The United States and Israeli armed forces launched a large-scale military campaign inside Iran early Saturday, striking a wide range of military, nuclear, and leadership targets. The coordinated operation, described by U.S. officials as ongoing, has focused on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), underground facilities linked to the country’s nuclear program, naval assets, and sites associated with leadership figures.
President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that the campaign could last “four to weeks,” citing multiple objectives for the U.S. operation. “Today, the United States military continues to carry out large-scale combat operations in Iran to eliminate the grave threats posed to America by this terrible terrorist regime,” he said during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. Trump outlined four main goals: destroying Iran’s ballistic missile sites, dismantling the Iranian navy, preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and ending Tehran’s support for regional proxy groups.
The strikes have affected Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Chabahar, with satellite imagery showing damage to military infrastructure, including missile bases and naval facilities. Notably, Israeli forces struck the compound housing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killing him along with nearly 50 other officials. U.S. Central Command (Centcom) confirmed that the IRGC headquarters in Tehran was also destroyed.
Trump described the speed of the operation in eliminating the military leadership as ahead of schedule. “We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership, and as you know, that was done in about an hour. So we’re ahead of schedule there by a lot,” he said.
Satellite imagery has documented significant damage across other sites. In Bandar, Iran’s primary naval base on the Strait of Hormuz, multiple ships were seen burning. North of Bandar, the Khorgu missile base suffered damage, while a missile site northwest of Isfahan showed a destroyed building and missile launcher. West of Kermanshah, the Choqa Balk-e drone facility was heavily damaged, including bunkers, drone launch equipment, and storage structures.
The U.S. military reported striking over 1,250 targets inside Iran within the first 48 hours, employing a mix of fighter jets, bombers, drones, and naval assets. Centcom noted the use of B-1 and B-2 bombers, F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22, and F-35 jets, along with EA-18G Growlers, MQ-9 Reaper drones, P-8 Poseidons, and LUCAS one-way attack drones in combat for the first time. According to the Pentagon, the U.S. navy sank 10 Iranian ships, and Centcom confirmed that all 11 ships previously in the Gulf of Oman were destroyed.
Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region. Since Saturday, Tehran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and nearly 1,000 attack drones targeting Israel and U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, a strike on Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, reportedly killed at least nine people. U.S. forces in Kuwait were also targeted, with Centcom confirming six American fatalities as of Monday.
Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, emphasized that U.S. forces expect additional casualties. “We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” he said at a Pentagon briefing. “This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that Centcom and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work.”
Iranian attacks have also impacted regional infrastructure. A missile struck the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, while a drone strike targeted Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery, causing fires that required containment. The UAE reported intercepting most of the 174 Iranian ballistic missiles and eight cruise missiles launched toward its territory, though 44 drones reportedly struck. Iranian attacks also hit Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, one of the busiest ports globally, causing thick smoke visible from satellite imagery.
The U.S.-Israel military operations have influenced global markets, with U.S. gasoline prices rising six cents in a week to an average of approximately $3 per gallon nationwide.
While President Trump initially called on the Iranian people to challenge their leadership, Pentagon officials have clarified that the current military campaign does not aim for regime change. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated, “This is not a so-called regime change war … but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it,” referring to the elimination of Khamenei.
As the campaign continues, U.S. and Israeli forces maintain a focus on strategic targets across Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure, with ongoing exchanges of missile and drone fire affecting the broader region. Officials have emphasized the operation’s scale and complexity, noting that further developments are expected in the coming days as both sides continue military operations.
