Iran launches retaliatory strikes after major US-Israel attack
By The Guardian, February 28, 2026Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has fired missiles against US military bases in the Gulf in retaliation against the major US-Israel attack on Iran.
Explosions were reported in Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar. One person has been killed from shrapnel from an Iranian missile in the UAE, officials said.
Explosions shook the Iranian capital Tehran, where people reported seeing smoke rising from the district that includes the presidential palace.
Iran has also launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, with blasts reported in the skies over Jerusalem. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said air defence systems were working to shoot down the “barrage of missiles” launched from Iran.
Israeli officials told media that top Iranian regime and military leaders, including Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Masoud Pezeshkian, were targeted in the attacks.
It is believed that Khamenei is not in Tehran and has been taken to a secure location, while Iranian media is reporting that Pezeshkian is safe.
US president Donald Trump has vowed that the “massive and ongoing” campaign against Iran would crush its military, eliminate its nuclear programme and bring about a change in government. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” he said.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “joint operation” against the Iranian government could “create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands”.
Talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended inconclusively on Friday, with a suggestion that further discussions would be held next week. Trump had said he was “not happy” with the progress of discussions.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency has reported that at least 40 people were killed after an Israeli strike hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab in the southern Hormozgan province.
At least 45 others were wounded in the attack, the news agency reported. It provided no further details about the casualties.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has a base located in Minab, according to reports.
Bahrain authorities evacuate people from US base location
Bahrain’s interior minister said it has begun to evacuate people from the Juffair area, south-east of the capital Manama, where a US naval base is located.
“We urge your cooperation with the relevant authorities,” the ministry said in a statement posted on social media.
We reported earlier of the multiple explosions near the US navy’s fifth fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
An Israeli military official just held a media briefing, telling journalists that Israel and the US had launched a joint offensive against Iran that had been planned for months and had much more ambitious aims than those of the previous round of conflict between Israel and Iran in June last year.
Describing Iran as an “enormous threat” to Israel, the US, the region and the world, the official said that Israel’s mission was to “significantly reduce and degrade the Iranian regime’s capabilities” and that Israel’s operations would continue “as long as necessary”. The aim was a “bigger change, for years to come”, they said.
The official refused to confirm or deny that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was among the targets, adding that Iran’s air defence system was one of the priorities for Israel’s initial wave of strikes.
“The Iranian regime has the blood of tens of thousands on its hands … A lot of their leadership is involved in efforts aiming at the destruction of Israel and military planning, so they can be targets,” the official said.
The official said Israel had identified a “sharp acceleration” in the Iran’s production of missiles, as well as efforts to move forward again with its nuclear programme despite the destruction inflicted last year.
“They are developing dozens of ballistic missiles each month, and their pace of production is getting faster and faster,” he said.
“This is a regime that is moving forward towards producing thousands of missiles in the coming years. A dramatic expansion of an already dangerous arsenal,” the source added.
The official said Israel has mobilised 70,000 reservists — mainly air defence staff but also others — and deployed troops to defend its borders against any scenario.