Iranian War 2026 — Live Blog Continually Updated

[The following is from a live blog yesterday, Sat., Feb 28. It was not continued. ]

As we continue into the first day of the Iranian War of 2026, we will attempt a “live blog” of the action right here in ol’ San Diego. I’ve been posting info from a variety of sources, from NBC, Daily Kos, CBS, The Atlantic, Common Dreams, to AlterNet, CNN, Politico, the Guardian, and Al Jazeera.

4:19 pm It’s Likely that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, according to CNN

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who ruled the country for almost four decades, has been killed, according to US President Donald Trump and two Israeli sources. Israel has not shared evidence of Khamenei’s death, and a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry earlier insisted that Khamenei, 86, and Iran’s president were both “safe and sound.”

But Khamenei has not been seen in public or in videos since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Saturday morning, unleashing barrages of airstrikes.

Trump announced the death on his Truth Social platform, calling Khamenei “one of the most evil people in History.” Israeli sources concluded earlier on Saturday that Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials were dead.

The news appeared likely to plunge the Islamic Republic into the most serious crisis since its establishment. Cheers and celebrations were heard in parts of Tehran Saturday night following reports of Khamenei’s death.

Here’s what we know:

What happened?
Soon after the United States and Israel began joint strikes on Iran on Saturday, Israeli sources told CNN that airstrikes targeted Iran’s top leadership, including Khamenei.

Satellite images from Airbus showed black smoke rising from the supreme leader’s compound in the capital, Tehran. The images appear to show that several buildings in the compound were severely damaged by strikes.

Trump described Khamenei’s reported death as “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

In announcing the joint US-Israeli attack, Trump said one of its aims was regime change, and he called on the Iranian people to rise up against the government once operations finished. However, it was unclear whether such change would result from Khamenei’s death, which appeared likely to usher in hard-line rule by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, experts said.

4:12 pm  Here is Congressman Scott Peter’s statement — Peters is commonly thought to be considering a campaign for San Diego mayor in 2028

Scott Peters Statement on U.S. Military Action in Iran: Supports Troops But Congress Needs to Have War Powers Vote

San Diego, CA. – Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) released the following statement after the U.S. joined an unannounced large-scale military operation in Iran last night.“On behalf of my family, and our entire San Diego community — home to a proud military presence that plays a critical role in our national defense — we wish our troops success and safety as they embark on this dangerous mission.

“Like many Americans, I did not see an imminent threat to the United States that required immediate military action. This makes me deeply concerned about the risk of American lives being lost in someone else’s war. We owe our servicemembers clear objectives and a defined endgame.

“Before our nation becomes further engaged in another burdensome conflict, Congress should be briefed as to whether this attack was justified and how we go forward. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, and that responsibility is not optional. Following a full briefing, the War Powers Resolution I’ve supported must be taken up for a vote immediately to ensure that Congress fully exercises its constitutional authority to declare war.

“23 years ago, President George W. Bush sought authorization from Congress, and the United Nations, before invading Iraq in 2003. He received overwhelming support from the House and Senate, showing our national resolve and unity. In this case, there has been no vote in Congress authorizing military action, no clear threat that requires unilateral action, and no broad international coalition assembled. We appear to be moving ahead without support from our allies or a clear consensus. This is unwise and dangerous.

“While we wage another war abroad, we continue to neglect our challenges at home. Measles is reemerging in parts of our country. We are running a $2 trillion annual deficit. Families are dealing with a skyrocketing affordability crisis, including the widespread loss of health care. And the Department of Homeland Security is shut down, disrupting vital agencies such as FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard. This already affects the livelihoods of vital employees, as well as our disaster response, aviation security, maritime safety, and cybersecurity. We must urgently address these responsibilities at home, even as we consider actions abroad. Fighting a war overseas, while ignoring the challenges Americans face, will only make us a weaker nation.”
3:49 pm

Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘This is not what we thought MAGA was supposed to be. Shame!’

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Republican congresswoman from Georgia, has denounced the attack on Iran as a betrayal of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement in a series of social media posts on Saturday.

“I did not campaign for this. I did not donate money for this. I did not vote for this, in elections or Congress. This is heartbreaking and tragic. And how many more innocent will die? What about our own military? This is not what we thought MAGA was supposed to be. Shame!” Greene wrote in one post, which included video of a ruined school, where dozens of children were killed in a strike according to Iranian authorities.

Greene, who broke with the president and resigned over her support for a law that required the justice department to release files from the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender Trump socialized with for nearly two decades, also posted a longer statement denouncing the attack on X, illustrated by a screenshot of a Republican campaign plea from 2024 urging voters to “Vote the pro-peace ticket. Vote Trump-Vance”.

Above that image of the two men she campaigned for, Greene wrote:

We said “No More Foreign Wars, No More Regime Change!” We said it on rally stage after rally stage, speech after speech. Trump, Vance, basically the entire admin campaigned on it and promised to put America FIRST and Make America Great Again. My generation has been let down, abused, and used by our government our entire adult lives and our children’s generation is literally being abandoned. Thousands and thousands of Americans from my generation have been killed and injured in never ending pointless foreign wars and we said no more. But we are freeing the Iranian people. Please. There are 93 million people in Iran, let them liberate themselves. But Iran is on the verge of having nuclear weapons. Yeah sure. We have been spoon fed that line for decades and Trump told us all that his bombing this past summer completely wiped it all out. It’s always a lie and it’s always America Last. But it feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different and said no more.

Later in the day, Greene shared posts from other social media skeptics of the attack who noted that, even as Trump cited Iran’s nuclear program as a cause of war, the White House website still includes a page from last June headlined: “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News”, and argued that the attack was an attempt to distract the American people from the scandal of the president’s long friendship with the late ex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

One of the posts Green shared on Saturday read, in all-caps: “EVEN IF YOU START A NUCLEAR WAR, WE WILL CRAWL OUT OF THE ASHES AS SEVEN-LEGGED MUTANTS DEMANDING THE RELEASE OF THE EPSTEIN FILES.” The Guardian

3:45 pm PT

Israel conducts another wave of strikes on Iran

In a post on X, Israel’s Air Force says it targeted missiles arrays and air defense systems in central Iran. The military said the strikes on central Iran “thwarted dozens of launches” towards Israel “and deeply damaged the regime’s most central offensive capability”.

3:42 pm

3:29 pm PT

Trump Launches Illegal Regime Change War Against Iran

President Donald Trump announced in the early hours of Saturday morning that the US has launched a massive military operation aimed at toppling the Iranian government as blasts were reported in Tehran, including near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is taking part in the assault. Unnamed Israeli security sources told Channel 12 that Israel and the Trump administration are “going all in” against Iran as Trump instructed Iranians to “stay sheltered,” warning that “bombs will be dropping everywhere.” People were seen seeking cover in Tehran as the US and Israeli bombs began to fall.

The assault, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Pentagon, comes days after the US and Iran took part in talks in Geneva, which Trump’s envoys characterized as “positive.” In announcing military action on Saturday, Trump said falsely that the Iranian government has “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions.”

The US and Israeli attacks—which both nations characterized as “preemptive”—are plainly illegal under international law, which prohibits the threat or use of force except in response to an armed attack. The Trump administration is also violating US law, which gives Congress the sole power to declare war.

“The term ‘preemptive’ is pure propaganda,” wrote Drop Site journalist Jeremy Scahill. “The US once again used the veneer of negotiations as a cover to bomb Iran. Tehran had just offered terms that went far beyond the 2015 nuclear deal. What was preempted was diplomacy. The same propaganda tactics used in the 2003 Iraq war.”

Trump, who ditched the 2015 nuclear deal during his first White House term, repeatedly made clear in his remarks Saturday that he does not intend the new assault on Iran to be limited in scope like his bombings of Iranian nuclear sites last year. In the weeks leading up to Saturday’s attack, the Trump administration carried out a massive military buildup in the Middle East even as the president publicly claimed he was open to a diplomatic resolution.

“We may have casualties,” the US president said of American troops. “That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future.”

Trump also urged the Iranian armed forces to surrender or “face certain death” as the US fired Tomahawk cruise missiles and other munitions at Iran.

The Iranian government’s immediate response to Saturday’s onslaught was a pledge of “crushing retaliation” and a wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel. The Associated Press reported that “hours after the strikes on Iran, explosions rocked northern Israel as the country worked to intercept incoming Iranian missiles.”

Iran’s foreign minister later informed his Iraqi counterpart that Iran would be targeting US military installations in the region in retaliation for Saturday’s attacks.

A spokesperson for the Iranian military declared that “we will teach Israel and America a lesson they have never experienced in their history.”

“Any base that helps America and Israel will be the target of the Iranian armed forces,” the official added. Common Dreams

3:27 pm

3:22 pm  Iran Hit With Operation Epstein Fury

We are now witnessing an “instant” replay of the “weapons of mass destruction” lie that the Bush 2 regime used in 2003 to mislead the US into the Iraq War quagmire. It was another bungled attempt at regime change that ended badly at great expense to the US.

It’s also telling that no other nations have joined warmongers Bibi N and Mango Mussolini. Their leaders likely suspect—like many of us do—that Netanyahu played tRump like a Stradivarius violin to get the US military to join Israel in conducting unlawful and unprovoked air strikes against Iran. The rest of the world rightfully fears that US/Israeli air strikes in Iran could lead to a regional war in the Middle East, putting US and allied troops already stationed there at risk. It also fears that Iran could retaliate by shutting down oil traffic in the Persian Gulf, which could throw the US and global economies into further turmoil.
Keep in mind that Iran is a well-armed, industrializing nation of around 93 million people occupying more than 630,000 square miles of land (larger than the state of Alaska). It is also a strongly nationalistic country whose cultural roots go back millennia, not centuries. As weakened as its current theocratic government is, it will never be ousted by air strikes without boots on the ground—and likely not even then. In addition, recent YouGov and Quinnipiac polls indicated that nearly ½ to 2/3 of US voters oppose military action against Iran.

Finally, we know that Mango Mussolini has been flailing about for any distraction from the Epstein-tRump-Maxwell files scandal, which has become his super-sticky political Tar Baby. We may as well label this reckless US military adventure Operation Epstein Fury (Distraction). Ironically, it may help swell the ranks of those of us planning to participate in the March 28th nationwide No Kings (No Wars) protest marches.

There is no need for us who value peace, justice, and democracy in America to board tRump’s peace-through-war bandwagon. We know how to respond to tRump/MAGA theofascism. Let’s get to work. Aluta Continua! Daily Kos

3:12 pm  Hundreds of Iranians in LA Celebrate

Demonstrators in Los Angeles — home to the largest population of Iranians outside Iran — celebrated the attack by dancing, chanting and waving flags outside a federal building in the Westwood neighborhood. “Down with Islamic Republic!” they shouted. “Democracy for Iran!”

Many in the crowd of hundreds waved the red, white and green “Lion and Sun” flag, which was the Iranian flag before the 1979 revolution brought the ayatollah to power. Others carried Israeli or American flags.

Led by an emcee, the crowd also chanted thanks to President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some wore hats or shirts labeled “MIGA” or “Make Iran Great Again.”

About half a million Iranian Americans live in the Greater Los Angeles region. West Los Angeles in particular is home to a cultural enclave known as “Tehrangeles,” or Little Persia, featuring grocery stores, ice cream and kebab shops, restaurants, bakeries and bookstores. AP

3:06 pm

One person dead and 22 injured after Iranian strike on Tel Aviv

One person has died and 22 others are injured after an Iranian missile strike hit a building in Tel Aviv, according to media reports. Tel Aviv district’s fire and rescue commander said the building partially collapsed after the attack and that a fire had broken, according to Haaretz. Eight people were reportedly rescued and search efforts continue.

3:02 pm PT

Protesters gather in New York City’s Times Square and D.C.

Protesters gathered today in Times Square to demonstrate against the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. “Shame!” demonstrators chanted as the crowd grew in the busy commercial district of New York City. Some protesters held signs reading “Solidarity with Iran” and “Stop U.S. and Israeli war,” while one placard declared, “We have nothing to fear except our own billionaires.” Others waved Palestinian flags, appearing to signal solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Earlier, protesters gathered near the White House to protest the attack; another rally across town was held in solidarity with the ending of the Iranian regime.

2:52

An hour ago it was reported the death toll in Israeli attack on Iranian elementary school rose. Mizan News Agency, quoting the Minab Prosecutor’s Office, has reported that the number of casualties at the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab has reached 108.

2:48 pm

UN’s Guterres condemns US-Israeli strikes, retaliatory attacks by Iran

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has spoken at the UN Security Council and warned that today’s strikes by the US and Israel, as well as Iran’s retaliation, pose a “grave threat to international peace and security”. He said, “military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region in the world”.

2:45 pm PT

Both the Israelis and Trump claim the Iranian leader Ali Khamenei is dead. No one else can confirm it.

2:15 pm PT

UAE destroys 132 missiles and thwarts 195 Iranian drone attacks: Defence ministry

The United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry has said it destroyed 132 missiles and intercepted 195 drones launched from Iran. Earlier, one person was confirmed killed by falling debris, and there was material damage from the interceptions.

1:50 pm

Trump says ‘heavy and pinpoint bombing’ to continue ‘uninterrupted’ through the week or longer

1:27 pm PT

I have been trying to obtain info from a variety of sources, from NBC, CBS, The Atlantic, CNN, Politico, the Guardian, Al Jazeera for this “live blog” of the attack on Iran. At this point, the time involved in doing this is better spent watching all these sources.

1:15 pm PT

Iranian state-linked media denies that Khamenei is dead

Contradicting Israeli reports that Ali Khamenei is dead, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim and Mehr news agencies are reporting that the supreme leader is “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”.

Again, we still haven’t had any official confirmation on Khamenei’s fate, and there is a strong incentive for both sides to control the narrative about him being dead or alive. We’ll bring you more clarity as we get it.

Trump says he feels reports that Khamenei is dead are correct and ‘a lot of’ Iran’s senior leadership killed in strikes

The US president has been speaking to US media, in which he appeared to back up Israeli reports that Iran’s supreme leader was killed in airstrikes today.

Donald Trump addressed reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, telling NBC News: “We feel that that is a correct story.” He added that “most” of Iran’s senior leadership is “gone”.

The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone. Asked by ABC News about Iranian leadership and whether the US believes they were killed in strikes, Trump said. A lot of it is, yeah. But we don’t know all, but a lot of it is. Was a very powerful strike. Asked about the next leadership and if a leader has been identified, Trump said: “Yes. We have a very good idea.”

Further, a Fox News reporter, citing a US official, hears that the US believes Khamenei is dead, along with five to 10 top Iranian leaders who were killed in an initial Israeli strike. The Guardian

11:20 am pt

How governments in Latin America are reacting to the Iran attack

Governments and leaders in Latin America reacted with concern to the attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran that began this Saturday.

Some of them are in tension with President Donald Trump’s government, such as Cuba; others count among its allies, like Argentina, and others have recently approached Trump after exchanges and threats, as in the case of Colombia.

Here’s a look at the latest reactions from Latin America:

Cuba: President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the US and Israeli attacks against “ruin for a second time the efforts of diplomacy regarding the nuclear issue.”

Argentina: President Javier Milei raised the security level to “high throughout the entire national territory” due to the attacks. Meanwhile, Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this Saturday in a separate statement that it “values and supports” the joint military actions.

Colombia: President Gustavo Petro said US President Donald Trump “made a mistake today” following the strikes. The peace of the world is the common cause of humanity. Peace and life are the foundations of existence,” said Petro in a post on X, at a time when the South American leader has recently grown closer to Trump.

Guatemala: The Government of Guatemala expressed “deep concern” over the military attacks and called for respect for international law to avoid an escalation of violence.

Mexico: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico said the country’s embassies in the Middle East are in permanent contact with the Mexican community “and have activated their protection and consular assistance protocols” for both nationals and for the families of diplomatic personnel in those countries. CNN

11:14 am pt

‘All bases, facilities and assets’ of U.S. and Israel are ‘ legitimate military targets,’ Iranian rep tells U.N.

NBC News

11:10 am pt

 Bernie Sanders: ‘The American people are being lied to again.’

Senator Bernie Sanders has denounced the US attack on Iran, comparing the justifications offered by Donald Trump to the lies used to justify previous US wars on Iraq and Vietnam that ended in disaster.

In a statement on social media, in which he called on his colleagues in the US Senate to deny the authorization for war Trump has not sought, Sanders wrote:

“President Trump, along with his right-wing extremist Israeli ally Benjamin Netanyahu, has begun an illegal, premeditated and unconstitutional war. Tragically, Trump is gambling with American lives and treasure to fulfill Netanyahu’s decades-long ambition of dragging the United States into armed conflict with Iran,” Sanders said.

“The Senate must reconvene immediately and vote on a pending War Powers Resolution which I will strongly support,” he added, before noting that “this attack against Iran is a clear violation of international law and will create increased instability in an already dangerous world.”

“The American people were lied to about Vietnam. The American people were lied to about Iraq. The American people are being lied to again today and once again, it is ordinary people who will pay the price,” he added. “We must not allow Trump to force us into another senseless war. No war with Iran.” The Guardian

11:08

US military: There have been no American casualties and minimal damage to US facilities

The US hasn’t suffered any combat-related casualties in its operation against Iran, US Central Command said in a statement. Damage to US installations has been minimal and hasn’t affected operations CENTCOM said.

CENTCOM said the military operation known as “Operation Epic Fury” started Saturday at 1:15 a.m. ET “to dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat.” CENTCOM said targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.

11:01 am

UN security council to hold emergency meeting

The UN security council called an emergency meeting after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes by Tehran. The emergency session was requested by the permanent missions of France, Bahrain, China, Russia and Colombia, according to a statement by the permanent mission of Russia to the UN. The session, due to start at 4pm local time (9pm GMT), will address “the situation in the Middle East”, the UN said.

10:56 am PT

Israel is creating ‘chaos’ in the Middle East, says former Israeli peace negotiator

Daniel Levy says that Israeli and US attacks on Iran are a “defining moment in Israel’s reach for regional domination”. Al Jazeera

10:54 am PT

Movement in US Congress for vote on limiting president’s authority over Iran strikes

There is a movement in Congress to bring all the lawmakers back to Washington, if they are in their districts, and for there to be a vote to limit the president’s authority with respect to these Iran strikes.

What we’re hearing is that many Democrats are saying this is an illegal and unconstitutional movement and that Donald Trump exaggerated the risks to the United States by Iran and that ordinary Americans don’t want another “endless war”.

Another Democrat has said that Congress must convene at once to put a stop to this.

10:42 am PT

Videos geolocated and verified by CNN show Iranian Shahed drones striking numerous locations in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

One video, originally shared by the open-source research collective Faytuks, shows a Shahed striking the upper floors of the Era Views Tower in Manama, a residential high-rise roughly a mile from a US Navy base. Footage of the aftermath shows the building wreathed in smoke.

Another video from earlier in the day shows a Shahed drone directly hitting a radar dome at the same Naval base.

10:37 a.m. PT

2 Hours ago

IAEA ‘urges restraint’ to avoid nuclear safety risks

The International Atomic Energy Agency said that it “urges restraint” in the Middle East “to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region.” No radiological impact has been reported in the region so far, the agency said. “The Agency will keep monitoring the situation and informing,” it said.

10:33 am

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney voices support for U.S. after strikes

Canada supports the United States in “acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” the country’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has said in a joint statement with Foreign Minister Anita Anand.

“Canada’s position remains clear: the Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East, has one of the world’s worst human rights records, and must never be allowed to obtain or develop nuclear weapons,” the statement read.

The Canadian government urged the protection of all civilians amid the spiraling conflict and said “all possible measures” would be taken to protect nationals and Canadian diplomatic missions across the region. NBC News

[Well, so much for Canadian sovereignty]

LAPD steps up patrols around the city

The Los Angeles Police Department has “stepped up patrols near places of worship, community spaces, and other areas of the city,” Mayor Karen Bass said. There are no known credible threats to the city at the time, she added. “We understand that many Angelenos are affected and deeply concerned, and encourage everyone to voice their views in a peaceful way,” Bass said in a statement. Los Angeles is home to one of the world’s largest populations of Iranians outside of Iran, often earning it the nickname “Tehrangeles.”

10:30 am PT

‘Acts of war unauthorized by Congress’: Trump’s congressional critics denounce Iran strikes

“We can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die,” says Sen. Ruben Gallego.
Some of President Donald Trump’s Capitol Hill critics were quick to condemn his administration’s military action against Iran early Saturday, criticizing what they described as an unjustified act of war that hadn’t been approved by Congress.

Shortly after reports of the attack against Tehran emerged in the predawn hours, frequent Trump-basher Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) characterized the strikes on social media as “acts of war unauthorized by Congress.”

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) are expected to force votes next week on legislation that would curb Trump’s ability to take unilateral military action against Iran without congressional approval. But the U.S.’ Saturday morning strikes came before the bipartisan pair could compel a war powers vote.

One of the first Democrats to respond to the strikes, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), condemned the attack on social media, writing that “we can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die.” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) added Saturday that Trump’s overnight military strikes against “a broad set of targets, including senior Iranian leadership — marking a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East.”

“The American people have seen this playbook before — claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building,” Warner said.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trump’s military action “a war of choice with no strategic endgame” and said that he will vote for the war powers resolution when it gets a vote next week.

In a Saturday morning video announcing the strike, Trump warned “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this for the future.” It’s unclear if there were casualties.

Prior to the attacks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed seven of the eight members of the Gang of Eight, which includes the top leaders of both chambers and the heads of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was the one Gang of Eight member who Rubio wasn’t able to connect with before the strikes, according to two people granted anonymity to disclose the details.

Despite calls from key House Democrats for Speaker Mike Johnson to reconvene the House Monday to debate a war powers resolution on Iran, the House isn’t expected to hold votes until the scheduled day of Wednesday. Several Senate Democrats are also calling for the Senate to return before Monday and immediately vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution – something Senate GOP leadership is not expected to do.

“Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is helping helm the war powers effort, said in a statement Saturday.

[Most Republicans back Trump’s action.] Politico

10:20 a.m. PT

Potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates weigh in on Iran strikes

Democrats eyeing a presidential run in 2028 criticized President Donald Trump’s move to strike Iran and argued the conflict poses risks to American troops.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that while he supports regime change in Iran and believes the country should not have nuclear weapons, it “does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people.”
Pete Buttigieg, former Transportation secretary, similarly said the strikes put Americans at risk and added, “It does nothing to help with the urgent problems here at home that Americans face every day.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recalled the “long term impacts” of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and argued that Trump “owes Congress and the American people a full explanation as these actions put American troops at significant risk.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker described the strikes as having “No justification, no authorization from Congress, and no clear objective.” He added: “But none of that matters to Donald Trump — and apparently neither do the safety and lives of American service members.” CNN

10:18 am

MAGA base expresses unease over Trump’s push for Iranian regime change

President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran generated immediate unease among close allies in the MAGA base, who expressed fears that the strikes could drag the US into yet another prolonged entanglement in the Middle East.

Trump has argued that the offensive was necessary to topple the Iranian regime, even at the likely cost of American lives.

Yet several prominent Trump supporters pushed for more explanation, warning that officials needed to make a more extensive case to those who backed Trump in part because of his promise to ensure “no new wars.”

“We have to just be honest that there is a sense this was not sold to the American public sufficiently,” Andrew Kolvet, the spokesman for Turning Point USA, said on “The Charlie Kirk Show.”

That sentiment was echoed by other Trump allies in public statements and on social media. And it reflected concerns within Trump’s orbit that there’d been little coordination on messaging ahead of the attack so allies could adequately articulate the administration’s overall game plan. CNN

10:15 a.m. PT

Iranian Red Crescent Society says 201 people killed, 747 wounded in Iran: Report

A spokesperson for Iran’s Red Crescent Society has told Mehr news agency that US and Israeli attacks have hit 24 of Iran’s provinces, killing  at least 201 people and wounding 747 people. The spokesperson said that more than 220 Red Crescent teams are present at the targeted sites, and rescue operations continue.

10:06 a.m. PT

The Paradox of Trump’s War on Iran

Atlantic by David Frum

President Trump has launched a war that offers opportunities to the Middle East and threatens constitutional freedom at home. American service members are bravely risking their lives to protect their country from nuclear dangers—and to restore freedom to the Iranian people who have sacrificed so much to reclaim that freedom for themselves. The instinct to rally around the flag is, and should be, strong. It’s also urgent to rally around the principles and ideals for which the flag stands.

The opportunity: Iranians rose against their own government by the millions. They died by the tens of thousands. They lacked the strength to liberate themselves. Those Iranians able to communicate to the outside world have begged for help against their oppressors and murderers. Trump promised that help. Now he is delivering it. A tyrannical regime that has been at war for almost half a century against its own people, against its neighbors, and against the United States is suffering the retribution it provoked by its own unceasing aggression and repression. The rulers of Iran have committed outrage after outrage against the rest of the world and their own people. They sought nuclear weapons to commit a second Holocaust against Israel, as they repeatedly and expressly threatened. The outcome of the U.S.-Israel war against the Iranian regime is obviously extremely uncertain. But we can glimpse the possibility of an Iran that is no longer misgoverned by theocratic and genocidal terrorists—and all that that could mean for peace in the region, for U.S. security, and for the freedom, prosperity, and progress of the Iranian people.

The danger: The war is being made by a president who has repeatedly shown his contempt for law and free elections—enabled by a tiny congressional majority that seems to see its job as Trump’s co-conspirator against the Constitution. Trump taxed without Congress, disbursed funds to farmers without Congress, took a stake in private corporations without Congress, brazenly broke anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws despite Congress, tried to send members of Congress to prison for making a video reminding members of their duty to obey the law. Now Trump has started what could be a huge and expensive regional war without even a figment of congressional authorization. War empowers presidents. No president in American history has shown himself less trustworthy with power than Donald Trump.

10:02 a.m.

US and Israel have few allies in initial Iran strikes

Politico : The absence of allies in America’s massive attacks against Iran upends decades of precedent.

The U.S. and Israel are so far going it alone in their military campaign against Iran, in a notable absence of the allies who participated in previous regional conflicts with air defenses and strikes.

Several world leaders have voiced support for punishing the brutality of Iran’s Islamist regime. But none offered military support in the Saturday attack, which hit dozens of sites across the Middle Eastern country with missile strikes launched by U.S. warships in the region and American and Israeli fighter aircraft.

U.S. officials spoke with allies about using their air bases in the assault during last-minute negotiations this week, according to one U.S and one allied official, but they did not agree to do so. Britain, France and the United Kingdom, in a joint statement, said they did not participate in the operation.

The lack of allied assistance is a telling sign of just how far President Donald Trump is willing to go it alone in exerting his foreign policy objectives. It also highlights the global reach of a uniquely American war machine, which was able to mass two carrier strike groups, more than 100 warplanes and a slew of air defenses to the region over the past several weeks.

Trump called the campaign “a massive and ongoing operation” that has no end in sight.

Another U.S. defense official said the strikes will likely last “days, not hours” as American and Israeli strikes take aim at the Iranian defense infrastructure and top civilian and military leadership. The official, like others interviewed, was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.

America’s lack of support made the strikes more logistically tricky. Without access to some allied airspace and airstrips, the U.S. instead staged F-22s and aerial refueler aircraft in Israel, a new wrinkle in regional U.S. operations, which usually aim to lessen overt Israeli participation.

Trump’s justifications for the expansive strikes drew parallels with the lead-up to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, in which American officials talked up threats based on classified intelligence. But unlike the George W. Bush administration, Trump did nothing to make a public case to allies. The White House did not send diplomats to the U.N. Security Council, ask for the Senate’s blessing or create a “coalition of the willing” to drum up support.

In Iraq, the U.S. had the help of 49 allies. In Afghanistan, where the U.S. led a NATO mission, more than 50 nations joined. And in more recent strikes in the Middle East, such as the April 2018 missile strikes against Syria, the British and the French were involved. Attacks on the Iranian nuclear program last June included British airborne tankers that refueled U.S. jets.

The British government declined to allow American warplanes to use its bases for the attacks, although the U.K. has moved more air defense assets to the region, according to a British official. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday that U.K. troops “are active” and British planes “are in the sky” as part of defensive operations to deal with Iranian attacks in the region.

9:54 a.m.

France was not warned ahead of strikes, Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Macron spoke as he chaired an emergency security meeting in the presidential palace Saturday evening. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying “no one can think that the questions of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.”

9:13 a.m. PT

Death toll from strike that hit school in southern Iran has risen to 85 people, official says

8:50 a.m.

Economists expect oil prices to surge after US strikes in Iran

The US and Israel strikes on Iran raise concerns that retaliations in the Middle East could disrupt the flow of oil trades, which is heavily dependent on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, which controls the strait, also controls the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves.

8:30 a.m. pt — Top Senate Armed Services Democrat: Trump’s strike on Iran “will outlast this presidency”

The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee is warning that President Donald Trump’s decision to take US military action against Iran will have consequences for years to come.

“Against the clear wishes of the American people, President Trump has thrust our nation into a major war with Iran — one he never made a case for, never sought congressional authority for, and for which he has no endgame,” Sen. Jack Reed said in a statement.

He added later: “President Trump has chosen the path of war while diplomacy was still within reach. That is a decision with consequences that will outlast this presidency.”

Reed also called for the administration to provide lawmakers with an “immediate briefing” so that Congress can provide necessary oversight.

Another Democrat on the committee, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, echoed Reed’s concerns Saturday, saying she is troubled by the president’s military actions over the past year.

In a statement, Rosen warned that the administration’s “history of repeatedly withholding information and misleading Congress could lead us into another protracted Middle East conflict, without authorization from Congress.”

She added that “the American people are wary of prolonged military engagements abroad, especially when the objectives are unclear,” emphasizing that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war and authorize the use of military force.

8:30 a.m. PT Here’s where Iran has targeted retaliatory strikes

Iran launched “dozens” of ballistic missiles toward Israel, according to Nour News, an outlet affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Israel said about 40 ballistic missiles had been fired by midafternoon local time. Some slight injuries were reported. CNN

A number of missiles were intercepted over the United Arab Emirates, but debris from one killed an Asian national in Abu Dhabi, according to the UAE’s official news agency. A fire broke out in the upscale tourism area of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, injuring four people, according to the Dubai Media Office. It’s unclear whether the fire was started by a direct impact or by falling debris.

One missile impacted a US navy facility in Bahrain. Later Saturday, an Iranian drone struck a military facility in Bahrain.

Qatar’s Defense Ministry said all three rounds of Iranian missiles targeting the emirate had been intercepted.

Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Eastern Province were also targeted by Iranian missiles, the official Saudi Press Agency said. The kingdom described the attacks as “cowardly,” without giving details of damage.

Jordan said its air defenses had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles.

Kuwait also said Iranian missiles were intercepted over an air base in the emirate. Later Saturday, an Iranian drone struck the country’s international airport, injuring several people.