Operation Epic Fury has begun. At 9 a.m. local time - about 12:30 a.m. Eastern - the US and Israel launched a joint missile strike against Iran. As the operation rolled out, several locations were hit. Iran, of course, retaliated, striking at American and Israeli targets across the Middle East, leading other nations in the region toward joining in. As this story unfurls, stay tuned to Liberty Nation News for updates.
A quick guide to the time zones
EST: Eastern Standard Time
IST: Israel Standard Time – EST + 7
AST: Arabian Standard Time – EST + 8
IRST: Iran Standard Time – EST + 8:30
GST: Gulf Standard Time – EST + 9
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5:40 p.m. EST, 2:15 a.m. IRST:
President Donald Trump reports on Truth Social that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, though Iran news agencies claim he’s still “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.”
Hundreds of Iranian-American demonstrators in Los Angeles celebrated the attack by dancing, chanting, and waving flags – including the red, white, and green “Lion and Sun,” the Iranian flag before the 1979 revolution – outside a federal building in the Westwood neighborhood. “Down with Islamic Republic,” they shouted. “Democracy for Iran!”
The crowd also changed thanks to President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many of them wore shits and shirts labeled “MIGA” or “Make Iran Great Again.”
5:30 p.m. EST, 12:30 a.m. IST:
Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom said that a woman in the Tel Aviv area had died after being injured in an Iranian missile attack. Hers was the first death reported in Israel since the exchange of missiles and drones began almost 18 hours earlier.
5:15 p.m. EST, 12:15 a.m. IST, 1:45 a.m. IRST:
Israel released a list of Iranian military leaders reportedly killed in the strikes:
Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
General Mohammad Pakpour, Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Salah Asadi, Chief of intelligence in Iran’s military emergency headquarters.
General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iranian Defense Minister.
Mohammad Shirazi, head of Iran’s Military Bureau.
4:30 p.m. EST, 1 a.m. IRST:
Reports out of the Middle East begin to indicate Khamenei has been killed, and witnesses in Tehran report to AP that some residents are rejoicing.
3:50 p.m. EST, 11:50 p.m. AST:
A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq-Brigades of the Guardians of Blood issued a statement claiming credit for an attack on a US base in Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region, AP reports.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that has previously launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. military has reported that no there have been no American casualties and minimal damage so far from retaliatory strikes by Iran.
2:45 p.m. EST, 9:45 p.m. IST:
Israel closed all crossings into Gaza for security reasons because of the missile exchange with Iran. The agency responsible for administering aid to Gaza, COGAT, said there are sufficient stockpiles of food and supplies in Gaza to get the Palestinians there through “an extended period.”
11:30 a.m. EST:
The US Department of State announced the launch of a task force to assist American citizens in the Middle East and support diplomatic efforts after Saturday morning’s military action against Iran and the subsequent retaliatory strikes.
Eventually, this will likely mean evacuations. For the moment, however, the majority of embassies in the region have urged Americans to shelter in place.
11 a.m. EST, 6 p.m. IST, 7:30 p.m. IRST:
An Israeli military official reported that “several” senior figures in Iran had been killed in the day’s strikes. The official didn’t clarify who, specifically, had been killed, but it was reported early on that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was one of the targets. That said, the last report out of Iran was Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the Ayatollah was alive “as far as I know.” He added that they “may have lost one or two commanders, but that is not a big problem.”
The initial strikes – which hit three sites simultaneously – were coordinated to take out Iranian leaders while they attended meetings.
The Israeli military also just launched another set of strikes on Iran, targeting more missile launchers, according to a statement by an IDF spokesperson.
9:45 a.m. EST, 6:15 p.m. IRST, 6:45 p.m. GST:
An Iranian ballistic missile struck near Abu Dhabi Airport in the UAE, grounding all flights. Meanwhile, more US Tomahawks land in Iran, with explosions reported in Zahedan, Khoy, and up to 20 in Shiraz. The UK has deployed Typhoon jets to the Middle East, as well, for defensive operations, and multiple ballistic missiles have been intercepted over Doha, Qatar.
China calls for the immediate halt to the ongoing back-and-forth strikes in the Middle East as the conflict continues to escalate.
9:30 a.m. EST, 6 p.m. IRST:
The US Agency for Global Media announced it had boosted the capacity of Voice of America’s Persian language service and was using satellite technology to broadcast President Trump’s message to the Iranian people.
Internet and cellular communications have frequently been blocked by the regime, but direct transmission via satellite can circumvent those blackouts. Still, it remains unclear just how many Iranians are actually receiving the message.
Meanwhile, stateside, the president addressed the Iran strikes in a video posted to Truth Social but will not be making any more formal comments today, according to the White House.
9 a.m. EST:
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) called for his fellow lawmakers to return to Washington this weekend and immediately pass a war powers resolution to stop Trump from carrying out any more military action in Iran.
“Right now, I have zero confidence in this president who has so flagrantly violated our Constitution. That is why we should have Congress immediately go back into session for the War Powers vote to reassert the American people’s will, which, again, they don’t want to be at war,” Kim told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
8:30 a.m. EST:
US officials reportedly told Fox News: “we have effectively eliminated Iran’s air defense system. Iran’s response was ineffective.”
9:45 a.m. EST, 6:15 p.m. IRST, 6:45 p.m. GST:
An Iranian ballistic missile struck near Abu Dhabi Airport in the UAE, grounding all flights. Meanwhile, more US Tomahawks land in Iran, with explosions reported in Zahedan, Khoy, and up to 20 in Shiraz. The UK has deployed Typhoon jets to the Middle East, as well, for defensive operations, and multiple ballistic missiles have been intercepted over Doha, Qatar.
China calls for the immediate halt to the ongoing back-and-forth strikes in the Middle East as the conflict continues to escalate.
9:30 a.m. EST, 6 p.m. IRST:
The US Agency for Global Media announced it had boosted the capacity of Voice of America’s Persian language service and was using satellite technology to broadcast President Trump’s message to the Iranian people.
Internet and cellular communications have frequently been blocked by the regime, but direct transmission via satellite can circumvent those blackouts. Still, it remains unclear just how many Iranians are actually receiving the message.
Meanwhile, stateside, the president addressed the Iran strikes in a video posted to Truth Social but will not be making any more formal comments today, according to the White House.
9 a.m. EST:
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) called for his fellow lawmakers to return to Washington this weekend and immediately pass a war powers resolution to stop Trump from carrying out any more military action in Iran.
“Right now, I have zero confidence in this president who has so flagrantly violated our Constitution. That is why we should have Congress immediately go back into session for the War Powers vote to reassert the American people’s will, which, again, they don’t want to be at war,” Kim told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
8:30 a.m. EST:
US officials reportedly told Fox News: “we have effectively eliminated Iran’s air defense system. Iran’s response was ineffective.”
8 a.m. EST, 4 p.m. AST, 4:30 p.m. IRST, 5 p.m. Gulf Standard Time (GST):
The United Arab Emirates reportedly intercepted another wave of missiles, and Iran claims to have destroyed a US radar installation near Al-Khor, Qatar. Meanwhile, the IDF has published footage of airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers, and another US airstrike hits the Marand Industrial Complex in Iran.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have responded in outrage, saying President Trump should have come to Congress before taking such action. According to The Wall Street Journal, however, he did notify the "Gang of Eight," the bipartisan group of top congressional leaders and intelligence committee chairs, before the strike.
7:40 a.m. EST, 4:10 p.m. IRST:
Faytuks Network, an online open-source intelligence news organization, reported on X that Us and Isreali forces struck radar infrastructure at the Kish Airport in Iran.
7:35 a.m. EST, 2:35 p.m. IST:
The Israeli military has warned yet another wave of missiles is inbound from Iran, the sixth such warning since the US and Israel first struck Iran this morning. Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Ministry called the US-Israeli strike an "unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state." Russia demanded an immediate halt to the bombings, while the Foreign Minister of Oman announced he's "dismayed" at the attacks.
7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 2 p.m. Israel Standard Time (IST), 3 p.m. AST:
Iran launched a "large-scale" drone attack at Israel, firing dozens of attack drones, according to the Iranian army.
Meanwhile, Qatar's Ministry of Defense said in an Instagram post that a second wave of missiles from Iran had been "intercepted and neutralized."
“All incoming missiles were intercepted and destroyed before reaching Qatari territory,” the ministry said, while reiterating that Qatar’s Armed Forces have “full capabilities and resources” to ensure the country’s security.
6:15 EST, 2:45 p.m. Iran Standard Time (IRST):
Iran's foreign ministry released a statement in English condemning the US-Israel strikes and promising to respond "with authority."
"The renewed military aggression of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran is being committed while Iran and the United States were in the midst of a diplomatic process. Just as we were ready for negotiations, we have been more prepared than ever for defense. The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to the aggressors with authority."
6 a.m. EST, 2 p.m. Arabia Standard Time (AST):
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on X the kingdom's readiness to join the fight against Iran. Translated, it reads:
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of the sovereignty of each of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, affirming its full solidarity and standing by the side of the sister states, and placing all its capabilities at their disposal to support them in all measures they take, and warning of the grave consequences of the continued violation of the sovereignty of states and the principles of international law."
Around this time, Iran announced it had fired missiles at half a dozen US bases in the region: Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, Muwaffaq Al-Salti Air Base in Jordan, the US Naval base in Bahrain, and another US base in northern Iraq.
Reports from around the Middle East indicate most of those missiles were intercepted by the host countries, though there was an explosion at the naval facility in Bahrain as well as an explosion in Riyadh that has yet to be confirmed as either an actual strike on Saudi soil or an interception.
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Read more about the beginning of this conflict here. And stay tuned to Liberty Nation News for updates throughout the day!
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