On Feb. 28, 2026, The U.S. and Israel launched coordinated military operations against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military infrastructure and leadership in hopes of removing any threats of Iran launching an attack against either of the two countries. The “final straw” that caused the joint attack against Iran was months of failed negotiations in regards to Iran’s nuclear program, following the expiration of a 10-day deadline set by President Trump, who green-lit strikes after expressing dissatisfaction with the pace of the nuclear talks.
On April 12, 2025, the US started trying to work out a deal with Iran, aimed at restraining Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. The negotiations between the US and Iran seemed to be going well until Feb. 27, 2026, when President Donald Trump said that he was “not happy” with the way the talks were going. Hours later, the US and Israel launched the first joint-attacks against Iran. Trump stated that the US’s current goals in the war are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and their capacity to produce new ones.
On Feb. 28, 2026, Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, delivered a speech addressing the war with Iran, stating reasons as to why it started, as well as Israel’s hopes for the outcome of the war. In a speech translated from Hebrew to English, Netanyahu stated that one aim of the war is to “put an end to the threat from the Ayatollah regime in Iran.” Netanyahu continued the speech saying that Iran has “called for the death of Israel” and stated that Iran is attempting to rebuild their nuclear missile capabilities, and that Israel will not “sit idly” as “destruction looms” over Israel.
Both the US and Israel share common goals, the main one being the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, and any missile capabilities.
Sources:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2dyz6p3weo
- https://www.ajc.org/news/the-iran-strikes-explained-how-we-got-here-and-what-it-means
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-irans-foreign-minister-told-us-about-the-next-supreme-leader-rising-oil-prices
- https://theconversation.com/failure-of-us-iran-talks-was-all-too-predictable-but-turning-to-military-strikes-creates-dangerous-unknowns-277209
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/a-timeline-of-tensions-over-irans-nuclear-program-as-talks-with-u-s-approach
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/03/operation-epic-fury-decisive-american-power-to-crush-irans-terror-regime/
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/13/sounds-of-explosions-heard-in-irans-capital-tehran
