DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) &nbsp;—A massive explosion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-03-01-2026-693bc30bbbc98660d81f4a13f65ca10f">struck Iran’s capital</a>&nbsp;Sunday as the Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. Earlier,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/iran">Iran&nbsp;</a>fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&nbsp;</a>by the United States and Israel.

The blast in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It appeared centered in neighborhoods home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.

The joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran followed weeks of tensions as the Trump administration built up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-iran-buildup-nuclear-program-5663a8b0d81c8439adfaa010c59a36f5">the largest force of American warships and aircraft</a>&nbsp;in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded to the U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting U.S. military installations in the region.

US priority is Iran's ‘vast missile arsenal'

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says a priority for its joint military campaign is Iran’s “vast missile arsenal.”

Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that those missiles threatened American troops “from bases as far flung as the Indian Ocean to Western Europe.”

“We’re stopping a lot of them from being fired before Iran can fire them. It’s much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrows out of the sky,” he said in the television interview.

Israel says it its strikes killed 40 top Iranian military officials

Israel’s military claimed Sunday that its strikes had killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. Israel did not provide evidence, and neither Iran nor the United States immediately commented on the claim.

The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled the majority of the aerial defense systems in western and central Iran” and was “paving the way towards establishing aerial superiority over the skies of Tehran.”

Egypt’s leader warns of chaos in the Middle East

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran entered a second day.

He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the Mideast into chaos. El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.

Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

In the Holy See’s first reaction to the attacks, the American pope called for the resumption of diplomacy and a “reasonable, authentic and responsible” dialogue based on justice.

Weapons only sow “destruction, pain and death," he said from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at his traditional noontime blessing.

China calls killing of Iran's supreme leader ‘unacceptable’

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized the killing of Khamenei in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

“The blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”

He said attacking a sovereign state without U.N. Security Council authorization undermines the foundation for peace established after World War II.

“The international community should speak in a clear and unequivocal voice, opposing the world regressing to the law of the jungle,” he said.

British warplanes poised to knock out Iranian missiles and drones

British Defense Minister John Healey said Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred yards (meters) of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain and that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where the U.K. has bases.

“We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act,” Healey told Sky News.

He said British planes will intercept any Iranian drones and missiles they see.

Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that reports suggesting missiles had been fired toward Cyprus are not valid and that “there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred.”

Putin, Hezbollah leader mourn Khamenei’s death

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”

Putin on Sunday sent condolences to his Iranian counterpart, saying Khamenei will be remembered “as an outstanding statesman” who helped elevate Russian-Iranian relations.

In Lebanon, the leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, Naim Kassem, mourned Khamenei’s death in a U.S.-Israeli strike, and said: “We will fulfill our duty in confronting aggression.” He vowed that Hezbollah will not abandon its resistance of confronting American and Israeli “tyranny.”

The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said Sunday that three people have been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country.

The ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added.

Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded.

Iran has launched 97 ballistic missiles at Kuwait

Iran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait since the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the Gulf nation’s military said.

The military said in a statement interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.”

On Saturday, the military said three Kuwaiti troops were wounded when shrapnel landed in the Ali Al Salem airbase.

Israel’s police said at least five people were killed and 23 others wounded in a strike that hit central Israel on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the rescue services said searches were ongoing for additional victims.

Iran has so far launched dozens of rockets at Israel.

Pakistani prime minister offers condolences over Khamenei's killing

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday conveyed his condolences to Tehran following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said his country was gravely concerned about the violation of international law, as heads of state shouldn’t be targeted.

This follows repeated Iranian attacks on the kingdom.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the country expressed “dismay, condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attacks on the kingdom and the Gulf states.”

It added that the kingdom “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory.”

Israel’s state plane moved to Berlin airport

Israel’s state plane has been moved to Berlin’s BER airport, according to a reporter at the German press agency, dpa, who said they saw the craft at the tarmac.

According to dpa, which quoted Flightradar data, the plane left Israel Saturday afternoon, circled over the Mediterranean for hours, and then landed in Berlin in the evening.

Israel’s state aircraft, “Wing of Zion,” is a Boeing 767 equipped for official government trips, serving both the president and the prime minister.

There have been no immediate comments from the Berlin airport or the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Iranian attack on its capital

Saudi Arabia has condemned in “the strongest terms” Iran’s attacks on the capital, Riyadh and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.”

The Saudi foreign ministry said Sunday in a statement the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772371332312.jpeg" alt="Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)" />
                        <figcaption>Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) &nbsp;—A massive explosion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-03-01-2026-693bc30bbbc98660d81f4a13f65ca10f">struck Iran’s capital</a>&nbsp;Sunday as the Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. Earlier,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/iran">Iran&nbsp;</a>fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&nbsp;</a>by the United States and Israel.</p><p>The blast in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It appeared centered in neighborhoods home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.</p><p>The joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran followed weeks of tensions as the Trump administration built up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-iran-buildup-nuclear-program-5663a8b0d81c8439adfaa010c59a36f5">the largest force of American warships and aircraft</a>&nbsp;in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded to the U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting U.S. military installations in the region.</p><ul>
                        <li><b>Khamenei has no known successor:</b>&nbsp;The killing of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-khamenei-supreme-leader-nuclear-protests-military-487aa76fd32f398f2ca37d316e543760">86-year-old supreme leader</a>&nbsp;appeared certain to create a leadership vacuum, given that he had final say on all major policies during his decades in power.</li><li><b>Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister killed in airstrike:&nbsp;</b>Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-leadership-tehran-trump-israel-b046aea281a5a9b83eb82c4a62350f59">were killed in an airstrike</a>&nbsp;targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.</li>
                    </ul><h2>US priority is Iran's ‘vast missile arsenal'</h2><p>The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says a priority for its joint military campaign is Iran’s “vast missile arsenal.”</p><p>Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that those missiles threatened American troops “from bases as far flung as the Indian Ocean to Western Europe.”</p><p>“We’re stopping a lot of them from being fired before Iran can fire them. It’s much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrows out of the sky,” he said in the television interview.</p><h2>Israel says it its strikes killed 40 top Iranian military officials</h2><p>Israel’s military claimed Sunday that its strikes had killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. Israel did not provide evidence, and neither Iran nor the United States immediately commented on the claim.</p><p>The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled the majority of the aerial defense systems in western and central Iran” and was “paving the way towards establishing aerial superiority over the skies of Tehran.”</p><h2>Egypt’s leader warns of chaos in the Middle East</h2><p>Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran entered a second day.</p><p>He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the Mideast into chaos. El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.</p><h2>Pope urges an end to the conflict</h2><p>Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”</p><p>In the Holy See’s first reaction to the attacks, the American pope called for the resumption of diplomacy and a “reasonable, authentic and responsible” dialogue based on justice.</p><p>Weapons only sow “destruction, pain and death," he said from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at his traditional noontime blessing.</p><h2>China calls killing of Iran's supreme leader ‘unacceptable’</h2><p>China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized the killing of Khamenei in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.</p><p>“The blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”</p><p>He said attacking a sovereign state without U.N. Security Council authorization undermines the foundation for peace established after World War II.</p><p>“The international community should speak in a clear and unequivocal voice, opposing the world regressing to the law of the jungle,” he said.</p><h2>British warplanes poised to knock out Iranian missiles and drones</h2><p>British Defense Minister John Healey said Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred yards (meters) of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain and that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where the U.K. has bases.</p><p>“We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act,” Healey told Sky News.</p><p>He said British planes will intercept any Iranian drones and missiles they see.</p><p>Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that reports suggesting missiles had been fired toward Cyprus are not valid and that “there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred.”</p><h2>Putin, Hezbollah leader mourn Khamenei’s death</h2><p>Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”</p><p>Putin on Sunday sent condolences to his Iranian counterpart, saying Khamenei will be remembered “as an outstanding statesman” who helped elevate Russian-Iranian relations.</p><p>In Lebanon, the leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, Naim Kassem, mourned Khamenei’s death in a U.S.-Israeli strike, and said: “We will fulfill our duty in confronting aggression.” He vowed that Hezbollah will not abandon its resistance of confronting American and Israeli “tyranny.”</p><h2>3 people killed in the UAE</h2><p>The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said Sunday that three people have been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country.</p><p>The ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added.</p><p>Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded.</p><h2>Iran has launched 97 ballistic missiles at Kuwait</h2><p>Iran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait since the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the Gulf nation’s military said.</p><p>The military said in a statement interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.”</p><p>On Saturday, the military said three Kuwaiti troops were wounded when shrapnel landed in the Ali Al Salem airbase.</p><h2>At least 6 killed in Israel</h2><p>Israel’s police said at least five people were killed and 23 others wounded in a strike that hit central Israel on Sunday.</p><p>A spokesperson for the rescue services said searches were ongoing for additional victims.</p><p>Iran has so far launched dozens of rockets at Israel.</p><h2>Pakistani prime minister offers condolences over Khamenei's killing</h2><p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday conveyed his condolences to Tehran following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</p><p>He said his country was gravely concerned about the violation of international law, as heads of state shouldn’t be targeted.</p><h2>Saudi Arabia summons Iranian ambassador</h2><p>This follows repeated Iranian attacks on the kingdom.</p><p>The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the country expressed “dismay, condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attacks on the kingdom and the Gulf states.”</p><p>It added that the kingdom “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory.”</p><h2>Israel’s state plane moved to Berlin airport</h2><p>Israel’s state plane has been moved to Berlin’s BER airport, according to a reporter at the German press agency, dpa, who said they saw the craft at the tarmac.</p><p>According to dpa, which quoted Flightradar data, the plane left Israel Saturday afternoon, circled over the Mediterranean for hours, and then landed in Berlin in the evening.</p><p>Israel’s state aircraft, “Wing of Zion,” is a Boeing 767 equipped for official government trips, serving both the president and the prime minister.</p><p>There have been no immediate comments from the Berlin airport or the Israeli embassy in Berlin.</p><h2>Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Iranian attack on its capital</h2><p>Saudi Arabia has condemned in “the strongest terms” Iran’s attacks on the capital, Riyadh and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.”</p><p>The Saudi foreign ministry said Sunday in a statement the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”</p>

 Iran’s counterattacks widen after supreme leader killed

By&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/matthew-lee">MATTHEW LEE</a><br>Associated Press

U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East instructed employees to shelter in place for a second day on Sunday as joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran continue and Iran launches missile and drone strikes in retaliation.

Embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan all advised private American citizens living or traveling in those countries to take similar precautions.

The State Department on Saturday issued a “worldwide caution,” warning Americans abroad everywhere, but particularly in the Middle East to boost their personal security profiles.

“Following the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” it said.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772369374978.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/matthew-lee">MATTHEW LEE</a><br>Associated Press</p><p>U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East instructed employees to shelter in place for a second day on Sunday as joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran continue and Iran launches missile and drone strikes in retaliation.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772369272580.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan all advised private American citizens living or traveling in those countries to take similar precautions.</p><p>The State Department on Saturday issued a “worldwide caution,” warning Americans abroad everywhere, but particularly in the Middle East to boost their personal security profiles.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should enroll at <a href="https://t.co/CqaYXeTCG4">https://t.co/CqaYXeTCG4</a> to receive the latest security alerts for their location, including any travel disruptions due to periodic airspace… <a href="https://t.co/Cbon5nvqV7">pic.twitter.com/Cbon5nvqV7</a></p>&mdash; Assistant Secretary Mora Namdar (@AsstSecStateCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AsstSecStateCA/status/2027886210958368866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>“Following the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” it said.</p>

U.S. State Dept. issues “worldwide caution” warning to Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are demanding a swift vote on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-powers-act-trump-congress-9e6832fb5f5f844acf8992008d3a8d63">war powers resolution</a>&nbsp;that would restrain President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">military attack on Iran</a>&nbsp;unless the administration wins their approval for what they warn is a potentially illegal campaign that risks pulling the United States into a deeper&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026#0000019c-a522-ddac-ad9f-b7f7ce450000">Middle East conflict</a>.

Both the House and Senate, where the president’s Republican Party has a slim majority, had already drafted such resolutions long before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">strikes Saturday</a>. Now they are ready to plunge into a rare war powers debate next week that will serve as a referendum on Trump’s decision to go it alone on military action without formal authorization from Congress.

“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a leader in the bipartisan effort. He said the strikes on Iran were “a colossal mistake.”

In the House, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., are demanding Congress go on record with a public vote on their own bipartisan measure. “Congress must convene on Monday to vote,” Khanna said, “to stop this.”

Massie blasted Trump’s own presidential campaign slogan and said: “This is not ‘America First.’”

But most Republicans, particularly their leaders, welcomed Trump’s move against Iran. Many cited the longtime U.S. adversary’s nuclear programs and missile capabilities as requiring a military response.

“Well done, Mr. President,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “As I watch and monitor this historic operation, I’m in awe of President Trump’s determination to be a man of peace but at the end of the day, evil’s worst nightmare.”

The administration’s decision to launch, with Israel, what appears to be an open-ended joint military operation aimed at changing the government in Tehran is testing the Constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-house-war-powers-19b78647b9d39cad589fa9fc4477e815">separation of powers</a>&nbsp;in deep and dramatic ways. Nearly two months earlier, Trump ordered U.S. strikes that toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

While presidents have the authority as the commander in chief to conduct certain strategic military operations on their own, the Constitution vests Congress with the power to wage war. Before the Iraq War began in March 2003, Republican President George W. Bush made a monthslong push to secure congressional authorization. No such vote was attempted on Iran, and an earlier Senate effort to halt Trump’s actions after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump-f0fc085a2605e7da3e2f47ff9ac0e01d">last summer’s strike on Iran</a>&nbsp;failed.

The congressional debate over war powers would mostly be symbolic. Even if a resolution were to pass the narrowly split Congress, Trump likely would veto it and Congress would not have the two-thirds majority needed to overturn that rejection. Congress has often failed to block other U.S. military actions, including in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-senate-war-powers-2350b162d116090759a7428c4b915eea">Senate vote on Venezuela</a>, but the roll calls stand as a public record.

The response by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">House Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;reflected the party’s long-standing views. Iran, he said, is facing “the severe consequences of its evil actions.”

Johnson, R-La., said the leaders of the House and Senate and the respective intelligence committees had been briefed in detail earlier in the week that military action “may become necessary” to protect U.S. troops and citizens in Iran. He said he received updates from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and will stay in “close contact” with Trump and the Defense Department “as this operation proceeds.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., commended Trump “for taking action to thwart these threats.”

Thune said he looked forward to administration officials briefing all senators — a signal that lawmakers are seeking more answers to their questions about Trump’s plans ahead.

Many Democrats are calling the operation illegal, saying the Constitution gives Congress alone the power to declare war. To them, the administration has failed to lay out its rationale or plan for the military strikes, and the aftermath.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president has undertaken “illegal, regime-change war against Iran.”

“This is not making us safer &amp; only damages the US &amp; our interests,” Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a social media post. “The Senate must immediately vote on the War Powers Resolution to stop it.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said while Iran is a “bad actor and must be aggressively confronted” for its human rights abuses and the threat it poses to the U.S. and allies, the administration “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, demanded that Congress be briefed immediately on the administration’s plans.

“Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home,” he said.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Brown contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772307892150.png" alt="Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are demanding a swift vote on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-powers-act-trump-congress-9e6832fb5f5f844acf8992008d3a8d63">war powers resolution</a>&nbsp;that would restrain President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">military attack on Iran</a>&nbsp;unless the administration wins their approval for what they warn is a potentially illegal campaign that risks pulling the United States into a deeper&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026#0000019c-a522-ddac-ad9f-b7f7ce450000">Middle East conflict</a>.</p><p>Both the House and Senate, where the president’s Republican Party has a slim majority, had already drafted such resolutions long before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">strikes Saturday</a>. Now they are ready to plunge into a rare war powers debate next week that will serve as a referendum on Trump’s decision to go it alone on military action without formal authorization from Congress.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump has launched an unnecessary, idiotic, and illegal war against Iran that puts America’s servicemembers and embassy personnel at risk. I’m calling on Congress to immediately return to vote on my War Powers Resolution that blocks war with Iran without congressional approval. <a href="https://t.co/lJ2fOElCRM">pic.twitter.com/lJ2fOElCRM</a></p>&mdash; Tim Kaine (@timkaine) <a href="https://twitter.com/timkaine/status/2027763457148281021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a leader in the bipartisan effort. He said the strikes on Iran were “a colossal mistake.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The President has not been granted congressional approval for these acts of war. At the least, this administration must immediately answer to Congress on its objectives, legal justification, and plans to prevent the unnecessary death of American service members.</p>&mdash; Rep. Sharice Davids (@RepDavids) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDavids/status/2027853171272430026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am opposed to this War.<br><br>This is not “America First.”<br><br>When Congress reconvenes, I will work with <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRoKhanna?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepRoKhanna</a> to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. <br><br>The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.</p>&mdash; Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2027739993033134279?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>In the House, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., are demanding Congress go on record with a public vote on their own bipartisan measure. “Congress must convene on Monday to vote,” Khanna said, “to stop this.”</p><p>Massie blasted Trump’s own presidential campaign slogan and said: “This is not ‘America First.’”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As yet another preemptive war is begun in the Middle East, John Quincy Adam’s words of wisdom still ring true:<br><br>“Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be.”<br><br>Like most Americans I…</p>&mdash; Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/2027763045485674907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>But most Republicans, particularly their leaders, welcomed Trump’s move against Iran. Many cited the longtime U.S. adversary’s nuclear programs and missile capabilities as requiring a military response.</p><p>“Well done, Mr. President,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “As I watch and monitor this historic operation, I’m in awe of President Trump’s determination to be a man of peace but at the end of the day, evil’s worst nightmare.”</p><h2>War powers debate tests Congress</h2><p>The administration’s decision to launch, with Israel, what appears to be an open-ended joint military operation aimed at changing the government in Tehran is testing the Constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-house-war-powers-19b78647b9d39cad589fa9fc4477e815">separation of powers</a>&nbsp;in deep and dramatic ways. Nearly two months earlier, Trump ordered U.S. strikes that toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.</p><p>While presidents have the authority as the commander in chief to conduct certain strategic military operations on their own, the Constitution vests Congress with the power to wage war. Before the Iraq War began in March 2003, Republican President George W. Bush made a monthslong push to secure congressional authorization. No such vote was attempted on Iran, and an earlier Senate effort to halt Trump’s actions after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump-f0fc085a2605e7da3e2f47ff9ac0e01d">last summer’s strike on Iran</a>&nbsp;failed.</p><p>The congressional debate over war powers would mostly be symbolic. Even if a resolution were to pass the narrowly split Congress, Trump likely would veto it and Congress would not have the two-thirds majority needed to overturn that rejection. Congress has often failed to block other U.S. military actions, including in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-senate-war-powers-2350b162d116090759a7428c4b915eea">Senate vote on Venezuela</a>, but the roll calls stand as a public record.</p><h2>Republican leaders back Trump’s action</h2><p>The response by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">House Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;reflected the party’s long-standing views. Iran, he said, is facing “the severe consequences of its evil actions.”</p><p>Johnson, R-La., said the leaders of the House and Senate and the respective intelligence committees had been briefed in detail earlier in the week that military action “may become necessary” to protect U.S. troops and citizens in Iran. He said he received updates from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and will stay in “close contact” with Trump and the Defense Department “as this operation proceeds.”</p><p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., commended Trump “for taking action to thwart these threats.”</p><p>Thune said he looked forward to administration officials briefing all senators — a signal that lawmakers are seeking more answers to their questions about Trump’s plans ahead.</p><h2>Democrats warn strikes are illegal</h2><p>Many Democrats are calling the operation illegal, saying the Constitution gives Congress alone the power to declare war. To them, the administration has failed to lay out its rationale or plan for the military strikes, and the aftermath.</p><p>Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president has undertaken “illegal, regime-change war against Iran.”</p><p>“This is not making us safer &amp; only damages the US &amp; our interests,” Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a social media post. “The Senate must immediately vote on the War Powers Resolution to stop it.”</p><p>House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said while Iran is a “bad actor and must be aggressively confronted” for its human rights abuses and the threat it poses to the U.S. and allies, the administration “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”</p><p>New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, demanded that Congress be briefed immediately on the administration’s plans.</p><p>“Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home,” he said.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Brown contributed to this report.</p>

War powers debate intensifies after attack on Iran without approval by Congress

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Saturday in Kansas City.

A white Pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed on N. Oak around NE 103rd in Kansas City, Missouri, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. The pickup rear-ended a&nbsp;silver Buick.&nbsp; The Buick driver was pronounced dead on scene by EMS personal. 

The driver of the white pickup remained at the scene and was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.&nbsp; Polie did not release the name of the driver who died or the driver arrested.

This marks fatality #11 in Kansas City, Missouri for 2026, according to DiMartino.

<p>KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Saturday in Kansas City.</p><p>A white Pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed on N. Oak around NE 103rd in Kansas City, Missouri, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. The pickup rear-ended a&nbsp;silver Buick.&nbsp; The Buick driver was pronounced dead on scene by EMS personal. </p><p>The driver of the white pickup remained at the scene and was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.&nbsp; Polie did not release the name of the driver who died or the driver arrested.</p><p>This marks fatality #11 in Kansas City, Missouri for 2026, according to DiMartino.</p>

Driver arrested after fatal, high-speed crash in Kansas City

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ayatollah&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ali-khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a>, who assembled theocratic power in Iran over the decades as its supreme leader and sought to turn it into a regional powerhouse, bringing it into confrontation with Israel and the United States&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-iran-politics-government-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-6acdb64d36fcbe05b3ee725d8a585d96">over its nuclear program</a>&nbsp;while crushing democracy protesters at home, has died. He was 86.

(Video below of Iran President Ali Khamenei at the UN Sept. 22, 1987-CSPAN)

Iranian state media reported the death early Sunday, after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">a major attack</a>&nbsp;launched by Israel and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump said hours earlier that Khamenei had been killed in the joint operation.

Khamenei dramatically remolded the Islamic Republic since he took the reins after the death of Ayatollah&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3042785d564d4acaa2e4a18bfc206d25">Ruhollah Khomeini</a>&nbsp;in 1989. Khomeini was the fiery, charismatic ideologue who led the overthrow of the shah and installed rule by Shiite Muslim clerics tasked with spreading religious purity. It fell to Khamenei, a stodgier figure with weaker religious credentials and a leaden demeanor, to turn that revolutionary vision into a state establishment.

He ended up ruling far longer than Khomeini. He greatly expanded the Shiite clerical class and built the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1a91d52c042141e4b7c8e93e6a20040e">paramilitary Revolutionary Guard</a>&nbsp;into the most important body underpinning his rule. The Guard became a military and business behemoth, the country’s most elite force and head of its ballistic missile arsenal, with hands across Iran’s economic sectors.

But the strains became harder to contain. Political repression and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/soaring-cost-of-food-and-essentials-squeeze-iranian-families-amid-tensions-with-us-4fca82ab094b4cedb3e8ad630b704c40">the faltering economy</a>&nbsp;fueled successively bigger waves of mass protests. Anger over the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-mahsa-amini-crackdown-f26a5f687d87785841241d266ca3e872">2022 death of Mahsa Amini</a>, detained for not wearing her mandatory headscarf properly, escalated into demonstrations against social restrictions. In early January, hundreds of thousands marched in cities across the country, many chanting, “Death to Khamenei.”

Khamenei responded with the deadliest crackdown seen in nearly 50 years of clerical rule as security forces opened fire on crowds, killing thousands.

At the same time, the Mideast wars sparked by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-ceasefire-deaths-numbers-3e74e053814fd798fc1321c44f3e3c34">Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel</a>&nbsp;set in motion the collapse of the regionwide “Axis of Resistance” built by Khamenei. Israel and Iran attacked each other directly for the first time in 2024. I&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-nuclear-timeline-war-146b4072f1f6cc43cfd3bde740313a5c">srael struck Iran again in June 2025</a>, as it and the United States&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-iaea-sanctions-728b811da537abe942682e13a82ff8bd">targeted the country’s nuclear program</a>&nbsp;and killed top military officers and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by sending missiles and drones at Israel.

Khamenei’s death raises questions about the future of the Islamic Republic.

The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of mostly hard-line clerics, will choose Khamenei’s replacement. But no clear successor is in place.

As he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">launched the bombing</a>&nbsp;in February, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iranians to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-trump-address-f662a4f3378535d81197be699fb35a3e">“take over your government. It will be yours to take.</a>&nbsp;This will be probably your only chance for generations.” What happens next may depend greatly on bodies like the Revolutionary Guard, which has repeatedly shown its willingness to use overwhelming force to keep power even as many of Iran’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-memorials-chehelom-71e5db503a287126a2d31cb32a2809eb">90 million people grow disenchanted</a>.

“Culturally, the government is bankrupt,” said Mehdi Khalaji, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in 2017. “The ideology of the Islamic Republic did not work at all.”

From a questioned start to a hard-line grip on Iran

Ali Khamenei was born into a religious family in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, a hotbed of revolutionary fervor during the struggle against the Western-allied shah,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/343d87fdb960424e9ec0f4a90dc64fcb">Mohammad Reza Pahlavi</a>.

Like many other Iranian leaders, he studied under Khomeini at the seminary in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, in the early 1960s, before the Khomeini's exile to Iraq and France.

Khamenei joined the anti-shah movement, facing time in both prison and in hiding. When&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3042785d564d4acaa2e4a18bfc206d25">Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph in February 1979</a>&nbsp;and proclaimed the Islamic Republic, Khamenei was appointed to the secretive Revolutionary Council. In 1981, he was elected Iran's third president; that same year, a bombing by opponents left him with one hand paralyzed.

With his thick, heavy-framed glasses, Khamenei lacked the steely gaze and fiery aura of Khomeini, the father of the Islamic Revolution. He fell far short of Khomeini’s religious scholarship, holding the relatively low rank of “hojatolislam” in the Shiite clerical hierarchy.

After being named supreme leader after Khomeini's death, he bounded overnight to the level of grand ayatollah, at the top of the hierarchy, and for years had to deal with skepticism over his credentials.

Khamenei acknowledged the doubts with humility. “I am an individual with many faults and shortcomings and truly a minor seminarian,” he said in his first speech in his new post.

Despite his lack of charisma, Khamenei stabilized Iran after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-iraq-5da81b6ba552db5f9ad6eb9bf4cc8525">the 1980s war with Iraq</a>&nbsp;and governed for over three decades — far longer than Khomeini.

Hard-liners considered him second only to God in his authority. Khamenei created an ever-growing bureaucracy of Shiite clerics and governmental agencies that blurred responsibilities and left him as the ultimate arbiter. As Iran questioned whether to keep the Revolutionary Guard after the war with Iraq, Khamenei came to its rescue and allowed the paramilitary force to gain a powerful grip on Iran’s economy. He also used a system of appointees to undercut the civilian government elected by its people.

The rise and fall of Iran’s proxy forces

Under Khamenei's reign, Iran shifted fully from conventional warfare to support for proxies, building the so-called Axis of Resistance to advance its interests in the region. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-hezbollahisrael-lebanon-b4daa0a6084df27099cef45b59120034">Lebanese militant group Hezbollah</a>, established with Iran's help in the 1980s, drove Israel from southern Lebanon in 2000 and battled it to a stalemate in the monthlong 2006 war.

Through Hezbollah, Iran perfected a strategy of making local militant groups its allies to project power — often through violence. Iran followed that model when backing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-attacks-iran-ships-retaliation-15d10ed74c7f3cc7fd36fa0f77f73e54">Yemen's Houthi rebels</a>, who in 2014 seized the country's capital, Sanaa, and held on for over a decade in a stalemated war in the Arab world's poorest nation — despite facing a Saudi-led coalition and later,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-red-sea-attacks-israel-f820b848eb76fa3ecc8056ca332cabae">U.S.-led airstrikes over their attacks in the Red Sea</a>&nbsp;corridor.

Elsewhere, suspected Iranian-backed militants bombed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-bombing-jewish-community-center-921ee279365a80a729f819117ca905ce">Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994</a>, killing 85 people. Iran also was allegedly linked to the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 members of the U.S. military. Iran denied responsibility for both attacks.

Iran emerged as a prime beneficiary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iraq-invasion-war-timeline-saddam-hussein-50828061c98e410063753045179bdcfb">U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003</a>, which replaced its main regional threat, Saddam Hussein, with a friendly Shiite-led government. Iranian-backed militias waged a brutal insurgency against U.S. forces and embedded themselves within the country's political landscape.

Khamenei used the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force most successfully after the Sunni extremists of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-crash-islamic-state-lone-wolves-4bb6446c484737fbe9dd1b9c26a899a9">Islamic State group seized large swaths</a>&nbsp;of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Guard troops advised Shiite militias, the best fighters in Iraq, and gave crucial support to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-816e538565d1ae47e016b5765b044d31">President Assad in Syria’s civil war</a>.

That secured Assad for a decade, until the chaos sparked by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-music-festival-6a55aae2375944f10ecc4c52d05f2ffe">Hamas' attack on Israel</a>&nbsp;in 2023. Israel devastated the Gaza Strip and launched airstrikes and ground operations pulverizing Hamas, which Iran had armed and funded for years. Israel is widely believed to have killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hamas-israel-30968a7acb31cd8b259de9650014b779">Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh</a>&nbsp;in an operation in Tehran in 2024, further embarrassing the Islamic Republic.

Hezbollah found its ranks targeted by exploding pagers and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-lebanon-israel-nasrallah-8da2e424e85152f0f41aa142391075ed">Israeli campaign killed its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah</a>. Then, in December 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-ousted-rebel-offensive-timeline-8c54a8b97803d4b10cde53b97227128e">rebel fighters toppled Assad</a>&nbsp;in an offensive in Syria, ending a half-century of his family's autocratic rule.

Nuclear program advances to near-weapons-grade levels

The supreme leader remained deeply suspicious of the U.S.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-presidential-election-us-israel-hamas-war-analysis-b876feed55807a36aef03ea44fd1c10d">referring to it as the “Great Satan”</a>&nbsp;even after President Barack Obama came into office in 2009, offering dialogue and a fresh start.

He shrugged off U.N. sanctions and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-nuclear-watchdog-iaea-iran-4706276a489b1a4cce2ca6260d0b3182">pushed ahead with Iran’s nuclear program</a>, which the U.S. and its allies say hid a secret project to build a nuclear weapon up until 2003. Khamenei issued a verbal fatwa, or religious ruling, that nuclear weapons are un-Islamic, but vowed the country would never give up its right to develop what he called a peaceful nuclear energy program.

Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Tehran agreed to drastically reduce its stockpile and enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. But only three years later, Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew Washington from the accord, arguing it didn't go far enough.

Iran has since broken all the limits of the nuclear deal and accumulated a stockpile of uranium enriched to nearly weapons-grade levels, now large enough to pursue several nuclear weapons if it chose to do so. Diplomatic efforts to restore the deal under President Joe Biden stalled.

In a March 2011 speech, Khamenei used toppled Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who had given up his own nuclear program years earlier, as an example of why Iran’s nuclear program remained so important&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/egypt-middle-east-islamic-state-group-coronavirus-pandemic-tunisia-26e27da4a70743eafb25a5bcf5d61ba1">in the wake of the Arab Spring</a>&nbsp;upheavals in the Middle East.

“Just the way you give a lollipop to a child, Westerners gave ‘incentives’ to them and they gave up everything,” Khamenei said.

Protests and demands for change intensified

Khamenei's first major challenge came in 1997, when pro-reform politicians gained control of parliament and cleric&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-ea865319f1ff4afebe4ce358d89ab217">Mohammad Khatami was elected president</a>&nbsp;by a landslide, riding a large youth vote. The reformists demanded a loosening of the strict social rules imposed by the revolution and called for improved ties with the outside world, including the U.S.

Khamenei-backed hard-liners moved to contain the liberal movement, fearing it would eventually call for an end to clerical rule. Khamenei stopped parliament from loosening restrictions on the media in an unusually overt intervention. Clerical bodies blocked other key liberal legislation and banned many reformist lawmakers from running for reelection, ensuring a return of hard-liner control in the 2004 elections.

That set the stage for the election of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-election-raisi-ahmadinejad-557dd8e41a9abf78e0ad02e0e21d4e00">hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad</a>&nbsp;in 2005 and his disputed reelection in 2009 amid charges of vote-rigging. Mass&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ab649e2190834e19b1f006f76493645f">protests broke out, posing the greatest threat</a>&nbsp;in decades to Iran’s clerical leadership. The Revolutionary Guard, Basij militia and police unleashed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-b94b46844e9646c08d8cd0764d8cd840">crackdown in which dozens were killed</a>&nbsp;and hundreds arrested.

The turmoil, and reports of protesters being tortured to death or raped in prison, dealt a severe blow to Khamenei’s prestige.

As sanctions bit further, popular unrest rose. Economic protests broke out in 2017 and demonstrations escalated in 2019 over a rise in government-set gasoline prices. A bloody crackdown that followed killed over 300 people, according to activists.

Although Khamenei struggled to preserve the ideological purity of the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s government has largely failed to rid the country of Western influence. Satellite dishes, banned in theory, crowd Tehran’s rooftops. Banned social media sites are widely used, even by some prominent politicians, despite being blocked.

Protests erupted again in 2022 over the death of Amini, a young woman detained for not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. More than 500 people were killed and tens of thousands arrested when security forces crushed the demonstrations again.

In late December 2025, new economic protests erupted and would grow into what appeared to be the biggest protest movement ever. Hundreds of thousands across the country took to the streets, overtly demanding an end to the Islamic Republic. Some even chanted for the return of the shah's son, living in exile since 1979. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/iran-security-forces-threaten-staff-at-hospitals-packed-with-protesters-aff95a0ba6a34f9496eddc0b5e44abb1">ferocity of the crackdown</a>&nbsp;stunned Iranians.

With U.S. President Donald Trump, Khamenei faced a more aggressive and unpredictable American drive to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Trump unilaterally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-iran-cead755353a1455bbef08ef289448994">withdrew America from Iran’s nuclear deal</a>&nbsp;with world powers in 2018, bringing a return of sanctions.

The two sides came close to war with the United States after an American drone strike killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-tehran-international-news-iraq-ali-khamenei-5597ff0f046a67805cc233d5933a53ed">Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani</a>&nbsp;in January 2020. At Soleimani’s mass funeral that drew millions to the streets,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ali-khamenei-ap-top-news-iraq-iran-united-arab-emirates-14792cc1d7f73ffec8f8c425b73b44fb">Khamenei wept over the casket</a>&nbsp;of the man he once called a “living martyr.” Two days later, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-21f4a92a2dfbc38581719664bdf6f38e">Guard mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner</a>&nbsp;after its takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard.

Iran ramped uranium enrichment back up, reaching 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Still, when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-deal-khamenei-us-tensions-bc11763f45041ac84171ebc3866f1273">Khamenei resumed talks,</a>&nbsp;underscoring the deep toll the sanctions had taken.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-rial-currency-us-7077a417560efcb6d9cbf7102cbc8b57">Iran’s long-ailing economy</a>&nbsp;entered a freefall worsening domestic unrest.

But a deal remained elusive. In June 2025, Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, inflicting heavy damage, though how far back it set the program remained unclear.

During the crackdown on nationwide protests in January, Trump renewed threats to strike, demanding Iran make major concessions at the negotiating table. Then came&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-embassy-staff-436162f886bdaed30c8dd0cdbe1b5aea">three rounds of indirect talks</a>. Then came Saturday.

Former Associated Press writer Brian Murphy contributed.

Iranian state media confirms Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://israel's%20defense%20minister%20says%20his%20country%20has%20attacked%20iran%20and%20declares%20a%20state%20of%20emergency/">Iran</a>&nbsp;on Saturday, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">U.S. President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.

Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.

Aerial footage posted to social media by U.S. Central Command showed U.S. munitions striking what appeared to be a variety of targets from drones to buildings.

The video montage was released Saturday afternoon. It showed black and white aerial footage of what appeared to be a drone on a runway, a radar tower, a missile battery, and a compound of buildings. They were all being struck by what seemed to be bombs or missiles and followed by large explosions.

The footage features the words “unclassified” at the top of the screen and a targeting reticle in the middle.

U.S. Central Command did not provide more details about the video.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772310653586.png" alt="Image from U.S. Central Command video" />
                        <figcaption>Image from U.S. Central Command video</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://israel's%20defense%20minister%20says%20his%20country%20has%20attacked%20iran%20and%20declares%20a%20state%20of%20emergency/">Iran</a>&nbsp;on Saturday, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">U.S. President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.</p><p>Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.</p><p>Aerial footage posted to social media by U.S. Central Command showed U.S. munitions striking what appeared to be a variety of targets from drones to buildings.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As the President stated, our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.<br><br>The President ordered bold action. CENTCOM forces are delivering an overwhelming and unrelenting blow. <a href="https://t.co/B0k5gV4YnU">pic.twitter.com/B0k5gV4YnU</a></p>&mdash; U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/2027814907119321481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The video montage was released Saturday afternoon. It showed black and white aerial footage of what appeared to be a drone on a runway, a radar tower, a missile battery, and a compound of buildings. They were all being struck by what seemed to be bombs or missiles and followed by large explosions.</p><p>The footage features the words “unclassified” at the top of the screen and a targeting reticle in the middle.</p><p>U.S. Central Command did not provide more details about the video.</p>

🎥US posts aerial footage showing strikes on variety of targets

WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, saying his passing is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.

Trump in his post called Khamenei “one of the most evil people in history.”

Trump said that Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”

Dubai,UAE(AP)-Israeli officials told The Associated Press Saturday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ali-khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a>&nbsp;is dead. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iran on his status.

The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would throw its future into doubt.

In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.

Shortly after the address, two Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed his death. The officials both spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement and gave no further details.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750936010746.png" alt="File photo Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to a group of people and officials in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)" />
                        <figcaption>File photo Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to a group of people and officials in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, saying his passing is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei...&quot; - President Donald J. Trump <a href="https://t.co/oXZTFGg5pS">pic.twitter.com/oXZTFGg5pS</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2027863139136479347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="qme" dir="ltr">🚨 <a href="https://t.co/P7uXSEG5dU">pic.twitter.com/P7uXSEG5dU</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2027860992944726087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.</p><p>Trump in his post called Khamenei “one of the most evil people in history.”</p><p>Trump said that Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”</p><p>Dubai,UAE(AP)-Israeli officials told The Associated Press Saturday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ali-khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a>&nbsp;is dead. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iran on his status.</p><p>The assassination of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would throw its future into doubt.</p><p>In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.</p><p>Shortly after the address, two Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed his death. The officials both spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement and gave no further details.</p>

Trump says Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead

&nbsp;The U.S. and Israel have launched a major attack on Iran. As of 12 noon CST Saturday, several members of the Kansas Congressional delegation used their social media accounts to comment on the military action.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772307695585.png" alt="Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>&nbsp;The U.S. and Israel have launched a major attack on Iran. As of 12 noon CST Saturday, several members of the Kansas Congressional delegation used their social media accounts to comment on the military action.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">May God Bless and keep safe the Armed Forces of the United States Military. The greatest military in the world.</p>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/2027728158078718088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am forever grateful to our brave men and women service members of the United States Military who embody the strength of our nation. The news this morning regarding Iran is nothing more than a consequence of the choices that the Iranian regime has made as a failed nation.</p>&mdash; Rep. Ron Estes (@RepRonEstes) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRonEstes/status/2027773653652238340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pray for the men and women serving in the United States armed forces.</p>&mdash; Congressman Derek Schmidt (@RepDerekSchmidt) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDerekSchmidt/status/2027742041703174602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For decades, the Iranian regime and their proxies have threatened Americans, persecuted their own people, and undermined peace and stability in the Middle East. I support <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> taking decisive action to deliver peace through strength in the region, ensuring that Iran does not…</p>&mdash; Tracey Mann (@RepMann) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMann/status/2027805833761849821?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That said, costly, endless wars without congressional authorization are not the answer. We cannot repeat the mistakes of our past, and I am extremely concerned about what this attack could drag us into. I am especially thinking of our servicemembers and hoping for their safety.</p>&mdash; Rep. Sharice Davids (@RepDavids) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDavids/status/2027853164603490720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Kansas lawmakers comment on U.S. military attack on Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an 8-minute video posted on his Truth Social that the U.S. has begun “major combat operations in Iran.” He claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach U.S. and appealed to the Iranian people to “take over your government.”

A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. 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.

For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries. Among the regime’s very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days. In 1983, Iran’s proxies carried out the marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel.

In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole. Many died. Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq. The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels and international shipping lines. It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer.

From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts. And it was Iran’s proxy, Hamas, that launched the monstrous Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens hostage. It was brutal, something like the world has never seen before.

Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror, and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested. It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again, they can never have a nuclear weapon. That is why in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. Again they wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. They didn’t know what was happening. They just wanted to practice evil. But Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades.

They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore. Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing the long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland. Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had, and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message.

For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally again obliterated. We’re going to annihilate their navy. We’re going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces, and no longer use their IEDs, or roadside bombs as they are sometimes called, to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans. And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.

This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces. I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration and there is no military on earth even close to its power, strength or sophistication. My administration is taking every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission. We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm’s way. And we trust that with his help, the men and women of the armed forces will prevail. We have the greatest in the world, and they will prevail.

To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity. Or in the alternative, face certain death. So, lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death. Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.

For many years, you have asked for America’s help. But you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.

May God bless the brave men and women of America’s armed forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all. Thank you.

<p>U.S. President Donald Trump said in an 8-minute video posted on his Truth Social that the U.S. has begun “major combat operations in Iran.” He claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach U.S. and appealed to the Iranian people to “take over your government.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Donald J. Trump on the United States military combat operations in Iran: <a href="https://t.co/LimJmpLkgZ">pic.twitter.com/LimJmpLkgZ</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2027654336138924410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Here’s Trump’s address in full:</p><p>A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. 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.</p><p>For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries. Among the regime’s very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days. In 1983, Iran’s proxies carried out the marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel.</p><p>In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole. Many died. Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq. The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels and international shipping lines. It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer.</p><p>From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts. And it was Iran’s proxy, Hamas, that launched the monstrous Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens hostage. It was brutal, something like the world has never seen before.</p><p>Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror, and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested. It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again, they can never have a nuclear weapon. That is why in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. Again they wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. They didn’t know what was happening. They just wanted to practice evil. But Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades.</p><p>They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore. Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing the long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland. Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had, and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message.</p><p>For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally again obliterated. We’re going to annihilate their navy. We’re going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces, and no longer use their IEDs, or roadside bombs as they are sometimes called, to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans. And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.</p><p>This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces. I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration and there is no military on earth even close to its power, strength or sophistication. My administration is taking every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission. We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm’s way. And we trust that with his help, the men and women of the armed forces will prevail. We have the greatest in the world, and they will prevail.</p><p>To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity. Or in the alternative, face certain death. So, lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death. Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.</p><p>For many years, you have asked for America’s help. But you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.</p><p>May God bless the brave men and women of America’s armed forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all. Thank you.</p>

Read President Trump’s statement on Iran in full

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on&nbsp;<a href="https://israel's%20defense%20minister%20says%20his%20country%20has%20attacked%20iran%20and%20declares%20a%20state%20of%20emergency/">Iran</a>&nbsp;on Saturday, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;urged the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.

Some of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">the first strikes</a>&nbsp;on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ali-khamenei">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>. Smoke rose from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices when the attack occurred.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive “as far as I know,” and called the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate.”

In a video announcing the “major combat operations," Trump told Iranians that “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that goal, called for “the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands."

The strikes during the holy fasting month of Ramadan opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, and marked the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic Republic during talks over its nuclear program. Weeks earlier, a U.S. military operation captured Venezuela’s president,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2">Nicolás Maduro</a>.

The targets included members of Iran's leadership, according to a U.S. official and another person briefed on the attacks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. There was no immediate information on whether top officials were killed.

Even if Iran's top leaders are killed, regime change is not guaranteed. Neither the U.S. nor Israel have articulated a vision for what new leadership might look like.

Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance of the attack.

The U.N. Security Council said it would meet Saturday afternoon. In a letter to the council, Araghchi said “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile forces in the region shall be regarded as legitimate military objectives.”

Iran also requested an urgent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors about “these threats to safeguarded nuclear facilities,” according to a letter posted by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said on X it was closely monitoring developments and had seen “no evidence of radiological impact.”

Tensions have soared in recent weeks as American warships moved into the region. Trump said he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program at a moment when the country is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-economy-prices-aa1c14906b39f79b88cdf47616a4a755">struggling at home</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-protests-students-nuclear-khamenei-096e7ede9bc9c1e7b889878af9d6e750">growing dissent</a>&nbsp;following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-memorials-chehelom-71e5db503a287126a2d31cb32a2809eb">nationwide protests</a>.

The immediate trigger for Saturday’s strikes appeared to be the unsuccessful latest round of nuclear talks. But they also reflected dramatic changes that have left Iran’s leadership in its weakest position since the Islamic Revolution nearly half a century ago.

Israeli and American strikes last June greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. A regionwide war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has left Iran’s network of proxies across the Middle East greatly weakened. U.S. sanctions and global isolation, meanwhile, have decimated Iran’s economy.

Iran responded to the latest strikes by launching missiles and drones targeting Israel and strikes targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Israel’s military said Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted and no serious injuries reported. Barrages continued after sundown.

In southern Iran, at least 57 people were reported killed after a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. The White House and Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Flights across the Middle East were disrupted and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates' commercial capital. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said.

Attack was coordinated between Israel and US

The U.S. military has for weeks amassed forces in the region, even as U.S. and Iranian envoys held talks in Switzerland and Oman.

“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined,” Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, key mediator, said on X. “Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this," he said.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772280778680.png" alt="People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)" />
                        <figcaption>People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on&nbsp;<a href="https://israel's%20defense%20minister%20says%20his%20country%20has%20attacked%20iran%20and%20declares%20a%20state%20of%20emergency/">Iran</a>&nbsp;on Saturday, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;urged the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Donald J. Trump on the United States military combat operations in Iran: <a href="https://t.co/LimJmpLkgZ">pic.twitter.com/LimJmpLkgZ</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2027654336138924410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump monitored the situation overnight at Mar a Lago alongside members of his national security team. The President spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone. <br><br>Prior to the attacks, Secretary Rubio called all members of the gang of eight to provide congressional…</p>&mdash; Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2027777973319766251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Some of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">the first strikes</a>&nbsp;on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ali-khamenei">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>. Smoke rose from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices when the attack occurred.</p><p>Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive “as far as I know,” and called the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate.”</p><p>In a video announcing the “major combat operations," Trump told Iranians that “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."</p><p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that goal, called for “the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands."</p><p>The strikes during the holy fasting month of Ramadan opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, and marked the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic Republic during talks over its nuclear program. Weeks earlier, a U.S. military operation captured Venezuela’s president,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2">Nicolás Maduro</a>.</p><p>The targets included members of Iran's leadership, according to a U.S. official and another person briefed on the attacks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. There was no immediate information on whether top officials were killed.</p><p>Even if Iran's top leaders are killed, regime change is not guaranteed. Neither the U.S. nor Israel have articulated a vision for what new leadership might look like.</p><p>Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance of the attack.</p><p>The U.N. Security Council said it would meet Saturday afternoon. In a letter to the council, Araghchi said “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile forces in the region shall be regarded as legitimate military objectives.”</p><p>Iran also requested an urgent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors about “these threats to safeguarded nuclear facilities,” according to a letter posted by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.</p><p>The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said on X it was closely monitoring developments and had seen “no evidence of radiological impact.”</p><h2>Rising tensions</h2><p>Tensions have soared in recent weeks as American warships moved into the region. Trump said he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program at a moment when the country is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-economy-prices-aa1c14906b39f79b88cdf47616a4a755">struggling at home</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-protests-students-nuclear-khamenei-096e7ede9bc9c1e7b889878af9d6e750">growing dissent</a>&nbsp;following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-memorials-chehelom-71e5db503a287126a2d31cb32a2809eb">nationwide protests</a>.</p><p>The immediate trigger for Saturday’s strikes appeared to be the unsuccessful latest round of nuclear talks. But they also reflected dramatic changes that have left Iran’s leadership in its weakest position since the Islamic Revolution nearly half a century ago.</p><p>Israeli and American strikes last June greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. A regionwide war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has left Iran’s network of proxies across the Middle East greatly weakened. U.S. sanctions and global isolation, meanwhile, have decimated Iran’s economy.</p><p>Iran responded to the latest strikes by launching missiles and drones targeting Israel and strikes targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.</p><p>Israel’s military said Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted and no serious injuries reported. Barrages continued after sundown.</p><p>In southern Iran, at least 57 people were reported killed after a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. The White House and Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p>Flights across the Middle East were disrupted and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates' commercial capital. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said.</p><h2>Attack was coordinated between Israel and US</h2><p>The U.S. military has for weeks amassed forces in the region, even as U.S. and Iranian envoys held talks in Switzerland and Oman.</p><p>“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined,” Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, key mediator, said on X. “Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this," he said.</p><p>Israel said the operation has been planned for months with the U.S. “Air Force pilots are striking hundreds of targets across Iran, at significant personal risk and in coordination with U.S. strikes,” Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement.</p><p>Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack.</p><p>Trump, in seeking to justify the military action, claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program, despite asserting last year the program had been “obliterated” by an earlier round of strikes. He acknowledged Saturday that there could be American casualties, saying “that often happens in war.”</p><p>It was a notable call from a U.S. leader who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”</p><p>Trump’s statement listed grievances beyond the nuclear program, stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic, following a revolution in 1979 that turned Iran from an American ally into a fierce foe.</p><p>The U.S. president said he was aiming to “annihilate” the Iranian navy and destroy regional proxies supported by Tehran. He called on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, pledging members would be given immunity, while warning they would face “certain death” if they didn’t.</p><p>Trump had threatened military action, but held off, following Iran's recent crackdown on protests spurred by economic grievances that evolved into a nationwide, anti-government push against the ruling clerics.</p><p>The Human Rights Activists News Agency says it confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-campus-protests-crackdown-54149e9d49fe022d840f71eb5f5be106">more than 7,000 deaths</a>&nbsp;in the crackdown and is investigating thousands more. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 killed.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-enrichment-c0079c38746a896e2967a9a9cc2799d5">Iran has said it hasn’t enriched uranium since June</a>, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites America bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-nuclear-enrichment-satellite-d5c78b5fe974ec2fc338b8ad6d6a7d68">shown new activity at two of those sites</a>, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material there.</p><p>Iran said it hoped to avert a war, but maintained its right to enrich uranium. Its leaders did not want to discuss other issues, such as its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.</p><h2>Regional effects</h2><p>The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran is able to make the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of total worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.</p><p>Saudi Arabia said in an announcement on state-run media that Iran had targeted its capital and its eastern region in an attack that was repelled.</p><p>Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said a drone targeted the main international airport, injuring several employees. Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom. Explosions could also be heard in Qatar. Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.</p><p>The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement.</p><p>U.S. embassies or consulates in Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Israel said staffers were told to shelter in place and recommended all Americans “do the same until further notice.”</p><p>___</p><p>Toropin and Madhani reported from Washington and Boak from West Palm Beach, Florida. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Samy Magdy in Cairo, and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.</p>