. forces are believed to have struck a girls' school in a town east of Bandar Abbas, killing approximately 170 people, while targeting adjacent buildings belonging to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base. A preliminary U.S. military investigation confirmed the strike.

Iran's Immediate Response

Iran retaliated with a torrent of hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones, targeting:

U.S. embassies and military installations across the Gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Jordan)
Oil infrastructure in the region
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz
Commercial hubs in neighboring countries that support U.S. military operations

Political Developments

Trump's Mixed Signals

In the hours after the initial strikes, President Trump urged Iranians to "take over your government" — language suggestive of regime change. However, the administration would send contradictory signals in the following days about whether regime change was the actual objective.

Congress Demands War Powers Vote

Members of Congress demanded a swift vote on a war powers resolution after Trump ordered the Iran strike without congressional approval — a debate that would dominate Washington over the coming days.

Context: Why Now?

The strikes came after years of escalating tensions:

Nuclear deal collapse — Attempts to renegotiate the JCPOA in 2025-2026 failed
Iran in a weakened state — Years of sanctions, destabilizing protests, damage from the June 2025 "12-day war" with Israel, and diminished proxy allies after the Israel-Hamas War
Strategic calculation — The U.S. and Israel assessed that Iran's weakened position offered a greater opportunity for military action than continued diplomacy

Economic Impact

Energy Markets

Oil prices spiked immediately as markets processed the implications of a war involving one of the world's largest oil producers and the potential disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil supply passes.

Shipping lines began rerouting to avoid the Strait of Hormuz even before Iran explicitly threatened to fire on ships passing through.

Global Travel

Flights in and out of the Middle East came to a near-complete stop, stranding residents, expatriates, and tourists. This was just the beginning of a travel crisis that would worsen in the following days.

International Reaction

Within Iran — Mixed reactions: some Iranians celebrated Khamenei's death while regime proponents mourned. Security forces increased presence in Tehran to crack down on celebrations and dissent.
Iranian diaspora — Many hoped for the collapse of the Islamic Republic and an end to its nuclear program
Oman — Expressed disappointment that "active and serious negotiations" were abandoned in favor of military action
Russia — Condemned the strikes as destabilizing but showed little interest in intervening on Iran's behalf
Multiple countries — Questioned the legal basis of the U.S. and Israeli attack

What to Watch

Scale of Iran's retaliatory strikes across the region
Hezbollah's response from Lebanon — will the fragile ceasefire hold?
Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions and oil price trajectory
Iran's ability to reconstitute leadership and command structures
NATO and allied responses to the conflict

Sources

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