U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran took place on land, at sea and in the air.
At 1:15 a.m. on Feb. 28 (9:45 a.m. Iran time), the U.S. operation named "Overwhelming Fury" and Israel's operation named "Roaring Lion" began. The United States targeted Iran's nuclear and missile facilities, while Israel struck the residences of regime leaders including Ayatollah Khamenei.
Once President Donald Trump approved the attack, fighter jets launched from aircraft carriers in Iranian waters, warships and destroyers standing by at sea, and Tomahawk missiles and one-way attack drones were fired from land bases in the Middle East.
The United States had deployed its largest firepower around Iran since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. Dozens of fighter jets were on two carriers (Abraham Lincoln, Gerald R. Ford) and at air bases in Jordan, while destroyers and littoral combat ships in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea stood by loaded with ship-to-shore missiles.
Hundreds of missiles and drones launched from there flew to preset coordinates. Targets included the command-and-control facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's air defense systems, missile and drone launch bases, and military airfields.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said precision munitions launched from air, ground and sea were used in the first few hours of the operation, and Task Force Scorpion Strike under Central Command operated one-way attack drones in combat for the first time.
The U.S. and Israeli militaries have not yet announced the exact scale of the strikes, but U.S. media reported explosions from air raids were seen in 10 to 12 Iranian cities. They included the central capital Tehran; Karaj and Qom; Tabriz, Urmia, Zanjan, Kermanshah and Lorestan in the north and west; and Shiraz, Bushehr and Minab in the south.
The Iranian Red Crescent said air raids caused damage in 24 of Iran's 31 provinces, and at least 201 citizens were killed and 747 were injured, according to the Associated Press and others.
CNN said targets of the airstrikes included Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei; President Masoud Pezeshkian; Iran's Chief of the General Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi; Ali Larijani, secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran; and Ali Shamkhani, secretary-general of the National Defense Committee.
Reuters reported that it appeared Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and IRGC commander in chief Mohammad Pakpour had been killed.
Iran also launched a counterattack against the United States and Israel, but the damage confirmed so far appears minimal. Iran fired missiles and drones multiple times at major Israeli cities including Haifa and Tel Aviv, but most were blocked by air defenses, and minor injuries were reported.
Iran also carried out simultaneous missile and drone attacks on 14 U.S. military bases in the Middle East. The IRGC claimed at least 200 U.S. troops were killed or wounded, but Central Command said, "No U.S. casualties or combat-related injuries have been reported," adding, "Damage to U.S. facilities was minimal and did not affect operations."
The White House said President Trump monitored the strikes from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and also spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone.