United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran Early Saturday morning, an operation the Trump administration called “Epic Fury.”
“The United States military is conducting a massive, ongoing operation to prevent this radical and evil dictatorship from threatening the United States and our core national security interests,” Trump said in the video message. “We are going to destroy their missiles and destroy their missile industry… We are going to annihilate their navy.”
The joint military campaign attacked several major cities, including Tehran, where explosions were observed, CNN reportsand Israel’s attacks specifically targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated soon after with missile strikes against Israeli targets and US military bases in several Arab countries, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The president added: “The Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of brave American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That happens often in war, but we don’t do it for now. We do it for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
Trump also called on the Iranians to “take charge of their government” and that “the hour of their freedom is near.” “Stay safe, stay protected… When we’re done, take control of your government. It will be yours. This will probably be your only chance for generations,” Trump said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media: “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Trump’s war against Iran is totally illegal, illegitimate and unprovoked,” adding that Iran’s armed forces “will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve.”
The Democratic leader of the United States House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, criticized Trump for not “seeking authorization from Congress before attacking Iran,” since the president “must seek authorization for the preventive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.” While Jeffries acknowledged that Iran is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support for terrorism, and the threat it poses to our allies, Trump’s actions “have left U.S. troops vulnerable to Iran’s retaliatory actions.”
