US and Israel strikes target Iran’s ayatollah and other senior leaders
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Israeli forces targeted sites linked to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a large-scale pre-dawn bombing campaign across Iran, a senior Israeli official confirmed to Fox News. The Iranian president was also targeted as part of a joint US operation called Operation Epic Rage, the official said.
Reuters reported It was stated that Khamenei was not in Tehran at the time of the attacks and was instead transferred to a safe place.
Minister Donald Trump He described the “massive and ongoing” operation as the opening phase of a campaign that he said would devastate Iran’s military, collapse its nuclear program and ultimately lead to regime change.
According to Iranian state television, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the public in Tehran, Iran, on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, on February 9, 2026. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images)
In his video statement to the Iranian people, Trump said, “It will be yours to take.”
Hours later, Tehran signaled that it would not back down, saying it would defend itself against any attack.
“This will probably be your only chance in generations,” he added. Officials in Tehran said the country would defend itself against any attack.
WORLD’S LARGEST AIRCRAFT SHIP LEADS TO THE MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN NUCLEAR TENSIONS INCREASE TOO MUCH
In the screenshot taken from the video published on US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account, Trump is seen making statements regarding war operations against Iran. (U.S. President Trump Via Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Before the attacks, the US military assembled what Trump had previously called a “navy” in Iran’s backyard. Mapped out in the Persian Gulf and beyond, the deployment tells its own story of calculated pressures backed by credible capabilities.
This increase coincided with indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Trump warned that the regime must completely dismantle its nuclear infrastructure or face the consequences.
THE ONLY MAP YOU NEED TO SEE TO UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS TRUMP IS ABOUT IRAN
A U.S. Marine pilots an F/A-18F Super Hornet of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22’s “Fighting Redcocks” along the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the South China Sea, Nov. 5, 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Frankie M. Guage)
At the center of America’s force projection are the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike groups; double mobile fortresses at sea, protected by destroyers and equipped to deliver immediate precision attacks.
More than a dozen US warships are also in the region to provide support.
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For IranianThis means that U.S. forces are not concentrated in a single sensitive area but are dispersed, layered and positioned to operate from multiple directions simultaneously.
It was not immediately clear how or when Iran would respond. But this latest shift, with senior leaders targeted and US naval forces deployed across the region, marks one of the most volatile moments in the decades-long conflict between Israel, Iran and the US.
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