Particle.news

U.S. and Israel Escalate Strikes on Iran as Trump Projects Weeks-Long Campaign

Tehran rejects talks, promises a long war; strikes now touch Lebanon, Gulf energy infrastructure, Cyprus.

Overview

  • President Trump outlined four objectives — destroy Iran’s missiles, annihilate its navy, prevent a nuclear weapon, and sever support for militias — and said the “big wave” of strikes is still ahead.
  • U.S. officials confirmed four American service members were killed in Iranian counterattacks, and a Kuwaiti friendly-fire incident downed three U.S. jets with all six crew members surviving.
  • Gen. Dan Caine said more than 1,000 targets were hit in the opening 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, with operations expected to continue for some time.
  • Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel, U.S. bases, and Gulf states; Qatar reported shooting down two Iranian bombers and halting LNG production, Saudi Aramco shut units at Ras Tanura after a fire, and an Iranian-made drone struck the UK’s Akrotiri base in Cyprus.
  • Senior Iranian figure Ali Larijani ruled out negotiations as a provisional leadership holds in Tehran, while Iran reported hundreds of civilian deaths and lodged war-crimes allegations at the UN.