As RedState reported, President Donald Trump reached his breaking point on Saturday with Iran, launching a massive joint air assault in conjunction with the Israelis. The attacks are expected to last for several days, and unlike the 12 Day War, this operation appears to have a more final endgame: The end of the Iranian Islamic regime.
See: President Trump Confirms Major Combat Operations in Iran
For weeks, the Trump administration attempted to achieve a diplomatic outcome, only to have those efforts rebuffed with arrogance and an unwillingness to move on key issues. While Iran's negotiators claimed to be garnering concessions, the American president kept publicly expressing his increasing discontent with the situation.
With the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford carrier group into the region, the stage was set to end the obvious stalling by the Iranians, and the show has now started. According to multiple reports, the first round of strikes, which were carried out by the IAF, directly targeted the regime's leadership, and some big names have been eliminated.
🚨 Breaking: Amir Hatami, Iran's Defense Minister, was eliminated.
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) February 28, 2026
He threatened to destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa 🤭 pic.twitter.com/uDMHyW5IoI
🚨 Breaking: General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of IRGC, was eliminated.
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) February 28, 2026
He directed the massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians in January. pic.twitter.com/bc0AO10YqE
Mohammad Pakpour was appointed during the 12 Day War after his predecessor was eliminated, promising to "keep going until the end." Well, he did that, I suppose.
Damage assessments are ongoing, but the expectation is that a significant part of Iran's military and political leadership has been taken out. That these strikes were launched in broad daylight, in mid-morning, was certainly part of that strategy. The Iranians likely believed that any attack would begin under the cover of darkness.
🚨 SOURCES: Israeli interception of communication signals inside Iran, including military landlines, major hospital CCTV networks, and other compromised intelligence assets, indicate a high success rate in eliminating Tier 1 officials across all verticals of the regime's…
— Nadim Koteich (@NadimKoteich) February 28, 2026
Of course, the big question is whether Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was hit. We don't know that yet. What we do know is that he was targeted. Videos of his compound being leveled have emerged.
תיעוד: קריאות שמחה של אזרחיות בטהראן -"פגעו במתחם של המנהיג" pic.twitter.com/RXqUx8y4TH
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) February 28, 2026
It's going to take time to really get a feel for what's happening on the ground. I would say not to get lulled in by what you see online and on television. It's easy to see the same three videos being played on a loop and assume this is a smaller operation than it is. All indications are of a large-scale, widespread assault on Iran, and you can bet that most of their navy is already at the bottom of the sea as well.
This is a developing story, and as we know more, we'll be sure to report it.
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