The United States has begun what President Donald Trump described as “major combat operations” inside Iran, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions and signalling a shift from deterrence to direct military engagement.
In a video statement posted on his Truth Social account, Trump said the objective was “to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” which he described as “a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.” The president did not initially specify whether the operations were being conducted in coordination with Israel.
However, an Israeli official later confirmed that strikes carried out earlier in the day targeted Iranian regime sites and military facilities and were conducted jointly with US forces. The disclosure underscores a coordinated operational posture between Washington and Jerusalem at a moment of heightened strategic risk.
Israeli authorities are preparing for several days of sustained hostilities, according to the official, suggesting that the current phase is not a limited punitive action but the opening stage of a broader campaign.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has named the operation “Lion’s Roar,” a title personally selected after the Israel Defense Forces had developed a separate internal designation. The branding signals continuity with Israel’s recent military posture toward Iran; a previous strike campaign in June 2025 was dubbed “Rising Lion.”
The targets reportedly include military infrastructure and sites linked to the Iranian regime, though neither government has released a full operational assessment. Israeli planning assumptions now centre on a multi-day exchange, reflecting expectations of potential retaliation and a widening operational tempo.
The coordinated strikes represent one of the most direct joint US–Israel actions against Iran to date. For policymakers and regional actors alike, the immediate question is whether the campaign remains contained or evolves into a broader confrontation across multiple fronts.
As of now, both governments appear aligned on the strategic objective: degrading Iranian capabilities while preparing for an extended period of instability. Whether that objective can be achieved without triggering wider regional escalation remains uncertain—a risk factor that markets, allies and adversaries will be watching closely.
Amid the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, a wave of cyberattacks has also targeted the country, the semi-official Fars news agency reports.
Fars says that several major Iranian news agencies were targeted and “experienced severe disruptions in their operations,” and that some widely used mobile applications were also experiencing disruptions.
