Live Updates: U.S. and Israel Conduct Strikes on Iran

 

Live Updates: U.S. and Israel Conduct Strikes on Iran

Large explosions were reported in Tehran, according to several residents, and air-raid sirens rang across Israel.

Updated

Feb. 28, 2026, 2:39 a.m. ET5 minutes ago

Aaron Boxerman Farnaz Fassihi Ronen Bergman and Helene Cooper

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/28/world/iran-strikes-trump

 

Here’s the latest.

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, American and Israeli officials said, following weeks of threats by President Trump to launch a major assault.

 

Massive explosions resounded in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where residents also reported seeing smoke rising from the district where the presidential palace and the National Security Council are. The attacks began on Saturday morning, the first day of the Iranian workweek, as millions of people were at work and school.

 

U.S. officials say they expect the latest strikes to be far more extensive than the American attack last June, which targeted three separate Iranian nuclear facilities. Dozens of U.S. strikes are being carried out by attack planes from bases and aircraft carriers around the Middle East, one of the U.S. officials said.

 

It was not immediately clear what the American and Israeli attacks had targeted so far, but a U.S. official said the campaign could last several days.  The U.S. and Israeli officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters.

 

The Middle East has been on edge for weeks as Mr. Trump has threatened military strikes against Iran unless its leaders agreed to his demands, including reining in its nuclear program. In parallel, the U.S. military has built up its forces in the region — the largest American deployment there in decades.

 

Explosions have also been heard in other cities across Iran, including Isfahan and Karaj, according to the semiofficial news agency, Fars. In Israel, air-raid sirens blared throughout the country as it braced for potential retaliation.

 

American and Iranian officials held a last-ditch round of mediated talks in Switzerland on Thursday over Tehran’s nuclear program. But the talks ended without a breakthrough, apparently paving the way for the strike.

 

Here’s what else to know:

 

The crisis: The latest tensions with Iran began after Mr. Trump vowed in early January to aid antigovernment demonstrators there. The Iranian government quelled those protests in a bloody crackdown that killed thousands, according to rights groups. Mr. Trump has since both threatened to attack Iran and sought to leverage the unrest in the country to reach a diplomatic solution.

 

Last year’s strikes: The United States bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities last June during a 12-day-war between Israel and Iran. While Mr. Trump initially said the Iranian nuclear program had been “obliterated” by those American strikes, it later emerged that the effort had been degraded, not decisively destroyed. Read more ›

 

Israel readies for retaliation: Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, announced his country’s strikes in a statement, adding that the country would be under a state of emergency. Anticipating potential Iranian retaliation, the Israeli government announced that schools, workplaces, and the country’s international airspace would close, effective immediately.

 

Chaos in Tehran: Ali Zeinalipoor, a Tehran resident, described watching a massive plume of smoke billowing from nearby Pasteur Street. “I rushed to school to get my daughter from middle school, the girls were hiding under the stairs and crying,” he said.

 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.