BREAKING: Trump Launches Strikes; Tells Iranians to ‘Seize Control of Your Destiny’

The US and Israel have launched what appears to be the first of a series of attacks on Iranian regime targets. Iran has responded with ballistic-missile attacks on Israel, Qatar, and Iraq. At the moment, little is known about the damage done by either side.

However, plenty is known about the reasons for the attacks. Donald Trump released a video statement declaring that the US refuses to be held hostage to a nuclear-weapons threat from the theocrats in Tehran, and he urged the Iranian people to take back control of their country:

President Trump:

To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.

Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside.

Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours… pic.twitter.com/k9J8n5mH6t

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 28, 2026

The Wall Street Journal has a live blog running on the new phase of a 47-year war with Iran:

The U.S. and Israel said they launched an attack on Iran, which retaliated with strikes on Israel and targeted U.S. bases. President Trump confirmed major combat operations against the regime, and urged Iranians to “take over your government” as the strikes continued.

“I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social. He said the military operation would strike Iran’s missile and nuclear programs as well as its navy.

The focus of the strikes, he said, was to ensure Americans “will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran.”

The Jerusalem Post reports that the first strikes targeted senior regime officials and top IRGC commanders:

Israeli and US strikes on Iran killed several senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and Islamic Regime political officials, an Iranian source close to the establishment told Reuters on Saturday. …

Iranian media reported strikes targeting the IRGC’s intelligence headquarters, as well as explosions in central Tehran. The country has closed its airspace in response to the strikes.

A security source confirmed to Walla that the United States is involved in the strikes. A US official also told Reuters American strikes in Iran were “underway,” adding that strikes against Iran are being carried out by air and sea.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement, saying that the aim of the operation was to remove the Ayatollah’s regime from power.

They also report that Israel and the US have launched a massive cyberattack on the regime:

As fighter jets and cruise missiles struck IRGC command centers, a parallel front reportedly paralyzed the Islamic Republic from within. Reports on Saturday, February 28, 2026, indicated that Iran entered an almost complete digital fog, in what appeared to be a large-scale cyberattack accompanying Operation “Roar of the Lion.”

Critical infrastructure, official news sites, and security communications systems reportedly stopped functioning, leaving the leadership in a communications blackout at home and abroad.

NetBlocks confirmed on Saturday that internet connectivity in Iran plunged to an extremely low level, reaching 4% of normal traffic, signaling an almost total shutdown of nationwide access. The attack reportedly also hit the regime’s propaganda arms: the IRNA website was taken offline for an extended period, and Tasnim, which is identified with the IRGC, experienced severe disruptions and hacks that reportedly displayed subversive messages against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 

Western intelligence sources said the damage to the IRGC’s communications infrastructure was meant to prevent coordination of counterattacks and disrupt the ability to launch drones and ballistic missiles by Iranian cyber and electronic units.

Presumably, this will allow the Iranian people to use their smuggled Starlink terminals to coordinate a street response. 

We’ll have more as this story develops.

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