Tehran/New Delhi, Feb 28 (.) Shattering the fragile peace in the Persian Gulf, the United States and Israel launched massive missile strikes on several Iranian cities, including capital Tehran, early Saturday morning and Iran, in retaliation, attacked American bases in many Gulf countries, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
In the early hours of February 28, the United States and Israel launched a massive, coordinated military strike against Iran, targeting multiple cities across the country, including Tehran, Qom, Isfahan, Kermanshah, and Karaj.
Israel has officially designated its campaign “Operation Lion’s Roar,” while the Pentagon is referring to the American military action as “Operation Epic Fury.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) code-named its operation “True Promise-4.’’
The US said the mission is aimed at eliminating imminent threats and ensuring Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon. The conflict has expanded into a multi-theatre confrontation, raising fears of a broader Middle Eastern war.
While the number of casualties in the attacks was not known, Israel’s Israeli broadcaster N12 said the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Pakpour, was killed in the strikes. Among the most powerful men in Iran, Pakpour was the IRGC commander for 260 days. However, there has been no official confirmation from Tehran regarding Pakpour’s death.
Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported from Bandar Abbas that 57 girl students were killed and 60 were wounded in an Israeli strike at a girls’ school in Minab, Hormozgan Province. Minab’s provincial governor, Mohammad Radmehr, confirmed that the Shajareye Tayabeh school had been hit and several students had been killed. Radmehr also said that 53 students are still under the rubble, according to IRNA.
The IRGC said it had struck several US military bases in the region, including the American Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. In its second statement, following the launch of missile and drone strikes, the IRGC said it severely targeted the American bases in Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as military hideouts in the heart of the occupied Palestinian lands.
The IRGC pledged that the missile and drone attacks by Iran’s armed forces will continue.
In retaliatory strikes, Iran launched a wave of drones and ballistic missiles directly targeting northern Israel and Tel Aviv.
The conflict expanded beyond Israel and Iran, threatening American assets in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain’s official news agency reported that a missile attack targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Manama. Reports of explosions also came from Qatar and the UAE.
The Middle East. Iran, Israel, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar have all indefinitely closed their airspace, causing massive flight diversions and groundings worldwide.
An air strike also took place near the offices of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, according to reports, the 86-year-old Khamenei was not in Tehran and has been taken to a secure location in anticipation of the attacks. Media advisor to the Presidential Office said the President is in good health, and the ‘’enemies’ assassination attempts have not been successful.’’
Iran’s news agency ‘Fars’ also reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian, former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, and Army Commander-in-Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi Hatami are “alive and well”.
The conflict has expanded into a multi-theatre confrontation, raising fears of a broader Middle Eastern war.
IRGC said the American FP-132 radar, with a range of 5,000 kilometres and stationed in Qatar, equipped with unique technology used to intercept ballistic missiles, has been destroyed.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove ‘’threats to the State of Israel.”
The US and Israeli attacks took place even as the US and Iran had concluded three rounds of negotiations in Geneva to resolve the stalemate. Moderated by Oman, the negotiations were described as successful even as the US had positioned its two aircraft carriers in the area, ostensibly to pressure Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khameini had warned that if the US attacked Iran, they (Iran) would involve the entire region.
While peace negotiations continued, US President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the progress of talks with Iran over a potential nuclear deal. “I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have. I’m not thrilled with that.’’ The US said its primary objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile industry, permanently dismantle its nuclear program, and force regime change. (Editors pick up from related series)
. RB 1916
