The U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury (alongside Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion) early Saturday, and we’ve been treated to waves of information since, including confirmation that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, was one of numerous Iranian leaders taken out via the strikes.
SEE: BREAKING: Iran’s Ayatollah Khameini Confirmed Dead
Iran Update: Ayatollah’s Compound Demolished and Some Big Iranian Leaders Bite the Dust
President Trump delivered remarks on the strikes early Saturday morning, and late Saturday afternoon, issued a Truth Social post with additional comments on the operation and the death of Khameini.
Tensions had clearly been building in the region, and so the move doesn’t necessarily come as a complete surprise, but for those wondering what prompted it at this moment, we now have some added insight.
Salem Radio host and CNN contributor Scott Jennings reported that the U.S. had credible intelligence that Iran was preparing to launch preemptive strikes against U.S. military and civilian targets.
🚨🚨Senior Trump Administration officials telling me that credible intelligence indicated Iran planned preemptive missile strikes against US military targets in the region, and against civilian targets as well. Failure to act would’ve resulted in mass US casualties.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) February 28, 2026
Senior Trump Administration officials telling me that credible intelligence indicated Iran planned preemptive missile strikes against US military targets in the region, and against civilian targets as well. Failure to act would’ve resulted in mass US casualties.
As Amy Curtis over at our sister site, Townhall, observed:
The world, including the Iranian people, can sleep better at night knowing this threat has been eliminated.
According to the Times of Israel, a senior administration official also said, “We had analysis that basically told us [that] if we sat back and waited to get hit first, the amount of casualties and damage would be substantially higher than if we acted in a preemptive, defensive way to prevent those launches from occurring.”
NBC News also reported that Operation Epic Fury likely severely curtailed Iran’s ability to launch thousands of missiles at targets in the Middle East, including the U.S. and Israel.
This is a developing story. Stay with RedState for all the latest updates.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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