President Donald Trump exchanged threats with remnants of the Iranian regime ahead of the second day of the joint U.S.-Israeli regime-change strikes on the West Asian nation.
Tehran, evidently keen to test Trump’s resolve despite losing most of its military and political leaders in Saturday’s assassinations, sought to make good on its tough talk with continued retaliatory strikes in the region, killing at least three Americans, at least nine Israelis, and multiple victims in neighboring Arab states.
‘We will hunt you down, and we will kill you.’
The U.S and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, aerially assassinating Iran’s top brass — including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the head of Iran’s foreign intelligence unit, and the regime’s adviser on the war with Israel — and destroying hundreds of “regime targets” including an Iranian Jamaran-class warship.
Following confirmation that their dictator, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes, multitudes of Iranians gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab Square to mourn his demise while remaining elements of the regime vowed revenge.
Iran promptly responded with retaliatory strikes in Bahrain, Qatar, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, and Oman — in several cases targeting U.S. military assets.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the Iranian military, stated, “God willing, we will give a lesson to the U.S. and Israel that they have not experienced in their history,” reported the Iranian state-linked Tasnim News Agency.
RELATED: Israeli officials say Khamenei is dead. Update: Trump confirms.
Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images
Amidst more bluster from Iranian regimists who formed a transitional council to lead the country following Khamenei’s death, President Donald Trump noted on Truth Social shortly after midnight on Sunday, “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
Like Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made abundantly clear precisely what fate awaits those who’d target American forces: “We will hunt you down, and we will kill you.”
Iran — whose media alleged that over 200 people, including 145 children, were killed in the initial joint U.S.-Israel strikes — did not heed Trump’s warning.
On Sunday morning, the decapitated regime launched another wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel and American military assets, including the U.S. Fifth Fleet’s headquarters in Bahrain.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly claimed in a statement on Sunday that the Iranian military will continue to act “with power” and “frustrate the enemies as always.”
Pezeshkian reportedly also characterized the attacks “by the American-Zionist axis” as a “declaration of open war with Muslims, especially Shiites in the world.”
Amid the latest round of Iranian retaliation strikes, U.S. Central Command indicated that “as of 9:30 am ET, March 1, three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury.”
‘These are painful days.’
“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty,” CENTCOM noted further. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”
After bombarding Tehran overnight, the Israeli Air Force announced late Sunday morning that it had “begun another wave of strikes in the heart of Tehran.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “Our forces are now striking at the heart of Tehran with intensifying force, and this will only grow even stronger in the coming days. That said, these are painful days.”
The U.S. has similarly executed another round of strikes against Iran, reported CBS News.
Trump told CNBC on Sunday that the American operation in Iran is “moving along very well, very well — ahead of schedule.”
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War, Regime change, Regime, Iran, Tehran, Khamenei, Arabian sea, Centcom, Foreign entanglements, Donald trump, Israel, Iranian, Politics