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(The Hill) — On Saturday, President Trump indicated that the U.S. bombing operations in Iran could span the upcoming week or persist as long as deemed “necessary.”
“The precise and relentless bombing will persist throughout the week or as long as required to fulfill our mission of achieving PEACE ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST AND, IN FACT, THE WORLD!” Trump conveyed in a post on Truth Social, where he also declared that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had died.
The United States, in coordination with Israel, launched “Operation Epic Fury” at 1:15 a.m. EST. These airstrikes targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) command centers, ballistic missile and drone launch sites, military airfields, and Iranian air defense installations.
According to Iranian state media, the country’s Red Crescent reported that the attack resulted in over 200 fatalities and nearly 750 injuries. U.S. Central Command (Centcom) is investigating claims that a girls’ school in southern Iran was struck, reportedly killing more than 80 students, as per Iranian sources.
Later, Trump confirmed that Khamenei had been killed, marking the end of the supreme leader’s 36-year reign. This announcement followed a similar declaration from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirming Khamenei’s death.
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said in the same Truth Social post. “We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us.”
The president added that this “process should soon be starting.” Trump echoed these statements in an overnight video posted online, telling the Iranians that they now have “a president who is giving you what you want.”
The strikes come after negotiations between U.S. and Iranian diplomats stalled over the country’s nuclear program. Trump and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have stood firm in opposing Iran developing a nuclear weapon, which it has denied for years.
Members of Congress reacted along party lines, with Democrats calling on the House to force a vote on a war powers resolution and Republicans praising Trump for authorizing the strikes.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who on the campaign trail against Trump called Iran in October 2023 America’s “greatest adversary,” said she opposed the “regime change war” in Iran.
“What we are witnessing is not strength,” she wrote on the social platform X. “It is recklessness dressed up as resolve. I know the threat that Iran poses, and they must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, but this is not the way to dismantle that threat.”