As the world awoke on Saturday to news that the US and Israel had attacked Iran in a major military operation, Tehran was quick to attack American bases in the region.
The conflict has spread to other parts of the region as Iran launches multiple rounds of strikes on other Middle Eastern countries amid a volatile conflict that has so far seen rising death tolls, disruptions to global air travel and soaring oil prices.
Here’s how it unfolded.
The US and Israeli attacks came as the US and Iran held their second round of talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear program in Geneva.
As talks began on February 17, Iranian media announced that Iran had fired live missiles towards the Strait of Hormuz and would close the strait for several hours for “security and maritime concerns”.
It is the first time Iran has closed parts of the strait, a vital international waterway, since it began threatening Iran with military action.
US President Donald Trump on Feb. On the 19th he hoped Iran would make a “meaningful deal” with the US, saying “otherwise bad things will happen”.
A map depicting US and Israeli targets in Iran.
AFP/Getty Images
He repeated his threats against Iran in his State of the Union address last week, accusing Iran of restarting its nuclear program, working to build missiles capable of reaching the United States “soon” and being responsible for roadside bombings that have killed US service members and civilians.
Iran says its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.
On February 27, a day before Saturday’s strike, Trump said he was “not happy” with the progress of the nuclear talks.
“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we want. I’m not thrilled with that,” Trump told reporters.
At about 1:15 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, March 1, more than 100 American aircraft from land and sea were launched against Iranian targets, said Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane.
This military operation was codenamed Operation Epic Fury by the US
A map depicting US military bases near the Persian Gulf.
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The initial attacks were carried out by the Israelis and the US action was “based on a trigger event by the Israel Defense Forces, which was enabled by the US intelligence community,” Kane said.
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Tomahawk missiles launched from US Navy ships were the first shots, while on the ground, troops fired precision standoff weapons.
Kane said the attack hit more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours.
In a video posted on Truth Social announcing the attack early Saturday, Trump mentioned Washington’s decades-old dispute with Iran, dating back to the 1979 student hostage-taking of the US embassy in Tehran for 444 days.
Reuters reported that the strikes also hit some civilian infrastructure, including an all-girls school, where more than 100 people were killed.
Khamenei was killed in the strike
The first strikes on Saturday morning appeared to target the home of Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in downtown Tehran.
Hours after the US strike, Trump announced on TruthSocial that Khamenei had been killed.
Trump said the 86-year-old leader of Iran’s Islamic regime — which has held power in the country’s theocratic system for decades — was killed in a US strike earlier on Saturday.
A map depicting Iran’s oil infrastructure.
AFP/Getty Images
Iranian state media later confirmed Khamenei’s death.
Khamenei’s death raises questions about the future of the Islamic Republic.
The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics, has the power to choose Khamenei’s replacement. Iran’s President Masoud Pejeshkin said in a pre-recorded message that the leadership council had “started its work” to find a new leader.
But no clear successor is in place, and Iran is facing significant waves of protest against the regime.
Trump said the “massive” operation was intended to ensure Tehran did not obtain a nuclear weapon and aimed to “remove imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
He urged Iranians to take shelter because “bombs are falling everywhere.”
However, he added: “When we’re done, take your government. It’s yours. It’s probably your only chance for a generation.”
In response, Tehran launched missiles at Israel and several countries in the Middle East that host US military bases, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
Tehran had earlier warned that it would attack US bases in the region if attacked.
Map depicting Iran’s retaliation against US and Israeli attacks.
AFP/Getty Images
Shrapnel from an Iranian attack on Abu Dhabi left two people dead, with debris from aerial strikes causing fire in the city’s main port and in front of the Burj Al Arab hotel, UAE state media reported.
Saudi Arabia confirmed the attacks on its capital Riyadh and its eastern region, but said it had been successfully repelled.
The widening conflict had ripple effects around the world, disrupting flights across the region and sending oil prices soaring.
Air Canada said it has revised its ticketing policy to allow changes without space clearance, a penalty for customers traveling on affected flights. Customers can withdraw their booking online to change their flight free of charge.
Global Affairs Canada currently has 85,000 Canadians registered in the region, with more than 3,000 in Iran alone.
The number is based on voluntary self-registration by Canadians on Sunday with Global Affairs Canada, meaning the actual number could be higher.
As of Monday, neither side had given any indication of an escalation anytime soon.
“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a televised address on Sunday. “We deliver such devastating blows that you are driven to beg yourself.”
Trump said in a Satya social post that any retaliation would be further escalated.
“Better not do it,” Trump lashed out in the post.
At a press conference on Monday, Trump projected that a US attack on Iran would last “four to five weeks” but could go longer.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that his country would have a “non-stop air train” of strikes against military and leadership targets in Iran.
– With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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