US and Israeli strikes against Iran - 28 February 2026, Media, Maps & Timelines *NO DISCUSSION*

U.S. warplanes and attack helicopters have ramped up assaults against Iranian drones and naval vessels in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, American officials said, as oil prices remained high on Friday amid new attacks on energy sites in the Persian Gulf.

As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran approached the three-week mark, American commanders have been scrambling to accelerate plans to thwart Iran’s ability to choke off the strait, the critical passageway in and out of the Persian Gulf. Iran has used a lethal combination of mines, missiles and armed drones — and the threat of using them — to all but shut down shipping through the strait, through which passes a large part of the world’s oil and natural gas.

“I think, so what we have is a fragmented leadership cadre,” Crawford said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”

“We don’t really know who’s in charge, but we do know that there are orders,” he continued.

Three Iranian officials told The New York Times on March 11 that Khamenei had suffered injuries to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified during a Senate hearing on worldwide threats Thursday that the supreme leader was “very severely” injured in an Israeli strike. A day earlier, she told senators Iran’s regime was “intact, but degraded.”

"Our country is only willing to provide military support in the Strait of Hormuz if two conditions are met, the core cabinet has agreed.

"For that, there must be an international mandate and a lasting ceasefire," says Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés). "We do not want to go to war, but we do want to reassert maritime law and ensure free passage for ships."

"We are not going to participate in a war that is not ours," emphasizes Vooruit Deputy Prime Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. "That war is illegal and foolish. We want it to stop. There is no question of us taking any military action there."

But if this stops, if there is a lasting ceasefire, and if you have an international mandate, you might be able to do something there.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Lebanon are also requesting support from our country. The government is currently not linking this to explicit military aid. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will first explore through its diplomatic channels what might potentially be necessary."

"Iran threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was still building missiles on Friday — a show of defiance nearly three weeks into U.S.-Israeli strikes that have killed several of Tehran's top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy industries.

Iran's top military spokesman warned that "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations" worldwide won't be safe for Tehran's enemies.

Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi made the threat as Iran continues to be hit by American and Israeli airstrikes. It renewed concerns that Tehran or its proxies might strike beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic in the ongoing war."

"We are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling," spokesman Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini was quoted as saying in Iran's state-run IRAN newspaper.

Naeini added that Iran had no intention of seeking a quick end to the war. "These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted," he said.

A short time after the statement was released, Iranian state television said Naeini was killed in an airstrike.

Speaking on The Megyn Kelly Show, Kent alleged that Israeli leadership and US allies, including Lindsey Graham, created an “echo chamber” around Trump, pushing for months for military action while sidelining dissenting views.

“I saw the bubble being created around President Trump,” Kent said, referring to his decision to resign earlier this week over concerns about the war. “The president was isolated, and so he was just hearing that echo chamber.”

Kent said the run-up to the Iran strike differed significantly from the deliberations preceding last year’s US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, which he described as involving extensive internal debate.

Instead, he claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers, along with pro-war allies of Trump, pushed for swift action before the administration had fully assessed the potential consequences.

“Whatever argument they used, the effect was that President Trump was then led to believe that if he took action now, this whole thing would be quick and easy,” Kent said.

Former Iran detainee Siamak Namazi says he's worried about the handful of Americans known to be held inside Iranian prisons as the U.S. war in Iran continues.

"They are the easiest-to-grab punching bag right now in the hands of that rogue regime," he said during a panel discussion with "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

"I think this is a dangerous time," said Namazi. He added, "For a hostage or wrongfully detained citizen abroad, their biggest fear is to be forgotten, and this is a very dangerous time for them, with all that's going on in Washington's mind

And on Tuesday he said unnamed countries were "coming already" to support the US in the Middle East.

The US is now deploying more warships and another 2500 Marines in the region.

The president also brushed off the importance of the Strait of Hormuz.

"We don't use the strait, the United States, we don't need it," Trump said.

"At a certain point, it'll open itself."

“As it relates to tensions in the movement or disagreements about national security, actually, it’s good that those exist,” he said, criticizing left-wing politics as enforcing “intellectual totalitarianism.”

Kent, both in his resignation letter and in multiple interviews since, argued that Iran posed no imminent threat to America’s security and blamed Israel and its “American lobby” for pressuring Trump into the fight.

Roberts became embroiled in controversy in November for siding with MAGA personality Tucker Carlson for inviting antisemitic commentator Nick Fuentes on his show. Some Heritage staffers revolted after Roberts released a video defending Carlson, sounding the alarm that Heritage was not countering growing antisemitism on the right.

One of Kent’s first moves after resigning was appearing on Carlson’s show. GOP figures, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), alleged antisemitism in Kent’s focus on Israel’s influence in his resignation letter.

Roberts spoke to The Hill on the sidelines of the foundation’s security summit in Miami, which was focused on the Western Hemisphere, combating narco-terrorism and China’s influence in the region. The nearly three-week war in the Middle East was not on the official agenda.

“We accept the president, especially at his word about this being of limited duration,” Roberts said when asked about tensions in the conservative movement over the war.

President Trump said in a social media post on Friday that the United States was considering “winding down” the war with Iran as it was “getting very close” to meeting its objectives. His remarks came even as U.S. officials said they were ramping up aerial assaults against Iranian drones and naval vessels in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, Mr. Trump told reporters on the White House lawn: “I don’t want to do a cease-fire. You know, you don’t do a cease-fire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.” The president has said multiple times that the war was nearly over, only for U.S. attacks to intensify.

President Trump said the U.S. is considering “winding down” its military operation in Iran, adding that other countries would need to police the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier Friday, the president said he could "have dialogue" with Iranian leaders, but added, "I don't want to do a cease-fire...You don't do a cease-fire when you're literally obliterating the other side.” The Pentagon is sending three warships and thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East, in the second deployment of Marines to the region in the past week.

As the war neared the three-week mark, Iran projected defiance, with the new supreme leader declaring that “safety must be taken away” from the country’s enemies and its armed forces vowing to pursue them even in tourist spots.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing Iran-related General License U, "Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Iranian-Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 20, 2026."

• Earlier, Downing Street approved US use of its bases “for the collective self-defence of the region”, including “defensive operations” degrading Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the strait of Hormuz. Britain had previously only allowed US forces to use its bases for operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.
• Araghchi said Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”.

Australia has signed on to a joint statement with key allies — including the UK, Canada, Japan, and European nations — pledging readiness to send assets to the Strait of Hormuz to ensure safe passage for fuel ships.

The statement calls on Iran to "cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait".

Police Scotland have revealed they have charged two people for trying get into a UK nuclear submarine base, including an Iranian man.

A 34-year-old Iranian man has been charged alongside a 31-year-old Romanian woman, after reports of two people trying to enter Faslane naval base, where Britain's nuclear submarines are based, the force said.

Police Scotland said it was told of their attempted entry onto the site on the west coast of Scotland, which is otherwise known as HM Naval Base Clyde, at around 5pm on Thursday and the suspects were arrested the following day.

What might such a president with the rhetorical gifts of some previous holders of the office – a John F Kennedy, say, or a Ronald Reagan – be saying to defend the position which President Trump makes appear almost indefensible? How about this:

“I have decided that it is time for our nation to take a stand against the criminal Iranian regime which is undermining the possibility of peaceful progress in the Middle East. Its proxies in Gaza are destroying the prospect of any future settlement of the Palestinian question. Its proxies in Lebanon are destabilising the governance of that country. It has engaged in the mass murder of thousands of its own people who chose to rebel against its repressive tyranny. Its actions are obstructing the attempts of the surrounding Gulf states to participate in the modern world and to engage constructively with the West.

“I believe that it would not be morally acceptable to stand by and allow this regime to pursue its tyrannical objectives. As the only nation in the world with the capability to intervene effectively, the United States, with the support of its allies, must take responsibility for putting an end to this pariah state.”

Of course, it’s too late for that now. To be effective, such an appeal would have to have been stated without equivocation at the outset, and then reiterated consistently throughout the action. The goal of removing the regime – not just disabling its nuclear development – would have to have been made unambiguously clear and the intermediate objectives would have to be counted down as things proceeded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iran that Russia remains “a loyal friend and reliable partner to Iran during this difficult period.”

In a message to mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Putin wished the people of Iran “strength to overcome these severe trials with dignity,” according to the Kremlin.

Russia is helping Iran with advanced drone tactics to hit US and Gulf nation targets in the Middle East, according to a Western intelligence official.
Russia is providing Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft
Much of the intelligence Russia has shared with Iran has been imagery from Moscow’s sophisticated constellation of overhead satellites

The US-Israel war on Iran is a disaster for the climate, according to an analysis that finds it is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined.

One of the most shocking images of the war has been the dark clouds and black rain that fell over Tehran after Israel bombed four major fuel storage depots surrounding the city, setting millions of litres of fuel ablaze.