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what happened in iran?

In late February 2026, Iran was hit by large-scale joint airstrikes from the United States and Israel, triggering a major regional and internal crisis.

Quick Scoop: What just happened?

  • On 28 February 2026, Israel and the US launched coordinated strikes on multiple high‑value targets inside Iran, including in Tehran, Isfahan, Qom and other cities.
  • The operation reportedly hit senior leadership sites, military facilities, and locations linked to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
  • Iranian state media later announced that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes, and 40 days of national mourning were declared.
  • Iran has begun retaliatory attacks on US bases in the region, and its officials describe the campaign as an act of war and a “war crime.”
  • The UN Secretary‑General has warned that the bombing of Iran and retaliatory strikes pose a grave threat to international peace and security.

How did it get to this point?

This escalation sits on top of months of severe internal unrest and repression in Iran.

  • Large nationwide protests erupted in late December 2025 over decades of repression and economic hardship, quickly turning into calls for fundamental political change.
  • In January 2026, security forces responded with extreme violence: massacres of protesters, mass arrests, torture, and an internet blackout across much of the country.
  • Human rights groups describe January 2026 as the deadliest period of repression in Iran in decades, with thousands reported killed, though figures vary widely between activists, the Iranian government, and foreign officials.
  • Secret and fast‑track death sentences for protesters, including online mass trials, were reported through February, with allegations of torture, sexual violence, and covert executions in cities such as Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad.

At the same time, tensions with the US and Israel were climbing over Iran’s nuclear program and regional activities.

  • Washington pressed three core demands: a permanent end to uranium enrichment, strict limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles, and a halt to support for groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
  • By mid‑February, the US had built up its forces in the region to the largest level since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
  • On 24 February 2026, President Trump used his State of the Union to accuse Iran of reviving nuclear weapons ambitions and developing missiles that could threaten the US and its allies.

Ironically, on 27 February, Oman’s foreign minister said a diplomatic “breakthrough” had just been reached: Iran had supposedly agreed never to stockpile enriched uranium, to full IAEA verification, and to downgrade its existing stockpile. Within about a day of that statement, the strikes began.

What exactly did the strikes target?

  • Strikes hit areas near or at:
    • The office compound of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
* The presidential office of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

* Sites in Isfahan (home to major nuclear facilities), Qom, Karaj, Kermanshah, Lorestan and Tabriz.
  • Satellite images and later reporting indicated Khamenei’s compound was heavily damaged or destroyed, and Israeli and Western officials assessed he was very likely killed.
  • Iranian outlets linked to the Revolutionary Guard reported that several members of Khamenei’s family were also killed.

Communication across parts of Iran, especially Tehran, has been badly disrupted, with reports of a near‑total internet blackout after the strikes.

How are different sides framing it?

United States

  • President Donald Trump said US forces had begun “major combat operations” in Iran.
  • He framed the goal as eliminating “imminent threats” posed by what he called a “wicked, radical dictatorship” that has targeted Americans and others for decades.
  • In a public message, he urged Iran’s military and police to lay down their arms in exchange for “complete immunity”, and called on civilians to “take over your government.”

Israel

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the objective is to remove what he called an “existential threat” from Iran’s regime and its nuclear and missile program.
  • Israeli officials argue that delaying action would have allowed Iran to harden its nuclear infrastructure and mass‑produce long‑range missiles.
  • Netanyahu also suggested that the joint action could “create the conditions” for Iranians to decide their own political future.

Iran

  • Iranian authorities publicly denounce the strikes as aggression and, according to their UN ambassador, a “war crime.”
  • The state has announced mourning for Khamenei and portrays the attack as part of a long US‑Israeli campaign against Iran.
  • At the same time, many Iranian civilians have reportedly celebrated the death of Khamenei in some areas, reflecting deep anger after the January massacres.

International community

  • The UN leadership warns that the bombing and retaliatory strikes are a grave threat to international peace and security and has called for urgent de‑escalation.
  • Western governments are divided: some back strong pressure on Iran’s regime, others fear a wider regional war and humanitarian catastrophe.

What about the protests and massacres?

To understand “what happened in Iran,” the internal crackdown is as important as the external strikes.

  • After protests erupted in December 2025, security forces in cities like Rasht, Tehran, Isfahan and others used live fire, mass arrests, and in some cases what activists describe as massacres.
  • In Rasht, rights groups allege that forces trapped protesters in the central bazaar, set parts of it on fire, shot people trying to escape, blocked fire trucks, and then “finished off” wounded survivors in streets and hospitals.
  • NGOs and media have reported torture, sexual assault, forced confessions, injections with unknown substances, and secret executions of detainees.
  • Courts issued multiple death sentences after rushed and often online proceedings, including for teenagers and siblings arrested together.

Official and unofficial death tolls differ sharply:

  • A US‑based monitoring group (HRANA) cited thousands of killed protesters nationally, with hundreds in single cities.
  • The Iranian government has admitted to several thousand deaths but disputes the higher numbers.
  • Some US officials, including President Trump, have spoken of tens of thousands killed, which independent bodies have not yet fully verified.

What might happen next?

No one can say with certainty, but key questions now include:

  • Leadership succession in Iran: Intelligence assessments suggest that, if Khamenei is confirmed dead, a hardliner from the Revolutionary Guard could take over, though internal power struggles are likely.
  • Escalation vs. collapse: The strikes might weaken the regime and embolden protesters, or they could trigger a rally‑round‑the‑flag effect and harsher internal repression.
  • Regional spillover: There is serious risk of expanded conflict involving Iran’s allies and proxies (Hezbollah, militias in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis) and further strikes on US and Israeli interests.
  • Diplomacy: The last‑minute “breakthrough” Oman mentioned shows that back‑channel talks were possible right up to the brink; whether any ceasefire or new negotiation can be rebuilt after these attacks is unclear.

If you tell me what angle you care about most (protests, the strikes themselves, regional war risk, or human‑rights issues), I can zoom in on that part in more detail.