“Major combat operations” launched by US President Donald Trump to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program have triggered a wave of responses across the region
© Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Iranian Red Crescent Society has said 201 people were killed in Iran in US-Israeli attacks. A spokesperson has told Mehr News Agency that the strikes have hit 24 of Iran’s provinces, injuring 747 people.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the US and Israel had struck military and civilian targets, “blatantly violating” the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Iran’s military has since launched a wave of retaliatory strikes towards Israel.
Explosions were also reported in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait, all of which host US military assets.
In a statement on Saturday morning, Moscow condemned what it called a “premeditated and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent member state of the UN.”
The UK, France, and Germany issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s retaliatory attacks on neighboring countries, but stopped short of offering full support for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Show latestShow oldest
-
28 February 2026
22:17 GMT
Fire has erupted at the Burj Al Arab, the iconic luxury hotel in Dubai, footage circulating online suggests. The sail-shaped building, which stands on an artificial island, has reportedly been hit by an Iranian kamikaze drone or missile debris. Open flames are visible on the lower floors of the hotel, the video shows.
- 22:04 GMT
China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, has condemned the strikes on Iran as a violation of international law and an infringement on the country’s sovereignty
“The US and Israel brazenly launched strikes on Iran,” he said, adding that Beijing is “deeply saddened” about the large number of civilian casualties and condemns the indiscriminate use of force as “unacceptable.”
- 21:53 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that signs are increasingly indicating that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, after his compound was struck in a “powerful surprise attack.”
US President Donald Trump similarly claimed in a post on Truth Social that Khamenei is “dead.”
However, Iranian news agencies including Tasnim and Mehr have insisted that the Iranian supreme leader is “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.”
- 21:41 GMT
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East.” The actions of the US and Israel, as well as the subsequent attacks by Iran, “undermine international security,” Guterres said in a statement.
“These actions carry the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world. Lasting peace can only be achieved through peaceful means, including genuine dialogue and negotiations,” the secretary-general added.
I condemn the military escalation in the Middle East today.The strikes by the US & Israel against Iran & the subsequent attacks by Iran undermine international security. These actions carry the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile… pic.twitter.com/9ranLl30U4
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 28, 2026
- 21:38 GMT
US President Donald Trump has claimed that “a lot” of Iranian leadership have been killed in the opening strikes against the country. The US-Israeli operation will go on for “as long as we want to,” Trump told ABC News, claiming that the attack has “done such damage already.”
“A lot of it is, yeah. But we don’t know all, but a lot of it is. Was a very powerful strike,” the US president asserted.
The remarks come amid unconfirmed reports of the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, allegedly killed in his residence in Tehran, which was heavily damaged in the strikes. Iranian media, however, has refuted the claims of his death, insisting that the country’s leader is “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.”
- 21:22 GMT
Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has denounced the US-Israeli operation as a betrayal of diplomacy, launched just as talks were reaching their peak.
The Russian and Chinese missions requested the meeting to address “the unprovoked act of armed aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” However, according to Nebenzia, the rotating president of the chamber attempted to downplay the degree of danger.
“The hypocrisy of our European colleagues knows no borders,” Nebenzia said. “We demand that the US and Israel immediately cease their aggressive actions. We insist on the immediate resumption of diplomatic and political settlements.”
On March 1, the US will take over from the UK as president of the Security Council for the next month.
- 21:12 GMT
The UN Security Council is holding an emergency session in the aftermath of major airstrikes across Iran by the United States and Israel. In retaliation, Tehran has launched its own attacks throughout the Middle East, with reports of strikes in Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait. UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the escalation, saying it undermines international peace and security – and threatens to plunge the region into a broader conflict.
- 21:04 GMT
A small rally has been staged in central New York to protest the US attack on Iran, RT’s Caleb Maupin reports. The protesters condemned the strikes, arguing that the true enemy of the US was the “Israeli lobby” rather than Tehran.
- 21:00 GMT
Explosions have been heard across Doha, Qatar, as Iran launched a new wave of retaliatory attacks on US military bases in response to joint US-Israeli strikes.
According to a Qatari interior ministry official speaking to Reuters, the attacks resulted in 8 injuries.
- 20:54 GMT
US CENTCOM has published a video reportedly showing it carrying out attacks in Iran.
As the President stated, our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.The President ordered bold action. CENTCOM forces are delivering an overwhelming and unrelenting blow. pic.twitter.com/B0k5gV4YnU
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 28, 2026
More
-
28 February 2026
07:35 GMT
Farhad Ibrahimov, a lecturer at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow and a specialist on Iran and the Middle East, says Israel’s strikes on Iran were similar to the June 12-13 attack last year.
On the eve of those events, US President Donald Trump announced a new round of negotiations with Tehran, and the following day Israel struck Iran, he posted on his Telegram channel. “The same thing is happening today,” Ibrahimov, a regular RT contributor, added.
Israel carried out what it described as a “pre-emptive strike” on Tehran and a number of other Iranian cities, fully aware that Iran would respond, he posted. “And if Iran responds, the Americans will step in and the negotiations will be over.”
- 07:36 GMT
Tehran is preparing retaliatory measures and its response will be devastating, an Iranian official told Reuters.
- 07:37 GMT
The current attack on Iran will be far larger in scale than US strikes on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities in June last year, American officials told the New York Times.
The strikes were reported to have come after US President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. - 07:42 GMT
US forces have begun a military operation against Iran, President Trump confirmed in a video posted on Truth Social. He said the aim of the operation was to protect the American people by eliminating what he described as the “threat” posed by the Iranian government.
He said the “major combat operation” against Iran was aimed at its nuclear and missile programs and added that Tehran would never obtain a nuclear weapon.
The White House and Trump administration, via Donald Trump, have just released a video saying they have attacked Iran and "defend the American people and eliminating the Iranian regime…a vicious group of very hard, terrible people". pic.twitter.com/bpEZOXQ69m
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) February 28, 2026
- 08:01 GMT
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was not harmed in the US and Israeli attack, Mehr news agency reported, citing a source.
Israel is preparing for four days of strikes in the initial phase of the operation against the Islamic Republic, Channel 12 reported.
- 08:08 GMT
At least five explosions were heard in Tehran and were also reported in other cities – including Qom, Isfahan, Kermanshah and Karaj – Iranian news agencies have reported.
The military operation has been named “Roar of the Lion” for the Israeli phase and “Shield of Judah” for the joint operation with Washington.
© RT
- 08:16 GMT
An air raid alert has been declared in Israel, with launches detected from Iran, authorities said.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has urged his people to remain steadfast “in the coming days” following the start of the operation against Tehran.
© Social media
- 08:18 GMT
According to RT sources, the IDF is focusing its strikes on taking out missiles.
A source familiar with the matter also said a security meeting is currently taking place chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. - 08:27 GMT
‘Thick black smoke RISING’ over Tehran after Israeli strikes, RT correspondent Saman Kojouri reports
‘I’m hearing ANOTHER EXPLOSION right now’ as Iran warns of a ‘decisive response’
- 08:30 GMT
The US has begun evacuating personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar following the attack on Iran, Reuters has reported, citing a source.
The facility is the largest American military installation in the Middle East, hosting about 10,000 service members. In June 2025, the base was targeted by an Iranian missile strike in response to a US and Israeli attack against nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic.
More