#Israel PM Benjamin #Netanyahu echoed that sweeping goal. “Our joint operation will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands,” he said.

In a video posted on social media, #Trump claimed #Iran has continued to develop its #nuclear program & plans to develop missiles to reach the #US.

#RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

The first strikes of the attack appeared to target the compound home to Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali #Khamenei in downtown Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was there at the time. Smoke could be seen rising from the Iranian capital.

#US #Iran #war #Trump #warmonger #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

#Iran responded as it had been threatening to do for months — first launching a wave of missiles & drones targeting #Israel. It followed with strikes targeting #US #military installations in #Bahrain, #Kuwait & #Qatar. The #UAE & #Iraq shut down their airspace.

#war #Trump #warmonger #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

#Trump indicated the #US was striking for reasons far beyond the #nuclear program, listing grievances stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic following a revolution in 1979 that turned #Iran from one of America’s closest allies in the #MiddleEast into a fierce foe.

Read Trump’s address in full∶
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-trump-address-f662a4f3378535d81197be699fb35a3e

#war #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics

#Iran on Saturday said the #US - #Israel airstrikes in southern Iran killed students at a #girls’ #school, the first confirmed fatalities in the operation.

The death toll at the girls’ school has risen to at least 40 people killed, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

At least 45 others had been wounded in the attack in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard [#IRGC] has a base in the city.

#war #Trump #WarCrimes #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics

#Israel said the attack against #Iran was a “broad, coordinated, & joint operation against the regime” that had been planned for months between the Israeli & #US #military.

PM #Netanyahu said in a recorded message released Saturday morning that Israel plans the current operation to be “much more powerful” than the bruising 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

#war #Trump #warmonger #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

Two officials with different #Iran backed #militias in #Iraq told The Associated Press that a meeting took place two months ago between Iranian officials & allied Iraqi militias to make plans for a response in case Iran was attacked, including distributing tasks among the Iraqi armed groups.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

#US #war #Trump #warmonger #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

One of the officials said it was decided that the response would target #US forces & interests in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region & in neighboring #Jordan.

US troops have vacated bases where they were previously stationed in #Iraq in areas under the control of the central government in Baghdad as a result of an agreement to end the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, but they remain in the Kurdish region.

#Iran #war #Trump #law

One of the most prominent Iraqi #militias, #KataibHezbollah, on Thursday issued a public statement urging its fighters to “be prepared to engage in a #war of attrition that may be prolonged & exceed the expectations of the #US administration.” It also issued a warning to the #Kurdish regional government in #Iraq “against collaborating with hostile foreign forces” that “could threaten its security & future.”

#Iran #war #Trump #warmonger #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics

Iranian state media said the #US - #Israel attacks targeted a growing list of cities & sites across #Iran.

Plumes of smoke could be seen above #Tehran due to direct strikes, with reports of explosions in or near the major cities of #Isfahan, #Shiraz & #Tabriz.

Blasts were also reported in several western towns as well as around #PersianGulf port cities that are critical to Iran’s major #oil #trade, including #Asaluyeh.

#war #Trump #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics

#RedCross calls for respect for #RulesOfWar

“The #military escalation in the #MiddleEast is igniting a dangerous chain reaction across the region, with potentially devastating consequences for #civilians,” #ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.

Spoljaric said civilian infrastructure, such as #schools, #homes & #hospitals, must be spared from attacks.

#US #Iran #Israel #war #Trump #Netanyahu #warmonger #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

“In international armed conflicts, International #HumanitarianLaw, in particular all 4 #GenevaConventions, apply,” Spoljaric said. “Medical personnel & first responders must be allowed to carry out their work safely.”

#US #Iran #Israel #war #Trump #Netanyahu #warmonger #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

Within hours of the joint #US & #Israel strike on #Iran, Ali Vaez, who directs the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, warned that the #war could likely escalate.

Vaez on social media stressed that Iran had been preparing for the conflict & that wider war could break out across the #MiddleEast.

#Trump #Netanyahu #warmonger #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics

In addition to the risk of wider #war & the human toll [which #Republicans don’t seem to care about], attacks on #Iran will increase #energy #prices.

He also stressed that the war could lead to higher energy costs, which would undercut one of Trump’s domestic [false] political messages that #gasoline prices have been lower since his return to power.

#US #Israel #Trump #oil #inflation #CostOfLiving #affordability #warmonger #RegimeChange #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

“#Iran sits along the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s #oil supply passes,” Vaez posted. “Even limited disruption could spike #energy #prices, fuel #inflation, & rattle global markets.”

#US #Israel #war #Trump #warmonger #CostOfLiving #affordability #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast

Get ready for #SupplyChain disruptions

#Iran backed #Houthis in #Yemen have decided to resume attacks on #ShippingRoutes & on #Israel in support of Iran.…

One official said the rebels’ first attack could come as soon as “tonight.”

The rebels had ceased attacks on the #shipping route as part of a deal with the #Trump admin that also halted #US strikes against the Houthis. They also stopped their attacks against Israel after an October “ceasefire” that halted major fighting in #Gaza.

#war

Wider conflict escalation already underway

The #UAE, #Qatar, #Kuwait, #Jordan [list incomplete] have all repelled or have attempted to repel attacks already today.

#US #Iran #Israel #war #Trump #Netanyahu #warmonger #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast
https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026#0000019c-a40a-d710-adde-fd3f2a080000

#Iran has retaliated to countrywide strike by #US & Israeli jets. Iran has targeted US bases scattered across the #MiddleEast, including nearby #Gulf monarchies & have vowed to continue attacks, as Geneva-based #nuclear talks failed to result in a deal.

#war #Trump #Netanyahu #warmonger #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics

#HakeemJeffries decries #Iran strikes without approval from #Congress

The #US #House #Democratic leader says that “Iran is a bad actor & must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism & the threat it poses to our allies like Israel & Jordan in the region.”

But Jeffries said that outside “exigent circumstances,” #Trump “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of #military #force that constitutes an act of #war.”

#law #WarPowers

@OGjester

Not sure what else you expect him to do without a majority? The can sue, but as you know that’ll take years to resolve while the damage is being done.

Until the people of the United States elect a Democratic majority in the House & hopefully the Senate as well, unless you want Dems to start breaking laws like Republicans — which would negate their authority, statements, speeches, lawsuits etc are all the Democrats can do.

@Nonilex @OGjester

Playing by the rules has us here. Writing strongly-worded statements has us here. We're getting nowhere by adhering to norms and laws.

The moral high ground isn't a bragging point when schoolchildren are being murdered.

We absolutely need to elect a Dem majority. But we need Dems who aren't afraid of their shadows. Dems who will do more than issue a strongly-worded statement. Dems who actually WORK FOR THE PEOPLE. I don't see that in the current Dems in office.

@MsMissy @OGjester

“Moral high ground” isn’t at issue. Living in a rules-based-order world is. I have no interest in the Democratic Party abandoning the rule of law. Right now the US is a failing democracy because of the Republican Party. If both parties abandon the rule of law, there is no chance to ever be a democracy again.

Republicans must be held to account for breaking the law. That cannot happen in a country without any laws.

@Nonilex @OGjester

Agreed. But where is the will of Dems in Congress to push back against the lawlessness? What are they DOING to work back towards rules-based order?

I am not the only person frustrated that Dems get patted on the back for the minimum - the strongly worded letter. Tell us what they can do to push back - even in the minority. They can hold hearings. They can be a constant media presence to explain the lawlessness. They can do more than complain.