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US and Israel Launch Strikes on Iran, Region on Edge

A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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US and Israel Launch Strikes on Iran, Region on Edge

A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, targeting its leadership and plunging the Middle East into a new conflict.

The strikes put Gulf Arab countries on edge as fears of escalation in the region grew, and Tehran responded by launching missiles towards Israel.

The first wave of strikes in what the Pentagon named "OPERATION EPIC FURY" mainly targeted Iranian officials, a source familiar with the matter said.

An Iranian source close to the establishment said several senior commanders in Iran's Revolutionary Guards and political officials had been killed. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

Iran’s Revolutionary ⁠Guards said a ⁠first wave of retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks had been launched against Israel, and that all US bases and interests in the region were within Iran's reach, an Iranian official told Reuters.

Iran's retaliation would continue until "the enemy is decisively defeated," the Revolutionary Guards said.

In a video message published on social media, US President Donald Trump urged Iranians to stay sheltered because "bombs will be dropping everywhere” But he also added: "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attack was pre-emptive and intended to remove threats to Israel.

An Israeli defense official said the operation had been planned for months in coordination with Washington, and that the launch date was decided weeks ago.

The Israeli military announced the closure of schools and workplaces, with exceptions for essential sectors, and a ban on public airspace. Israel closed its airspace to civilian flights.

The US and Iran renewed negotiations in February in a bid to resolve the decades-long dispute through diplomacy and avert the threat of a military confrontation that could destabilize the region.

Israel, however, insisted that any US deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Tehran's nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the ⁠enrichment process, and ⁠lobbied Washington to include restrictions on Iran's missile program in the talks.

Iran said it was prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions but ruled out linking the issue to missiles.

Tehran also said it would defend itself against any attack.

It warned neighboring countries hosting US troops that it would retaliate against American bases if Washington struck Iran.
 

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US Helicopter Fired on Ship That Tried to Break Iran Ports Blockade

A vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Helicopter Fired on Ship That Tried to Break Iran Ports Blockade

A vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)

A US helicopter fired missiles on Tuesday into the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that attempted to break the American blockade of Iran's ports, the United States military said.

The US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired on and disabled the M/V Vela Nova "after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X, adding that the vessel "is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the US blockade."

It was the third time the United States, in a months-long war against Iran, has forcibly halted a vessel since reinstating the ports blockade on July 14.

CENTCOM said it has redirected 55 ships that tried to run the blockade and boarded two others as of Tuesday.

US forces previously blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, during which they disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140, according to CENTCOM.

Iran has demanded that the United States end the ports blockade as part of its conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for oil and gas shipments before the war that has seen traffic plummet due to Tehran's attacks on ships in the area.

US President Donald Trump repeated his frequent claim Tuesday that the United States has taken over the waterway.

"We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now. They don't have control. We have total control. We own it," Trump told reporters.

World

Trump Says His Plane Faced ‘Greater Risk’ in Secret Flight Change

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 11, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says His Plane Faced ‘Greater Risk’ in Secret Flight Change

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 11, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 11, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Türkiye last month at the direction of the US Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.

Following a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, US media reported.

The White ‌House did not ‌disclose the change and it remained a secret until ‌the ⁠Washington Post first ⁠reported it on Monday.

Some media commentators questioned whether the operation left Trump's aides and journalists traveling with him at risk aboard the plane presumed to be carrying the president.

"I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to ⁠go for."

After a day of social media memes portraying ‌Trump as hiding out in the catering ‌truck, the image-conscious president, who often promotes memes of himself as a bold and courageous ‌leader, said he was following the direction of the Secret Service, the agency ‌that protects the president.

"Well, it's only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they'd like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military," Trump said.

"I guess there was a threat out there. I didn't really ask too much about ‌it. I get a lot of threats," Trump said.

The White House said at the time that the ⁠president was flying aboard ⁠Air Force One from Türkiye to Britain. But moments after Trump boarded the plane, he left it in secret via the catering truck and boarded another aircraft for the flight to Britain, the Post said on Monday, quoting unnamed sources.

Trump had taken a newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the NATO summit but unexpectedly announced he would use an older Air Force One when departing the country, a move that prompted questions about the newer plane.

The trip to NATO was the first international travel for the new plane and took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Türkiye.

World

Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Its Targeting of International Criminal Court

An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. (Reuters)
An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. (Reuters)
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Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Its Targeting of International Criminal Court

An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. (Reuters)
An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. (Reuters)

Human Rights Watch and three other advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to challenge its campaign against the International Criminal Court, arguing that sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors are undermining the ability to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes.

The complaint — filed in the Southern District of New York — says that President Donald Trump's executive order last year targeting the Hague-based criminal court and the US sanctions issued against a UN human rights expert and three Palestinian rights groups represent a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down," according to a press release.

The lawsuit is the latest example of organizations pushing back on what they call the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine international law and prevent efforts to combat impunity by governments around the world.

“The fact that so many leading human rights and humanitarian organizations have come together to challenge Trump’s unlawful executive order demonstrates the widespread harm it is causing across civil society groups dedicated to bringing those responsible for grave crimes to justice,” said Andrew Loewenstein of Foley Hoag LLP, the lead counsel representing the plaintiffs.

The groups assert that the financial and legal penalties against the ICC have forced them to “curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work in violation of their First and Fifth Amendment rights under the US Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Other organizations joining the lawsuit are the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Open Society Institute. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Efforts to retain the global tribunal's power come as the ICC faces enormous pressure, both internally and from its more than 120 member states. Among those sanctioned by the US last year was Karim Khan, who was the ICC’s chief prosecutor until he was removed from the post last month, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged, as detailed in stories by The Associated Press.

The Trump administration had issued those sanctions against Khan and a dozen other ICC staff in retaliation for warrants the court has issued for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza and investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan.

“The Trump administration seeks a get out of jail free card for whomever it chooses. And with this case, we say no,” Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said during a press conference Tuesday.

Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to US sovereignty.”

In a video message, Rubio said the US would pressure member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court and ban staff from traveling to the United States. Countries that “enjoy the benefits of the US security umbrella” will be called upon to reject the court’s jurisdiction over US citizens, he added.

Several countries, including US-allied Venezuela, announced they would withdraw from the court shortly after Rubio's statements and Khan's removal.