The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad conducted a ground operation in Iran last night, the Al Arabiya TV channel reported, citing sources.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has claimed that it is "too late" to negotiate with Iran.

TASS has summed up reports on the latest developments in the Middle East.
Ground operation

The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad conducted a ground operation in Iran last night, the Al Arabiya TV channel reported, citing sources.

According to the sources, the operation was carried out by Mossad operatives with the support of special forces.
US plans concerning Iran

US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platforms that it is "too late" to engage in talks with Iran.

He said in an interview with the RealClearPolitics news outlet that does not plan to request official war powers from lawmakers.

According to Trump, the United States has literally unlimited weapons stockpiles and is not afraid of running out of weapons in the course of the conflict with Iran.

Trump intends to continue the operation in Iran until four concrete goals are achieved, BCS News said, citing an unnamed US administration official.

According to Trump as quoted by CBS, they include "destroying Iran's missile capabilities", "annihilating their Navy," ensuring Iran cannot "obtain a nuclear weapon," as well as "arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders."
How long the US operation may last

The US military operation against Iran will be conducted in several stages, NBC News said, citing a source.

According to the source, Washington has already carried out two phases of the operation so far: the first involved the use of Tomahawk missiles and precision-guided munitions to destroy the Islamic Republic’s air defenses and weaken its offensive potential.

In the second phase, the US military deployed B-1 and B-2 strategic bombers and heavy aerial bombs to strike fortified targets in Iran, including missile silos and ballistic missile sites.

The military does not disclose the number of stages.

The United States has not yet attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, which may become the next target, the TV channel said.
Details of preparations for attack on Iran

The United States attempted to establish contacts with some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ahead of the operation in Iran to determine whether forces willing to cooperate could come to power, Politico reported, citing sources.

According to one of the sources, there is "no coordinated or breakaway group inside the regime that the Americans view as a new government they would welcome."

In addition, the United States’ partners never received a clear set of objectives for the operation. According to an unnamed Western diplomat, Washington has so far "failed to spell out a long-term plan for Iran and the region."
Protests

Protests against the US and Israeli strikes on Iran took place in nearly 40 US cities, the ABC-7 television channel reported.

The protests were organized by an informal coalition of 30 groups.

According to the TV channel, these groups have different objectives and priorities but share the opinion that the US and Israel’s operation in Iran is a mistake.

Protesters promise to continue demonstrations as long as it takes.
Risks for Trump

By authorizing a military operation against Iran, US President Donald Trump has taken a huge gamble on his presidency, The New York Times correspondent Tyler Pager said.

He claims that such US actions may lead to a rise in oil prices, as well as the conflict propagation to the entire Middle East region.

Apart from that, according to Pager, Trump is risking "his own political standing."

He emphasized that the US leader had repeatedly violated his promise to voters to "end, not start, wars," having sanctioned seven military conflicts in different parts of the world since taking office.

The author pointed out that according to #Trump, most of his supporters still back him. However, some #MAGA supporters and US allies are privately condemning the US decision to start a military operation against Iran.

By Striking Its Neighbors, Iran Has Deepened the Gulf’s Resolve to Fight Back
Diplomats and analysts say Tehran miscalculated with its attacks on Dubai, Doha and Bahrain.

“Iran is coming to the countries and people of the Gulf and saying: ‘You know, I am actually your number-one threat.’ This has long-term implications, regardless of whoever is actually in power in Iran,” Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, said in an interview. “Targeting Gulf states is completely irrational, and very shortsighted.”

Iran has struck all six of the oil-rich Gulf Arab states, including Oman, which had mediated nuclear talks between Tehran and the Trump administration. It also hit Jordan, Iraq and Israel. At first, all the Gulf states publicly opposed the U.S.-Israeli assault on the Iranian regime, which has already resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the killing of many Iranian military and intelligence commanders.

The mood changed quickly once the brunt of the Iranian response targeted cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E., Doha in Qatar, and Manama in Bahrain, inflicting widespread damage to infrastructure and civilian casualties. In the U.A.E. alone, Iran killed three people and injured 58 after firing 165 ballistic missiles and 541 drones, most of which have been intercepted, according to the Defense Ministry.

Classified Report Finds Kristi Noem Created Security Vulnerabilities at Airports. Noem’s handling of issue related to allowing travelers to keep shoes on at checkpoints fits pattern of incidents that has alarmed some national-security officials.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for months failed to appropriately respond to the findings of an internal watchdog that one of her biggest changes to airport security—allowing passengers to pass through screening checkpoints with their shoes on—is creating “significant” security risks, according to a letter from the inspector general reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and officials familiar with the matter.

In July, she announced the change with great fanfare, granting the shoes-on policy to passengers even if they weren’t enrolled in the Transportation Security Administration’s precheck program. The announcement to eliminate what millions of travelers view as a nuisance was one of Noem’s most politically popular moves to date.

But a classified November report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, the agency’s top watchdog, found that some of the TSA full-body scanners that most airline passengers pass through can’t scan shoes, according to people familiar with the report’s contents. The report determined Noem’s policy move had inadvertently created a new security vulnerability in the system. Some White House officials have been made aware of the report.

When the secretary’s office was briefed on the report, officials there gave it a higher level of classification and blocked it from being publicly released, people familiar with the matter said. A spokeswoman for the department disputed the inspector general’s claims and said Noem had appropriately responded to the findings.

Many homeland-security officials said Noem’s handling of the inspector general report fits a pattern in which she has ignored or played down national-security concerns. In another instance, her office published photos of a secret government facility, publicizing a site meant to house the president in emergencies, officials said. Officials across the department have complained that Noem places priority on her public image and political standing in a way that jeopardizes her sprawling department’s core mission.

In recent weeks, DHS has come under scrutiny, following two shootings of U.S. citizens by immigration agents. The Journal detailed earlier this month how Noem has attempted to burnish her personal stardom, staging a headline-grabbing immigration crackdown while retaliating against rivals and dissenters.

#Iranians Under Attack Are Afraid, Angry Or Joyful. The U.S.-Israeli military action set off a rush for food, water and safety; some were cheered by the reported death of the country’s leader.

In Iran’s capital, panicked Tehranis rushed to grocery stores to stockpile food and water as explosions sounded across the city. Schools closed, workers rushed home, long lines formed at gas stations, and roads across the country were gridlocked.

“People are really scared,” said a retired oil executive who packed his bags and fled for his villa on the Caspian Sea after watching missiles flying over Tehran.

But as news spread that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was likely killed, many rejoiced.

“I’m happy. I’m crying. Another dictator is gone,” said an Iranian who participated in January’s mass protests, during which he witnessed regime forces killing demonstrators.

The attack was expected for weeks but still came as a shock when the missiles began landing, coming in the morning hours of the first day of the workweek in a country where Thursday and Friday are the weekend. It also came after sunrise, just as practicing Muslims began the daylong fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

With a near-total internet blackout, Iranians were cut off from the outside world and even each other as their government came under existential attack from American and Israeli warplanes.
People running for cover after an explosion in Tehran.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the airstrikes targeted regime leaders as well as military and government buildings. Iran’s state-linked Fars News agency said 108 schoolgirls were killed and many more injured in a strike that hit a primary school in Minab, a town in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan. Hormozgan, which faces the strategic Strait of Hormuz, is home to key Iranian naval bases.

The human toll caused by the war means that even many who want the Islamic Republic to collapse are opposed to the foreign military intervention.

A woman who works in the film industry, traumatized by Israel’s 12-day war in June, said that nothing good can come from war. The only way for Iranians to achieve political change, she said, was on their own.

“People are saying: ‘America won’t hurt people.’ I don’t believe that. They don’t care about people,” said the woman.

Another Tehran resident said there were mixed feelings.

“Some are happy because they think it will be short, like the 12-day war, and they don’t see another way to confront the government,” the resident said. “Others are worried.”

Amid the fear, the strikes also stirred a cautious hope among the Islamic regime’s opponents that a new future was possible. On Saturday night, people took to the streets in some major cities to celebrate the attacks on their country’s tyrannical leaders.

A man in the northern city of Karaj told The Wall Street Journal that the streets filled up with people, cheering and whistling. “Everyone is joyful, it is one of the best days of probably 95% of Iranians’ lives.”

Before long, however, the man said he heard gunshots and people quieted down and dispersed.

The U.S. is striking Iran at a time when the regime is especially vulnerable. Popular discontent with Iran’s theocratic rulers is higher than it has ever been, fueled by a worsening economic crisis and by longstanding resentment of the Islamic Republic’s political and social restrictions.

The killing of thousands of people during mass antigovernment protests in January fueled another wave of anger. President Trump called on Iranians to rise up and topple their government.

After the killings of protesters in January, many Iranians concluded that—so long as the government has the monopoly over the use of force—popular unrest alone can’t lead to regime change. That is why some government opponents in recent weeks decided foreign-military intervention could help achieve long-awaited political change.

A doctor in northern Iran said he was “cautiously hopeful” about the strikes. “There was no other way,” said the doctor, who treated protesters who were injured during January’s rallies.

CAIRO, February 28. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is directing military operations from headquarters, Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV channel reported.

According to its source, Khamenei "is at the crisis headquarters and personally directing military operations, as he did during the war in the summer of 2025."

#UNCHIEF today

#US and Israel use Iran's nuclear issue to exert pressure — Kosachev. The Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council lamented that little had changed over 46 years,

#Washington and Tel Aviv are groundlessly using allegations about Iran’s development of nuclear weapons to interfere in the country’s internal affairs and carry out strikes on its territory, Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev said on his Telegram channel.

"Little has changed over 46 years. Iran has not created a nuclear bomb, as this was not and is not part of its plans. Both Israel and the United States continue to use this ploy to brazenly interfere in Iran’s internal affairs, ranging from nurturing and encouraging foreign opposition to conducting countless military aggressions," he wrote.

Kosachev said that the United States had dismantled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program, which had been endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution. He also recalled strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities that, according to him, the International Atomic Energy Agency had certified as compliant with obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Timing of Strikes Based on Intelligence About Meeting of Senior Iranian Officials.

#Israel and the U.S. decided the timing of the start of strikes based on intelligence about when senior regime officials would meet, an Israeli military official and a person briefed on the operation said.

The Israeli military official said that three gathering sites of Iranian officials were struck simultaneously, killing several officials. The person familiar with the operation added that the daylight attack was also part of the operation’s element of surprise after weeks of military build up by U.S. forces around Iran.

U.S. and Israel Strike Iran, Tehran Retaliates: Live Updates . #Iran hits back with missiles at Israel and U.S. bases, while Trump urges Iranians to seize power.

The U.S. and Israel launched a wave of strikes against Iran, targeting its leadership and military assets in an attack that risked sparking a wider conflict in one of the most economically sensitive regions in the world.

Iran retaliated by firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. bases throughout the region, including ones in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The U.S. military intercepted multiple Iranian missiles.

President Trump said he had launched a major combat operation to ensure Americans would never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. He called on Iranians to take control of the government. “I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” he said in a video posted on Truth Social.

Explosions rocked the Iranian capital of Tehran, and other cities, and traffic clogged roads as Iranians fled.

The U.S. military used sea and air-based platforms to launch the strikes overnight.

Sirens sounded across Israel on Saturday, and multiple explosions could be heard across the United Arab Emirates.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was targeted in the strikes, along with other senior Iranian officials.

The U.S. and Israel plan to carry out several days of intensive attacks. The Pentagon named the Iran campaign “Operation Epic Fury.”

The strikes were preceded by a monthlong U.S. military buildup that followed a Trump pledge to come to the aid of protesters who challenged the regime at the beginning of January.

Tankers diverted from the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices have been rising over fears of conflict.

As Trump’s African Peace Deal Teetered, a Call From Rwanda Halted U.S. Sanctions.

#WASHINGTON—In late January, Rwandan President Paul Kagame placed a call to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham asking him to help stop the White House from imposing sanctions on his country for breaking a peace deal brokered by President Trump.

Graham obliged—arguing that Rwanda was a reliable U.S. partner and sanctions could alienate it. The White House shelved the sanctions, according to several officials familiar with the matter.

The events, which haven’t been reported before, point to divisions within the U.S. government over how to handle Rwanda, whose actions via armed proxies have reignited the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The renewal in recent months of one of the world’s longest-running armed conflicts and biggest humanitarian disasters is calling into question one of Trump’s diplomatic accomplishments as he presents himself as a global dealmaker who has ended several wars.

Last June, Rwanda and Congo reached a U.S.-mediated peace deal known as the Washington Accords, agreeing to end prolonged fighting, often via proxy militias. The fighting was the latest chapter in a series of conflicts in Congo going back three decades.

Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, President Felix Tshisekedi, reaffirmed the Washington Accords in a signing ceremony at the White House on Dec. 4 last year. Graham, who attended, praised the deal as “almost impossible to dream of but now it is a reality.”

But only days later, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel movement launched a major offensive in eastern Congo.

The rebel group isn’t formally covered by the peace agreement, but Rwanda was expected to rein in its proxy. The U.S. and U.N. have long accused Rwanda of funding, arming and fighting alongside M23. Rwandan officials have denied sending forces to assist M23 but have acknowledged employing “defensive measures” in eastern Congo.

In recent weeks, M23 has continued to fight with Congolese government-backed militias as it tries to expand its area of control in the country’s east, which is rich in critical minerals such as cobalt, tantalum and copper.

The White House told The Wall Street Journal that Rwanda’s actions in eastern Congo are a clear violation of the Washington Accords and that the U.S. wants to see immediate steps by Rwanda and M23 to withdraw forces from eastern #Congo.

Patrick Muyaya, a spokesman for the Congolese government, blamed Rwanda for violating the peace accords. “The efforts of the United States, and those of President Trump to forge peace in Central Africa are worthy of worldwide recognition,” he said in a statement. “Let’s not let Rwandan President Kagame ruin it.”

A spokeswoman for Rwanda’s government said it was fully committed to implementing the peace agreement and accused Congo and its proxy militias of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.

After the renewed escalation, officials at the U.S. State and Treasury departments readied a sanctions package against senior Rwandan and M23 officials, in a bid to salvage the peace agreement.

State Department officials working on Africa argued the Washington Accords could collapse completely if there were no consequences for Rwanda’s violation of the deal.

Kagame, a longtime U.S. partner in East-Central Africa despite concerns about his human-rights record, caught wind of the sanctions package and called Graham, who he believed had the ear of Trump, according to officials and congressional aides.

Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is close to Trump, contacted the White House as well as the office of Vice President JD Vance, the officials and aides said. The senator argued that Rwanda was a relatively reliable American security partner that has made good on promises to deliver critical minerals to the U.S.—and that sanctions could undermine its participation in the peace deal.

After publication, a spokesperson for Graham denied he contacted the vice president’s office during his outreach to the White House. Vance’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senior administration figures halted the rollout of the sanctions package, overriding the objections of some Treasury and State Department officials. The sanctions are now paused indefinitely, according to officials and congressional aides.

Earlier this month, Congo’s Tshisekedi visited Washington again, where he urged U.S. lawmakers to pass sanctions legislation on Rwanda to pressure it to adhere to the peace agreement, according to congressional aides.

Sens. Jim Risch (R., Idaho) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), who met with Tshisekedi during his visit, said in a joint statement afterwards that there was an “urgent need for Rwandan forces to fully withdraw from the region if there is to be any chance at real, lasting peace.”

Trump has acknowledged the continuing fighting in eastern Congo but downplayed its impact on overall peace prospects.

“We’ve got them pretty peaceful,” Trump said of Rwanda and Congo in a Feb. 19 speech at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, created to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. “I’ll get a call once a week: ‘Sir, there’s a flare up in the Congo again.’ We’ll get it straightened out.”

Source: #TheWallStreetJournalDigital