On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei as well as several high-ranking Iranian generals. Khamenei’s body was found in his compound in Tehran, Iran’s capital and largest city.
Afterwards, Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel, targeting sites in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Bet Shemesh, killing at least a dozen Israelis and injuring hundreds, and U.S. military bases in several Gulf states.
From March 1-2, the U.S. and Israeli strikes significantly damaged Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Facility, but the underground enrichment facility sustained minimal damage, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As the U.S. and Israeli forces fired missiles at Tehran, significant damage was not only done to strategic locations such as military bases, but crucial infrastructure was destroyed, too. Upwards of 1,200 civilians and injuring at least 10,000 more were killed in the bombings, per the Iran Health Ministry. Many of these people were killed in strikes on numerous hospitals and schools around the city. According to BBC News Persian, Israel has claimed that the damage done to these hospitals was collateral and a consequence of their close proximity to military targets.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Israel are also at war. Following Khamenei’s killing, Hezbollah launched several rockets into northern Israel. Israel’s army has since been launching airstrikes against Hezbollah’s military sites. The strikes have damaged civilian infrastructure, killed more than 20 Lebanese and displaced over one million more.
A Royal Air Force base on the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea was struck by a loitering munition, which is a self-destructing, unmanned attack drone. According to Cypriot officials, the LM was Iranian-made and fired by the Iran-backed and Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, but this has not been confirmed.
As a European Union member state, Cyprus is subject to the EU mutual defense clause, which calls for other EU members to provide aid to the country that is attacked. So far, several member states have sent frigates to help protect the island from possible further attacks.
The Strait of Hormuz, a passageway to Iran’s south that links the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, was closed by Iran soon after the war began. Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed since then. On March 13, President Donald Trump repealed restrictions on the sale of Russian oil, which, according to the New York Times, has since barely made an impact on prices. These restrictions were set in place following the start of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, making Trump’s repeal a controversial decision.
Also on March 13, the U.S. Air Force conducted an airstrike on Iran’s Kharg Island located in the Persian Gulf. Over 90 military sites were struck in the attacks, but U.S. forces intentionally left oil and gas infrastructure intact.
Three days later, Trump requested U.S. allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to send military aid to force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The other NATO states declined to do so, which Trump called a “very foolish mistake.” After that, he backtracked on his statement, saying that the US does not need help from anyone, according to NBC.
On March 18, Israeli forces bombed facilities at Iran’s South Pars gas field. It is part of the South Pars/North Dome gas field, the largest gas field in the world, that it shares with Qatar.
It is unclear what direction this war will take. Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, has declared that Iran will stop fighting once there is an agreement against future attacks from Israel and the U.S., reparations are paid and there is a general recognition of Iranian sovereignty. Trump has given mixed messages, both claiming that the war will be over soon and that the U.S. hasn’t yet “won enough.”
