SOME SCENES FROM THE WAR ON IRAN

Photos from the war on Iran

 

NPR

Mar 1, 2026

 

 

Smoke rises after a series of explosions in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026.

A group of demonstrators wave Iranian flags in support of the government and against U.S. and Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

Israeli first responders arrive at the scene of an Iranian strike in retaliation for coordinated US-Israeli airstrikes in Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026.

Emergency personnel work to extinguish a building fire in Manama, Bahrain on February 28, 2026. The fire was the result of retaliation strikes by Iran, following the coordinated attacks by the United States and Israel.

Government supporters chant slogans as they gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026.

People at a public square in Tehran mourn the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US and Israeli strikes on March 1, 2026.

Demonstrators in support of a war in Iran at City Hall in Los Angeles, California, US, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

Demonstrators hold a sign reading "No New US War In The Middle East" during a protest against war in Iran in Houston, Texas, US, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

Demonstrators holding Iranian flags and portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gather at Sebeen Square, under the control of Iran-backed Houthis, to protest the killing of Khamenei in US and Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen on March 01, 2026.

Members of the Iranian community take part in celebrations following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on March 01, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland.

A smoke plume rises following a missile strike on a building in Tehran on March 1, 2026.

Leah Guttmann holds her son, Teddy, as other people take shelter in an underground parking garage while air-raid sirens warn of incoming missiles launched by Iran toward Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 1, 2026.

 A person watches as plumes of smoke rise over the skyline following explosions on March 1, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT SUPREME LEADER?

After Khamenei: How Iran selects new supreme leader, and who could fill the role?

With nearly 37 years of rule ended by assassination, Iran faces only its second-ever leadership handover.

 

by Adi Nirman  

 

Israel Hayom

Mar 1, 2026

 

 

 

The possible successors of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 

 

 

The elimination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ending a nearly 37-year reign as Iran's supreme leader, has thrown the country's future into deep uncertainty, The Washington Post reported. By the following morning, the outline of what promises to be a complex succession process had already begun to take shape.

 

Iran's constitution provided the initial blueprint: on Sunday, a governing council was formally established to absorb the supreme leader's responsibilities in the interim. Seated on that council are three figures – the incumbent president, the nation's top judiciary official, and a Guardian Council representative selected by the Expediency Council, the body that both counsels the supreme leader and arbitrates disputes between the government and parliament.

Among those designated to "temporarily assume all the duties of leadership" are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary head Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

In parallel with that interim arrangement, Iranian law requires the 88-member Assembly of Experts to "must, as soon as possible" select a permanent supreme leader – even as the council continues to govern.

Composed entirely of popularly elected Shiite clerics serving eight-year terms, the Assembly's membership requires Guardian Council approval – a constitutional watchdog with an established record of barring candidates across Iranian elections. The panel proved no exception: in March 2024, the body excluded former President Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate who shepherded the 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, from seeking an Assembly seat.

 

Mojtaba Khamenei

 

Because clerical succession deliberations unfold well beyond public scrutiny, identifying the leading contenders remains speculative at best, the report noted.

The most anticipated line of succession collapsed in May 2024, when Ebrahim Raisi – Khamenei's hard-line protégé and presumed heir – was killed in a helicopter crash. Attention has since turned to Mojtaba Khamenei – the late supreme leader's son, a 56-year-old Shiite cleric with no record of government service. A dynastic transfer, however, risks inflaming both opponents of clerical rule and loyalists within the system itself; some would view it as un-Islamic and tantamount to founding a new theocratic monarchy – an uncomfortable echo of the 1979 collapse of US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's government.

Iran's entire recorded history has seen just one prior transition of supreme leaders. That precedent was set in 1989 with the passing of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolution's founding symbol, who died at 86 after guiding Iran through an eight-year war with Iraq. Iran's layered Shiite theocratic structure places the supreme leader at its center, vesting in that office the ultimate authority over every sphere of governance.

That power extends to supreme command of both the conventional military and the Revolutionary Guard – a paramilitary force designated a terrorist organization by the US in 2019 and substantially strengthened under Khamenei's tenure. Spearheading the self-described "Axis of Resistance," a network of terrorist groups and regional partners arrayed across the Middle East against the US and Israel, the Guard also commands vast financial assets and extensive property holdings throughout Iran.

IAF BOMBS BEIRUT AFTER HEZBOLLAH FIRES MISSILES AT ISRAEL

Israel strikes Beirut after Hezbollah joins Iran war

IDF says the overnight wave hit senior operatives and command infrastructure, signaling Hezbollah’s decision to join Iran’s war has consequences in the capital—not just along the border.

 

By Ryan Jones

 

Israel Today

Mar 2, 2026

 

 

Smoke plumes billow following Israeli bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 2, 2026.

 

Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanon into Israel overnight Sunday, triggering air-raid sirens in Haifa and across parts of the Upper Galilee, as Israel’s war with Iran pushes Tehran’s proxy network toward a familiar dilemma: stand down, or be pulled into a fight that will be fought on Israel’s terms.

The Israel Defense Forces said several projectiles were launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory. At least one was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, while the remainder fell in open areas, according to the military.  

Within hours, the IDF struck senior Hezbollah targets in the Beirut area and launched a broader wave of strikes across southern Lebanon, targeting what the military described as command sites and operational infrastructure. 

Following the launch of “Operation Roaring Lion,” Israel warned Lebanon, via the United States, to keep Hezbollah from joining the fighting. But there were indications that Iran and its IRGC were not going to let Hezbollah sit out this war, as it did the so-called “12-Day War” in June of last year.

“Fully responsible” — and the message to Lebanon

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir convened a situational assessment with the General Staff and ordered preparations for continuous offensive and defensive operations, the military said.

“Hezbollah opened a campaign against Israel overnight and is fully responsible for any escalation,” Zamir said, adding that the IDF was prepared for this scenario as part of standard combat preparations tied to Operation “Roaring Lion.” 

Israel is aware that Hezbollah does not act as a sovereign Lebanese actor, but rather as a forward arm of Iran. Even so, Lebanon bears full responsibility for all hostilities directed at Israel from its territory.

Lebanon, stressed the Israeli army chief, must know that it will bear all the consequences for having allowed Hezbollah to establish itself in the country and use Lebanon as a launch pad for assaults on Israel.

Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo delivered a similar line, saying Hezbollah had chosen the Ayatollahs in Tehran over Lebanon and would “pay a heavy price,” while promising northern residents reinforced defenses along the border. 

The backdrop: Hezbollah’s public posture and Israel’s private warning

Hezbollah had condemned the Israel–US operation against Iran days earlier, urging the region to “stand strong” against what it called American-Israeli “hostile designs,” and predicting failure for the allied campaign. 

Reuters reported that two senior Lebanese officials said Israel had warned Beirut through intermediaries that heavy airstrikes could follow—including against major civilian infrastructure—if Hezbollah entered the war. 

Hezbollah acted, Israel responded, and Lebanon is again forced to confront the basic reality it has tried to avoid since 2006—there is no such thing as a “resistance” organization that operates independently of state consequence.

Beirut strikes: calibrated, but not symbolic

Israel’s strikes in the Beirut area are not routine. Beirut is Hezbollah’s political and operational gravity center. When Israel hits there, it is signaling that Hezbollah’s leadership, not just its border assets, is on the table.

Reuters reported the strikes were the most intense Israeli action since the 2024 Israel–Hezbollah war, and that Lebanese authorities reported casualties from the overnight Israeli airstrikes.  The Guardian similarly described heavy strikes in Hezbollah-controlled areas, including Dahieh (Dahiyeh), Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold. 

The ceasefire that didn’t disarm

Lebanon’s government pledged—again—to disarm Hezbollah under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024, after the war that began when Hezbollah joined Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel. 

That pledge has been the political equivalent of “thoughts and prayers.”

Hezbollah remains armed, organized, and operational—precisely because it is not merely a Lebanese faction. It is an Iranian project with a Lebanese address. When Tehran’s core capabilities are under pressure, the proxies are expected to complicate the battlefield, dilute Israeli focus, and generate new leverage.

This is the strategic heart of the “axis” model: Iran absorbs fewer direct costs while exporting risk through partners who pay in local ruin.

What happens next

The immediate military picture is straightforward: Hezbollah fired, Israel struck, and the IDF is preparing for sustained activity on the northern front while continuing major operations tied to Iran.

Hezbollah’s choice forces Lebanon to answer a question it keeps deferring: Who governs Lebanon—its elected institutions, or an armed militia whose strategic decision-making is ultimately shaped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps?

And Israel’s message, stated without apology, is that it will not permit “managed escalation” designed to bleed Israel while insulating Hezbollah’s senior leadership and core infrastructure. If Hezbollah enters the war, it does so with full responsibility—and with the understanding that Israel’s response will not be confined to border skirmishes.

SHIT HAPPENS ... THREE AMERICAN F-15S SHOT DOWN BY FRIENDLY FIRE OVER KUWAIT

Kuwait shot US pilots down in ‘apparent friendly fire,’ American military says

"All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition," according to U.S. Central Command. 

 

JNS 

Mar 2, 2026 

 

 

One of three American F-15 fighter jets goes down in flames over Kuwait 

 

Kuwaiti air defenses shot three American F-15E Strike Eagles down shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time on March 1 in an “apparent friendly fire incident,” U.S. Central Command said.

The American fighter jets were operating as part of the Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. attacks on the Iranian regime. CENTCOM said that all the six Americans were recovered in stable condition after ejecting from their planes.

According to the U.S. Air Force, each of those fighter jets costs $31.1 million as of April 2019. That would be nearly $40 million each, or a combined $120 million, in January 2026 dollars, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“During active combat that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” CENTCOM said.

“Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” it said. It added that there is an investigation of the cause of the incident.

IRAN MADE A HUGE MISTAKE BY ATTACKING ARAB STATES

Iran’s strategic blunder is reshaping the Middle East

Tehran’s attacks on Arab states and Western interests are accelerating a regional alignment against it that it hoped to prevent. 

 

By Fiamma Nirenstein

 

JNS

Mar 2, 2026

 

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a security meeting at the Kirya in Tel Aviv with the defense minister, IDF chief of staff and Mossad director, March 1, 2026.

 

Something remarkable happened this week and almost no one seems willing to absorb its meaning.

The Palestinian Authority condemned Iran and its attacks on Arab states.

It did so “strongly,” listing Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq among the countries attacked by Tehran. 

P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas even accused Iran of harming its Arab friends and called for a reunification of the Islamic world. This, coming from leadership that for decades relied on those same regional dynamics to isolate Israel, is not merely irony—it is evidence of tectonic movement.

Iran did not act out of stupidity. It acted out of ideology—and miscalculation.

 

The iconic sail-shaped Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel in Dubai was hit by an Iramian suicide drone.

 

The regime attacked not only Israel and U.S. interests but also Arab states hosting American bases and even Cyprus, long viewed by Tehran as part of a hesitant and fatigued Europe. The result was the opposite of deterrence.

Britain reacted with visible anger. France, whose naval assets were struck in the UAE, hinted at possible military participation. Even cautious Germany began speaking in the language of defense rather than restraint.

The Revolutionary Guards also set fire to Saudi energy infrastructure, threatening the global oil market in an attempt to frighten the international system and pressure Washington to halt the war. Instead, it convinced many governments that Iran is prepared to endanger the world economy to preserve its revolutionary doctrine.

American military leaders now openly describe a long campaign against an enemy that, since 1979, has methodically built a sophisticated network dedicated to undermining the free world while brutally suppressing its own population.

Tehran believed familiar tactics—promises of nuclear moderation never implemented—could once again buy time. But the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and the wars that followed changed the strategic psychology of the region.

Even Lebanon, historically hostage to Hezbollah’s decisions, now fears being dragged into catastrophe. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has warned Hezbollah figures against igniting another war on Lebanese soil. That alone marks a profound shift.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has worked toward this moment for four decades, identifying the source of the threat and signaling to the world where the head of the dragon lay.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, he has turned the principle of refusing any threat to the Jewish people into a concrete military doctrine.

The Abraham Accords are no longer a diplomatic ornament; they are becoming a security architecture. States now understand that remaining outside the emerging alignment means living permanently under Iranian intimidation. Tehran, in trying to demonstrate strength, has accelerated the formation of the very coalition it sought to prevent.

In the background stand Russia and China, while in Europe—even reluctantly—countries begin repositioning themselves. Increasingly, the question is not whether Iran threatens global stability, but whether the international system is finally prepared to admit it openly.

There remains a strange phenomenon: parts of the Western political discourse continue repeating narratives detached from events, accusing Israel of actions demonstrably carried out by Iran itself. Yet beyond rhetoric, strategic reality is shifting. Governments act according to interests, not slogans.

The truth, quietly understood in more capitals each day, is simple: a world without a regime built on permanent revolutionary confrontation would be a safer world.

Tehran intended to intimidate. Instead, it clarified.

J STREET, LIKE CAIR, SHOULD BE DESIGNATED A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

On Iran attacks, J Street diverges from the Israeli left

Its repeated criticism of actions of self-defense—and now, its opposition to the elimination of a nuclear threat—raise real questions about its priorities. 

 

By Moshe Phillips 

 

JNS

Mar 2, 2026

 

 

J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echoes of some of the very darkest periods of recent Jewish history reverberated in the statements made by anti-Zionist Jews over the weekend of the initial phases of joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

That outside-the-pale groups Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow would attack Israel and America for bombing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime should come as no surprise. But the fact that J Street, which claims to be “pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy,” would sound almost the same as them does much to validate what its critics have been saying about the D.C. pressure group for years.

“We are appalled by President Trump’s reckless decision to launch a war of choice against Iran, explicitly seeking regime change,” blared a statement issued by J Street while Israeli fighter planes were still in the air. The organization said its press release was in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to commence military action in coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

What must be called out here is J Street’s specific highlighting of Netanyahu in its statement. That’s because the full spectrum of the prime minister’s political opponents in Israel strongly support the decision to degrade Iran at its weakest point in memory. All of them.

J Street’s criticism of Netanyahu and the “military action” of the Jewish state stands in stark contrast to the leadership of Israel’s left, including politicians featured by the agency as speakers at its annual conventions and that it very much wants to be seen as being allied with.

If J Street doesn’t have any Israeli political leaders who agree with its views, then how exactly is it “pro-Israel?”

Merav Michaeli addressed the 2018 J Street conference and tweeted on March 1 that Israel had achieved “tremendous successes” against Iran.

Yair Golan appeared at the J Street conference in 2022 and posted on X on Feb. 28: “Eliminating Khamenei is a dramatic and significant step. Israel’s security forces, together with the American forces, have once again demonstrated intelligence superiority and impressive operational capability. I salute you.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a longtime critic of Netanyahu and was scheduled to speak at the J Street conference that started on Feb. 28. On Newsmax that day, he told his audience that “this has been the focus of Israeli policies for more than 20 years now … . Now (that Trump) took this action, and I hope it will be successful, and it will last until it is done.”

Michaeli, Golan and Olmert are not outliers. Benny Gantz, Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eizenkot and Yair Lapid are all leaders of parties that run against Netanyahu’s Likud Party, and consistently condemn him and his policies. And every single one of them has tweeted enthusiastic support for Netanyahu and the attacks against the Islamic Republic. Not one of these top Israeli politicians sounds anything at all like J Street.

The organization’s repeated criticism of Israeli actions of self-defense—and now, its opposition to the elimination of a nuclear threat—raises real and significant questions about its priorities. This isn’t a minor policy disagreement. It’s a fundamental divergence on how to ensure the safety and survival of the Jewish state. When American Jewish organizations weigh in on matters of life and death for Israelis, there is an obligation to speak from a position of real knowledge.

“Iran does not present an imminent threat that requires launching a ‘preventive’ war,” J Street claimed in its Feb. 28 news release, and no Israeli political leaders are saying the same thing. Why is J Street on the same side as JVP and IfNotNow, and not Israel’s left-leaning parties?

That’s the real takeaway here. J Street is not what it claims to be and perhaps never has been.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog strongly supports the attacks on Iran, tweeting: “I congratulate the IDF and the U.S. Army on the bold joint operation ‘Roaring Lion’ against the Iranian threat. This is a dramatic and historic step, and I thank the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the decision in the hope that it will bring historic change for us and for the entire Middle East.”

Let’s remember that Herzog is a former chairman of Israel’s Labor Party.

Once again, this underlines how J Street has positioned itself far outside the mainstream Jewish community. And it reminds us why both of the major Jewish umbrella organizations—the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the American Zionist Movement—have rejected it.

These important umbrella groups understand that J Street is extreme and stands for nothing but its own radical political agenda.

INTERESTING SCOTUS CASE TO BE HEARD TODAY

By Bob Walsh

 

 

Under current federal law persons defined as "drug addicts" can not legally own or possess firearms.  Today SCOTUS will hear the case and will likely determine if that meets the constitutional standard of Bruen, which is the controlling standard.   

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? ... I MADE IT TO 99

By Howie Katz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is my 99th birthday. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever believe I'd get to be this old. It's really not much to celebrate about. The golden years? ... Screw the golden years. Anyway, I'm well past those years. I'm in the rusty years. 

Nick, my good son, and I celebrated my birthday at Twin Peaks. The beer was good and so was the food. But the waitresses were really great as you can see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been a great ride. Lots of adventures. If only I were 50 or 60 years younger. 

ILHAN OMAR TO NANCY MACE: 'PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DRINKING TOO MUCH AS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED FROM YOUR STAFF AND STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA WHEN YOU ARE DRUNK'

Nancy Mace and Ilhan Omar's vicious spat over Iran takes wild personal turn: 'I hope you aren't drunk'

 

By Victoria Churchill 

 

Daily Mail

Mar 1, 2026

 

 

Omar and Tlaib shout at U.S. President Donald Trump as he delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the US Capitol on February 24, 2026, in Washington, DC

 

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace and Progressive House Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar have waged their own war amid President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran.

As the death of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was announced Saturday, Mace posted her condolences on X. 

But she included a blatant dig at Omar as well as fellow progressive 'Squad' member Rashida Tlaib, sending them 'thoughts and prayers' in the wake of his assassination. 

Omar has branded Trump's strikes on Iran, which resulted in the death of Khamenei and over 48 other top military leaders, as 'an illegal regime change war.' 

And Tlaib stated that Trump cannot 'free' people by killing them and destroying their country.'

'The Iranian people have bled for their freedom. Their cries did not fall on deaf ears. Not on Trump's watch,' Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, observed.

Replying to Mace's 'thoughts and prayers' attack, Omar fired back: 'I hope you aren't drunk and took your staff's advice, Rashida and I don't know this man and feel confident he didn't care about us.'

'Please restrain from drinking too much as you have been warned from your staff and stay off social media when you are drunk,' Omar went on.

'I pray in his holy month you find peace and respect for yourself,' Omar added.

Mace jabbed back with two additional attacks, one over Omar's grammar in the post, misspelling of 'restrain' and one even more personal.

'Honey, it's 'please refrain' not 'please restrain.' This is what happens when your staff is from the Third World and can't speak proper English,' Mace hit back.

Mace also asked Omar, 'So tell me, what was it like being married to your brother?'

Allegations that Omar married her brother have dogged her since she first entered Congress - claims she has repeatedly and forcefully denied as 'absurd and offensive.' 

No court, federal prosecutor or credible investigation has substantiated them. If ever proven true, she would have committed federal marriage fraud.

Omar was born in Somalia and came to the US in 1995. She became a naturalized citizen, though the precise date has not been independently confirmed.

In 2002, Omar entered into an Islamic ceremony with Ahmed Hirsi, the father of her children, though the couple never completed the civil marriage process and were not legally wed. 

By 2008, the relationship had ended. In 2009, she legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen. 

That marriage ended in 2011 when the couple separated and divorced.

Omar has been married to political consultant Tim Mynett since 2020, after divorcing Elmi in 2017.

 

Mace on on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday January 21, 2026

Mace and Omar exchanged jabs on X following the joint US/Israel strikes on Iran

 

Mace has also asked the House Intelligence Committee to look into Omar's immigration records.

It is not the first time the South Carolinian's alleged drinking habits have been brought up publicly. 

Numerous former members of Team Mace who spoke with New York Magazine earlier this year shared their nightmarish experiences of working for her.

'Look, when I worked for her, our poor scheduler was getting calls at two o'clock in the morning to bring her bottles of tequila,' one former staffer told the NY Mag.

Alcohol was not the only substance Mace allegedly used, with multiple staffers also noting her cannabis use, described by some as 'excessive.'

Another staffer claims they were allegedly instructed by Mace to look up forums on the social media site Reddit that ranked the 'hottest women in Congress' and to raise her standing with comments and 'upvotes.'

After the publication of the New York Magazine story, Mace took to social media to say that she has a gene that prevents her from drinking, an assertion that was rebuked by a number of her colleagues, as well as a slew of photos and videos she has posted on social media over the last few years. 

 

Mace is seen here in an undated photograph in a swimsuit and with a glass in her hand

 

On Sunday morning, the US military confirmed that three American servicemembers have been killed and five more wounded in the Operation, known as 'Epic Fury.'

About 40 other members of Khamenei's regime were killed alongside the Supreme Leader in the strike.

 

Iran's supreme leader was killed in an attack on his compound that also left 40 top officials of the regime dead. A satellite image shows smoke rising from the compound following the attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that strikes in Iran would continue 'as long as necessary.' One of those strikes in Tehran is pictured from a video released by the Israeli Army on Sunday

Iran's supreme leader was killed in an attack on his compound that also left 40 top officials of the regime dead. A satellite image shows smoke rising from the compound following the attack

 

The strike, which was carried out by joint US-Israel operations, took advantage of months of intelligence gathering by the CIA, which learned that a meeting of top Iranian officials would be taking place in Tehran, the country's capital.

After the initial salvo of missiles, Iran swiftly retaliated and fired back at US bases in the Middle East, including in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE and Jordan.

The country also fired missiles at Israel, where the death toll near Jerusalem rose to at least eight as of Sunday morning.

TRUMP TOLD THE DAILY MAIL THAT HE EXPECTED THE FIGHTING TO GO ON FOR FOUR WEEKS

Trump breaks silence on US troops killed in Iran war: President gives bleak warning to Americans and reveals four-week plan in candid interview with the Daily Mail

 

By Nikki Schwab 

 

Daily Mail

Mar 1, 2026

 

 

President Donald Trump spoke by phone with the Daily Mail Sunday afternoon from Mar-a-Lago and talked about the three American service members who were killed in action amid the strikes on Iran 

 

President Donald Trump broke his silence Sunday on the first US casualties of the Iran war in an exclusive phone interview with the Daily Mail. 

Three US service members were killed in the fighting. They have yet to be identified publicly.

'They're great people,' the president said. 'And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous - it could happen again.'

Trump acknowledged that the three casualties were the first in his second term, as the January capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and the June bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities were pulled off without a single American death.

'We've done pretty well,' he noted, adding, 'But they're great people, with outstanding records, outstanding.' 

Trump also revealed a potential timeline for the war with Iran - suggesting fighting could go on for the next four weeks. 

'It's always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so. It's always been about a four-week process so - as strong as it is, it's a big country, it'll take four weeks - or less,' the president explained. 

He said he hasn't been surprised by any of the outcomes of the strikes thus far.

 

Smoke and flames rise behind buildings after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, on the second consecutive day of strikes by US and Israeli forces. Trump told the Daily Mail that he expected the fighting to go on for four weeks

 

'No, I think it's going as per planned. You know, other than we took out their entire leadership - far, far more than what we thought. Looks like 48,' he answered. 

The president remained open to more talks with the Iranians, but couldn't say if they would happen 'soon.' 

'I don't know,' he answered. 'They want to, they want to talk, but I said you should have talked last week not this week.'

The president spoke to the Daily Mail from his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he's been hunkered down since ordering the strikes on Iran. 

The president, as he said he would during that interview, addressed the American people again via a Truth Social video later Sunday afternoon. 

He vowed to 'avenge' US troops killed in the war in Iran, issued a new ultimatum to the enemy and implored America to back his battle for 'freedom' in his second address to the nation in 48 hours.

'America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against basically, civilization,' Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday after the deaths of three service personnel in Kuwait.

Trump told Iran's leaders to give up the fight which has exploded across the Middle East, with missiles raining down on Israel, Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, and on American military bases in the region.

Donald Trump vowed to 'avenge' US troops killed in the war in Iran , issued a new ultimatum to the enemy and implored America to back his battle for 'freedom' in his second address to the nation in 48 hours

 

'These intolerable threats will not continue any longer. I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death,' the president said.

He urged the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the Islamic regime, saying: 'Be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country.'

Trump appealed to Americans to support the war amid growing discontent among his Republican allies and disastrous polling showing most Americans oppose the war ahead of crucial midterm elections in November. 

'We're undertaking this massive operation not merely to ensure security for our own time and place, but for our children and their children, just as our ancestors have done for us many, many years ago,' the president said.

'This is the duty and the burden of a free people. These actions are right and they are necessary to ensure that Americans will never have to face a radical, bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons.'

Trump called the three service members 'true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.'

He added: 'Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That´s the way it is. Likely be more.'

The US and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on the country's ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

 

Smoke rises after explosions rocked multiple areas of Tehran on Sunday during the second day of US and Israeli strikes against the Islamic regime, which took out 48 leaders, Trump told the Daily Mail on Sunday 

 

Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above the capital city of Tehran.

More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.

The president told The Daily Mail he had spoken Sunday with the leaders of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and a 'couple of others.' 

Responding to the news that Saudi Arabia could launch attacks on Iran after being initially targeted, the president said, 'they're fighting, they're fighting too.'  

Trump is expected back in Washington, DC later Sunday. 

He said his people had been in touch with the families of the deceased service members.  

'And I'll be meeting with their families at the appropriate time,' he said.

Trump said he'd 'maybe' travel out to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the solemn dignified transfer of the troops' remains or invite the families to the White House. 

He also remained hopeful that a democracy could grow in Iran after the US and Israeli strikes end.

'I do,' he answered. 'It'll be very interesting to watch, but a lot of things could happen and a lot of very positive things could happen.' 

MURDERER DID NOT BELIEVE THAT CIGARETTES WERE BAD FOR HIM

How a cigarette finally solved a brutal murder that haunted a quiet California town for decades

 

By Alyssa Guzman 

 

Daily Mail

Mar 1, 2026

 

 

Sarah Geer, 13, was raped and murdered in Cloverdale, California, on May 23, 1982 

 

Cloverdale is full of lush greenery with bright citrus trees lining the streets in the heart of California's wine country.   

Forty years ago the upper-middle-class town, that now has 9,000 residents, was the last place you would expect a violent rape and murder to take place on the street. 

Neighbors looked after each other, and children played freely outside at night.

But in 1982, 13-year-old Sarah Geer was raped and strangled to death. Her attacker hid in plain sight for nearly 45 years.

'This forever changed our little town,' mayor Todd Lands told the Daily Mail. 

Now 64-year-old James Oliver Unick has finally been convicted of Sarah's brutal murder and will pay the price for his crimes, all because of a discarded cigarette. 

Sarah had been having a sleepover at her friend Dana's home. Sarah, Dana, and her friend's mother had gone shopping and had dinner in Santa Rosa before dropping Sarah off at her home around 8pm on May 23, 1982. 

But instead of turning in for the night, Sarah ventured out again around 11pm, this time to her friend Cheryl's house. She went to ask her friend if she wanted to go for a walk downtown, but Cheryl declined. 

 

James Oliver Unick escaped prosecution for nearly 45 years. He was arrested in 2024 (pictured) and has now been convicted

 

The two hung out for roughly 45 minutes before Sarah left and headed downtown that put her in the path of Unick's home, District Attorney Carla Rodriguez told the Daily Mail. 

At some point, Unick, then 20, forcibly dragged her down an alley and behind a fence near an apartment building, where he removed her shoes, partially undressed her, discarded her tampon and violently raped her. 

After assaulting her, he used Sarah's shorts to strangled her to death before fleeing the scene. 

The little girl's body was found the next morning by an off-duty fireman, who was coming home from his long shift, Rodriguez said. 

Sarah's uncle, who also testified at Unick's trial last month, identified the girl's body. 

Lands, who is a Cloverdale native, told the Daily Mail that in the 1980s it was normal for children to walk home alone late at night.

For nearly 45 years, Sarah's murder went unsolved, stumping investigators who had no leads and leaving the tight-knit community to wonder what happened to her. 

Her killing left 'parents and families nervous and suspicious, and made the neighbors more vigilant,' he said. 

 

During her late-night walk to downtown, Sarah had to pass Unick's residence (pictured). At some point, he forcibly dragged her down an alley and behind a fence near an apartment building and raped her

 

'I remember as a kid, Cloverdale started a "block parent" program, that put signs in their windows, to show kids where they could go for safety, if they were ever in trouble,' the 48-year-old said. 

For years her case went cold but when the budget allowed the police department to reopen the case, they did, Lands added. 

There was a brief resurgence in 2003 after a criminalist at the state Department of Justice developed a DNA profile based on the sperm sample found in Sarah's underwear, but the lead went nowhere as no one was a match in California's system. 

It led to nearly another decade of no leads, but the case began to pick up speed again in 2021, when the Cloverdale Police Department hired private investigator Kevin Cline to help solve the murder. 

In June 2023, Cline reached out to the FBI, hoping its much larger genealogy database could help generate any investigative leads, as technology far exceeded that used during the initial investigation in the 1980s. 

Eight months later, the FBI's database linked the sperm to four brothers, including James Oliver Unick. 

Federal agents started building profiles on all the brothers, finding that two of them resided out of state, while the two others - including James Oliver Unick - lived in California. 

Agents also found that he had originally been interviewed by police during the initial investigation. 

'So, investigators focused on getting a surreptitious DNA sample from him first,' Rodriguez told the Daily Mail. 

After surveilling him for months, investigators swooped in and picked up a cigarette he discarded in late May 2024.

A week later, a Department of Justice lab report linked the cigarette butt to the sperm fraction DNA profile found in Sarah's underwear, as well as to other DNA found on the clothing she was wearing at the time of her death. 

'It turned out to be a match to our evidence,' Rodriguez said.

A month and a half later, in July 2024, the Cloverdale Police Department pounced, dragging him into handcuffs and stuffing him into a cop car after arresting him at his home in Willows, which is roughly 140 miles away from Sarah's hometown. 

Unick had moved from Cloverdale to Willows around 1990, Rodriguez told the Daily Mail. 

And days later, the cheek swab they took at the time of his arrest came back as a direct match for the sperm sample in a DOJ lab, Rodriguez added. 

Agents also collected DNA samples from the other three brothers, all of which were 'confirmed to be excluded as contributors to the sperm profile from our evidence,' the district attorney added.

 

Cloverdale was considered a safe neighborhood where neighbors watched out for each other

The tree-lined town never forgot about Sarah and continued to demand justice for her 

 

Unick was charged with murder, rape, kidnapping, and forcible lewd acts with a minor under 14.  

He told investigators he didn't know Sarah and had no recollection of what happened decades ago when he was pushed for answers following his arrest. 

However, the rapist would switch his story during his month-long trial, stating that he and the 13-year-old had consensual sex after she propositioned him while he was playing a video game at a downtown arcade. 

He claimed they had sexual intercourse on a hillside near the Russian River and told jurors the girl had to have been murdered and assaulted by a different man who 'failed to leave behind any DNA evidence,' the DA's office said. 

Jurors rejected his version of events after two hours of deliberations and found him guilty. 

Unick will be sentenced in April. He is expected to get life without parole.

'The entire prosecution team is thankful to the dedicated investigators who worked so hard to solve Sarah’s murder,' Rodriguez told the Daily Mail about the conclusion of the case. 

'The residents of Cloverdale never forgot about Sarah and their police chief listened. This case shows that when a community works together, results happen.' 

 

Mayor Todd Lands (pictured left), a native of the town, remembered Cloverdale doing a 'block parent' program, where homes had signs to signal a safe place for children to go to when in trouble. DA Carla Rodriguez (pictured right) said the community's continued support of the case helped bring it to a close

 

Lands told the Daily Mail: 'With the proper preservation of evidence from the night of the crime, coupled with new technology and trained investigators, they were able to get justice for Sarah Geer. 

'I cannot imagine the pain this family went through. Losing a child to a horrific crime like this is my worst nightmare,' the father-of-two said. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Cloverdale Police Department and Unick's attorney, Gabriel Quinnan, for comment.