On Feb. 28, the USA and Israel launched huge strikes on Iran in an operation concentrating on army and authorities websites that President Donald Trump has stated may final as little as 4 weeks.
One month later, each international locations stay engaged in a warfare that has impacted the broader Gulf area, killing hundreds of individuals, because the Pentagon is getting ready to surge hundreds of troops to the Center East, in accordance with U.S. officers.
Because the U.S. enters its fifth week of the battle, this is a have a look at how we acquired right here, the place issues stand and the place they might go from right here.
Watch particular protection on Nightline, “Battle with Iran,” every evening on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Negotiations break downÂ
Operation Epic Fury started months after the U.S. and Israel carried out strikes on nuclear weapons services in Iran, with Trump declaring at the moment that the regime’s nuclear capabilities had been “obliterated.”
Within the weeks main as much as the Feb. 28 strikes, the U.S. tried to barter with the Iranian regime to achieve a nuclear deal, with Trump saying he was weighing whether or not to strike. A day earlier than launching Operation Epic Fury towards Iran, Trump stated he was “not glad” with the negotiations.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was amongst these killed in Tehran within the preliminary strikes, together with his son Mojtaba Khamenei later chosen to succeed him.Â
A poster of the late Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is pasted on the wall of a residential constructing broken after a close-by police station was struck two days earlier in a U.S.-Israeli assault in Tehran, Iran, March 15, 2026.
Vahid Salemi/AP
Trump stated firstly of the “main fight operations,” which occurred with out Congressional approval, that they had been to “defend the American folks by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” and he referred to as on the Iranian folks to depose the regime.
Within the weeks since, greater than 1,440 civilians, together with no less than 217 youngsters, have died from U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran as of March 23, in accordance with a report from a number of human rights teams. Iranian officers have blamed the U.S. for a missile strike on an Iranian elementary faculty that killed practically 170 folks. The Trump administration has stated it’s investigating the incident.
Regional allies attacked
Iran retaliated towards the strikes with missile and drone assaults concentrating on Israel, regional U.S. bases and a number of Gulf nations, primarily concentrating on U.S. pursuits within the area.
13 American servicemembers have been killed for the reason that warfare started, together with seven from retaliatory strikes in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and 6 from an plane crash in Iraq. Over 300 troops have additionally been injured, a U.S. official stated Friday.
Iran has additionally launched a sequence of retaliatory strikes towards the power infrastructure in a number of Gulf states after Israel hit its largest gasoline subject — in what one Qatari official referred to as a “harmful escalation.”
A hearth and plume of smoke rise after, in accordance with authorities. particles from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026.(AP Photograph/Altaf Qadri)
The Related Press
Specialists say the strikes and the specter of additional assaults threat throwing international power markets right into a state of protracted chaos.Â
Amid the battle, Israel has additionally intensified its long-running strike marketing campaign towards the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and expanded its floor operations within the south of the nation. Greater than 1,000 folks have been killed and hundreds extra injured in Lebanon amid this escalation, in accordance with Lebanese officers.
Strait of Hormuz shutdown
Map of the Strait of Hormuz
Anadolu by way of Getty Photographs
In response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran has successfully closed the Strait of Hormuz, an important maritime passage for the oil and delivery trades, threatening an power disaster.
Iran has attacked a number of oil tankers for the reason that warfare started in late February, halting practically all delivery visitors. The provision shock has despatched the value of oil surging.
Trump has threatened to assault Iran’s energy vegetation if it would not totally reopen the strait, since extending the deadline to take action to April 6.Â
US’ expansive goals
Trump’s acknowledged targets in Iran have shifted and expanded within the weeks for the reason that battle started, from talks of regime change and peace all through the Center East to, extra not too long ago, reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Amongst different key goals, the U.S. army has stated Iran’s navy and ballistic missile shares and manufacturing capabilities have been degraded by airstrikes.
Ensuring Iran doesn’t receive a nuclear weapon has been one other main aim of Trump’s. Iran’s intent to construct a nuclear weapon, in accordance with Trump, was a central justification for the warfare.
Trump has recommended that People may go in to grab Iran’s enriched uranium. Specialists beforehand instructed ABC Information that a big American drive on the bottom would probably be wanted to take the nuclear materials however would carry lots of threat.
Throughout a Cupboard assembly on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance emphasised the significance of stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and warned that there are “additional army choices” attainable.
Harm to the Isfahan Optics Industries constructing and the encompassing space in Isfahan, Iran, March 24, 2026.
Social Media by way of Reuters
The place issues go from right here
The White Home has stated “productive” negotiations have been ongoing between the U.S. and Iran, whereas officers in Tehran have publicly denied that any talks have taken place.
The U.S. has offered Iran with a 15-point framework for a peace deal by way of Pakistan, in accordance with White Home particular envoy Steve Witkoff. As of Friday, the U.S. has not acquired a response from Iran, in accordance with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Sources beforehand instructed ABC Information the plan addressed Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear applications in addition to maritime routes.
The negotiations come because the U.S. is getting ready to surge as many as 5,000 troops to the Center East, in accordance with two U.S. officers, and the Pentagon is in search of $200 billion in supplemental funding for the warfare. The funding request has been met with bipartisan skepticism from some lawmakers.
Rubio on Friday declined to reply questions from reporters on whether or not the U.S. deliberate to deploy floor troops in Iran. Although he stated the U.S. can obtain its targets with out placing boots on the bottom.
A person stands subsequent to buildings broken by Israeli strikes, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, because the U.S.-Israel battle with Iran continues, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 27, 2026.
Reuters
Trump, who has stated he believed the warfare may last as long as 4 weeks, and at different occasions 4 to 6 weeks, stated this week that the operation is “forward of schedule” and will finish quickly. Rubio instructed reporters Friday that the operation may finish in a “matter of weeks, not months.”
The Israel Protection Forces stated Friday they want “just a few extra weeks” to completely degrade Iranian army capabilities, corresponding to missile-launchers, a senior Israeli safety official instructed ABC Information.
