Why US, Israel attacked Iran: What we know so far
3 min readUpdated: Feb 28, 2026 06:35 PM IST
The US and Israel launched an attack Saturday on Iran, a day after negotiations between Washington and Tehran over the latter’s nuclear enrichment programme concluded in Geneva without a breakthrough.
Here is what we know so far about the conflict:
Explosions rock Iran
Explosions were heard in Tehran as the US and Israel launched strikes in Iran on Saturday. Smoke could be seen rising from the Iranian capital.
Several political officials and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in the attacks.
Among the first confirmed casualties of the strike were 40 at a girls’ school in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province.
Iran’s foreign ministry said, “This renewed military ‘aggression’ comes while Iran and the US were in the midst of a diplomatic process.”
Iran strikes back
The Islamic Republic launched counterattacks on Washington’s regional allies – UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar – all of which house US military bases.
According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report in 2024, there are eight persistent bases and 11 other military sites belonging to the US in the Middle East.
Story continues below this ad
At least one person was killed in the UAE’s Abu Dhabi, Al Jazeera reported.
Operation ‘Lion’s Roar’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the United States had launched a joint operation against the Islamic Republic, dubbing it Operation ‘Lion’s Roar’.
Netanyahu said, “For 47 years, the Ayatollahs’ regime has chanted ‘Death to Israel,’ ‘Death to America.’ It has spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people.”
He added that the regime “must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity.”
Story continues below this ad
Flights suspended
Several airlines, including Indian carriers, suspended flight operations in the Middle East following the developments:
- Air France
- Air India
- British Airways
- Iberia Express
- Indigo
- Japan Airlines
- LOT Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Norwegian Air
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Qatar Airways
- Air Algerie
- Scandavian Airlines
- Wizz Air
- Emirates Airline
Panic in Iran
Gas stations witness long queues, while many Iranians began heading out of cities in search of safety, news agency Reuters reported. Iran’s top security body said it expected attacks to continue in urban centres, and, therefore, urged people to “travel to other cities where possible so that you may remain safe from the harm of these two regimes’ acts of aggression.”
