Operation Epic Fury: Inside the U.S.-Israeli War on Iran — and the Mounting Costs of Regime Change

On the evening of February 27, 2026, President Donald Trump gave a final order from the White House: "Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck." [1] Within hours, more than 100 aircraft launched from land bases and carrier decks across the Middle East in a synchronized wave — fighters, refueling tankers, bombers, and unmanned systems moving together — while U.S. Navy destroyers fired Tomahawk cruise missiles and U.S. Cyber Command disrupted Iranian radar and communications [2]. By dawn on February 28, the Middle East had entered a new and dangerous chapter.

Now, three days into the largest American military operation since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the human and geopolitical costs are rapidly mounting. Six U.S. service members are dead, hundreds of Iranians have been killed, Iran's supreme leader has been assassinated, retaliatory missiles have struck targets in seven countries, oil prices are surging, and Congress is scrambling to reassert its constitutional war powers.

The Opening Salvo: February 28

The assault by U.S. and Israeli forces began at approximately 1:15 a.m. local time on Saturday, February 28, 2026 [3]. Israel codenamed its component Operation Roaring Lion; the Pentagon designated the American mission Operation Epic Fury [4]. The coordinated strikes targeted what the White House described as "the Iranian regime's security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat" [1].

The results were swift and devastating. Within hours, Iranian state media confirmed what U.S. and Israeli intelligence had already assessed: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead [5]. The Israeli military announced it had also killed Secretary of the Iranian Security Council Ali Shamkhani, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and much of Iran's senior military command structure [6].

President Trump's stated objectives for the operation are sweeping: destroying Iran's missile program, crippling its navy, dismantling its terrorist proxy network, and ensuring the regime can never obtain a nuclear weapon [2]. In a White House statement titled "Peace Through Strength," the administration framed the strikes as a necessary response to decades of Iranian aggression [1].

American Casualties Mount

The Pentagon initially reported three U.S. service members killed and five seriously wounded on March 1, the result of Iranian retaliatory strikes against American positions in the region [7]. By March 2, the death toll had risen to six, with additional service members sustaining shrapnel injuries and concussions [8].

According to The Washington Post, the American deaths came during Iranian counterattacks that have fueled concerns about the adequacy of U.S. air defenses in the theater [9]. The troops were killed at facilities in Kuwait that were struck by Iranian ballistic missiles [2].

Trump acknowledged the losses but remained defiant. "We will avenge every single one of them," he told reporters, adding that it was "likely" additional U.S. service members would die in the course of the operation [10]. When asked about the timeline, Trump told The New York Times the operation would last "four to five weeks," though he stressed: "we have the capability to go far longer than that" [3].

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a Pentagon briefing on March 2, urged U.S. troops to "stay focused" and described the mission as "laser-focused" and "not endless" [11]. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine reported that U.S. and Israeli forces had conducted "hundreds" of sorties and dropped thousands of munitions on Iranian targets in the first 57 hours of operations [12]. Trump has not ruled out the eventual deployment of ground troops [13].

Iran Strikes Back

Tehran's response has been fierce and far-reaching. Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones throughout the Persian Gulf, targeting not only Israel but also U.S. military bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates [14]. Video emerged of an Iranian missile strike hitting the Israeli city of Beersheba [15]. A facility housing the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain was hit in a missile attack [14].

At least one person was killed in Abu Dhabi, and Iran reportedly struck civilian aviation facilities, including international airports in Kuwait and the UAE [16]. Saudi Arabia condemned what it called "brutal Iranian aggression" [16]. The League of Arab States declared that "the moment in which the Arab-Israeli conflict has expanded into a full-scale regional war" had arrived [17].

Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy, opened a second front by launching strikes against Israel from Lebanon, further widening the conflict [18].

The Human Cost Inside Iran

The toll inside Iran has been staggering. According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, at least 555 people have been killed by U.S.-Israeli strikes, with more than 130 cities across the country coming under attack [19]. Independent verification of these figures remains difficult due to restricted internet and media access within Iran.

Among the deadliest incidents: an Israeli strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, in the Hormozgan province of southern Iran, where the death toll reached at least 165 — and by some Iranian accounts, 180 [20]. At least 35 people were killed in a separate strike in Fars province, and more than 20 died in an attack on Niloofar Square in Tehran [19].

Around 2,000 strikes had been conducted by Israel and the U.S. as of March 1 [4]. Explosions have been heard in Tehran and across the country for three consecutive days.

Congress Confronts Its War Powers

The strikes were launched without congressional authorization. The White House notified the Gang of Eight — the top party leaders from both chambers and the intelligence committees' chairs and ranking members — shortly before the attack began, but did not seek a vote [21].

The political response has been deeply divided along partisan lines. Senate Majority Leader John Thune commended Trump, saying Iran's nuclear ambitions, missile program, and support for terror groups posed "a clear and unacceptable threat" to U.S. interests [21]. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took a sharply different view: "The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat" [21].

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is leading a war powers resolution to restrict Trump's military actions in Iran, and called on Congress to reconvene early to take up the measure [22]. Former U.S. military officials have alleged the attack was illegal under both the War Powers Resolution and the United Nations Charter [23]. Congress is expected to vote on bipartisan war powers resolutions this week [22].

The legal and constitutional questions are significant. After Iran Strikes, TIME magazine noted, "Congress Confronts Its Limited Power Over War" — a recurring pattern in which the executive branch launches military action and the legislature struggles to catch up after the fact [24].

Global Reaction and Diplomatic Fallout

The UN Security Council convened in emergency session on February 28 at the request of China and Russia, who labeled the operation "an unprovoked and reckless act of military aggression" [25]. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the strikes risk "igniting a chain of events that nobody can control in the most volatile region of the world" [26].

However, the Security Council fell short of issuing a full condemnation of the U.S.-Israeli operation, with the United States wielding its veto power [27]. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa called the conflict "greatly concerning" and urged "maximum restraint" [17].

The UK House of Commons Library published a briefing on the strikes, reflecting the gravity with which America's closest ally is treating the situation [28].

Economic Shockwaves

The conflict has sent tremors through global financial markets. Oil prices surged approximately 6% as fears grew over disruption to shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world's oil supply passes [29]. Satellite data show oil and gas tanker traffic through the Strait has ground to a near halt [30].

U.S. stock futures sank on the Monday open before partially recovering. The S&P 500 clawed back most of its losses by the close, but not before defense stocks like Lockheed Martin (+6%) and Northrop Grumman (+5%) surged, along with oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron (+4%) and ConocoPhillips (+5%) [31].

Analysts at Oxford Economics published an initial assessment warning that a sustained disruption through the Strait of Hormuz could reignite inflation pressures and derail expectations for interest rate cuts [32]. NBC News reported that higher gas prices at the pump are likely coming as oil prices jump [33]. While the U.S. is now a net oil exporter, global energy markets remain deeply interconnected, and a prolonged conflict could have cascading effects on consumer prices worldwide.

The Road from Here

The trajectory of Operation Epic Fury remains deeply uncertain. Trump has projected a four-to-five-week timeline, but military officials have been cautious, with Gen. Caine noting it will "take time to achieve Iran war goals" [34]. The Pentagon insists the operation is "just beginning" while simultaneously promising it will not become an "endless war" [12] — a tension that critics are already seizing upon.

The killing of Khamenei, while a dramatic tactical achievement, creates its own set of challenges. Iran's command structure has been severely degraded, but the country's retaliatory capabilities — ballistic missiles, proxy forces, asymmetric warfare — remain potent, as the deaths of six American service members and the missile strikes across seven countries have already demonstrated.

The conflict has also exposed and deepened existing fault lines: between the executive branch and Congress over war powers, between the U.S. and its European allies over the wisdom of regime change, between Gulf Arab states forced to absorb Iranian retaliation for an operation they did not initiate, and within American public opinion over whether the nation should be engaged in another major Middle Eastern military campaign.

As explosions continue to echo across Tehran, Tel Aviv, and the Persian Gulf, one thing is clear: the four-to-five-week timeline Trump has outlined may describe the duration of the air campaign, but the consequences of Operation Epic Fury will reverberate for years, if not decades, to come.

This is a developing story. Kabooy will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves.