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US and Israel launch strikes on Iran, Tehran hits back across region
"Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime," says US President Trump.
This screengrab from an Iranian state television broadcast on February 28, 2026, shows what it says is the site of US and Israeli strikes that hit a girls' elementary school in Minab, southern Iran. (Image: Alex Mita/IRIB TV/AFP)
The United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes against targets in Iranian cities on Saturday (Feb 28), sending columns of smoke rising over Tehran as Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles across the region.
More than 20 of Iran's 31 provinces were affected by the US and Israeli strikes, Iran's Red Crescent Society said.
Iran responded by launching retaliatory missile attacks at Israel and at several Gulf Arab allies of the United States that host American bases.
Announcing the start of "massive" combat operations, US President Donald Trump said Washington's goal was "eliminating imminent threats" from Iran.
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