**NOTE: The Talon does not affiliate with political parties, agendas, beliefs, etc. All statements made in this article are factual, and have been thoroughly factchecked by numerous sources**
On February 28, 2026, a joint-military operation was conducted by the United States of America and Israel. Codename: Operation Epic Fury.
Operation Epic Fury is ongoing, and has sparked chaos within the Middle East, with effects soon to hit the global supply chain. It’s important to note that there is minimal threat to the United States.
It’s no understatement this is the largest U.S. military operation in many years. US Central Command (USCENTCOM) described Operation Epic Fury as “involving the largest regional concentration of American military firepower in a generation.”
Around 1:15 A.M. ET on Feb. 28th, the United States of America and Israel began Operation Epic Fury. Within hours, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, igniting a power vacuum in the nation.
President Donald Trump briefed the nation, saying “now is the time for Iranians to take back their nation”.
Iran has been under a dictatorship since 1979, and has only had two leaders since then. From 1979-1989, the leader of the Iranian Revolution (transition to a dictatorship), Ruhollah Khomeini was the Supreme Leader. From 1989 to February 2026, Ali Khamenei was the dictator of Iran, maintaining an authoritarian Islamic dictatorship.
In June of 2025, the US was the sole actor of Operation Midnight Hammer, a single-round of “bunker-buster” missiles launched on Iran, meant to inhibit their ability to produce nuclear weapons.
The question on the minds of many: why is this happening? Why are we, the United States of America, going into a foreign country and blowing it up? Many news outlets, politicians, senators, community members, have different beliefs.
One belief is the suspicion that Iran has nuclear weapons, or had the proper facilities to make them. That was the justification for Operation Midnight Hammer last year, and seemingly is again for Epic Fury.
Another reason is the half-century spanning partnership between Israel and the U.S. The security of Israel and the Middle East as a whole have been a top priority of the US for decades, and the idea of a middle-eastern country having nuclear warheads hasn’t sat well with world leaders. However, according to PolitiFact, Iran wouldn’t be capable of producing a long-range nuclear weapon until 2035.
As a high school student, I certainly don’t remember Operation Desert Storm of the 2000s, nor the War on Terror.
However, this un-declared war truly began in the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when Iranian Revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 66 American hostages as ransom.
My grandfather, Howie Vaccarella, remembers the 1979 hostage crisis and the various public opinions. He said the following.
“I felt outraged, I didn’t understand why we didn’t make a military move on it immediately. The sentiment was bad in our country.”
Last week, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) cancelled their planned 1812-kilometer race in Qatar, citing the situation in the Middle East as the cause. The war is starting to affect many things in the region.
News frequency grows each day. Most recently, U.S. Embassies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been struck by Iranian drones, causing fires to break out.
**This story is still breaking. Please keep yourself informed of more news about the situation. The Talon recommends sources such as AP News, Reuters, US CENTCOM, and other neutral and relevant sources**
