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A screenshot captured from user-generated content posted on social media on February 28, 2026, and confirmed by AFP eyewitness teams in Paris depicts an Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Bahrain. — Reuters
– Democrats criticize Trump for initiating a “war of choice.”
– Three US service members have been killed, with additional troops injured.
– Trump urges Iranians to “take back” their country.
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In private briefings with congressional staff on Sunday, officials from the Trump administration admitted that there was no intelligence indicating Iran planned to attack US forces first, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The US and Israel carried out their most significant strikes on Iran in decades on Saturday, targeting over 1,000 sites and killing Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among other military assets.
However, these statements to Congress on Sunday seem to contradict the administration’s primary rationale for the invasion. The previous day, officials explained that President Donald Trump decided to launch the offensive partly because of signals suggesting Iran might preemptively strike US forces in the Middle East.
One official noted Trump’s determination not to “sit back and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks.”
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Pentagon officials briefed both Senate and House security committee staff for more than 90 minutes, according to White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson. The officials emphasized that Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities and regional proxy groups posed an immediate threat, but there was no evidence Iran planned to attack US forces first.
A video shows a massive plume of smoke rising following a missile attack on a building in Tehran on March 1, 2026. — AFP
Trump stated that the operation, expected to last several weeks, aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, halt its missile program, and eliminate threats to the US and its allies. He called on Iranians to rise up and overthrow their government.
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Democratic critics have accused Trump of engaging in a “war of choice,” dismissing his claims, which lack supporting evidence, that Iran was close to developing means to attack the US with ballistic missiles. Critics argue that the evidence does not justify the scope of the military action.
Earlier, the US military disclosed the first American casualties in this conflict, with three soldiers killed and five others seriously wounded. Several troops also suffered shrapnel injuries and concussions. Since the start of operations, US forces have targeted over 1,000 Iranian sites, including underground missile facilities using B-2 stealth bombers.
A recent poll indicates that 27% of Americans approved of the strikes, while 43% disapproved, and 29% remain undecided.
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