Israel, US bomb Iran: A timeline of how threats escalated into war
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is dead, the Gulf is on fire, and global markets are in chaos.
One weekend, precisely the last of February and the first of March 2026, changed everything. We are now living in the midst of a war that is escalating with every airstrike, missile and bomb.
It began on Feb 28, when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in a massive operation to destroy the country’s military and nuclear capabilities. Tehran responded with missile and air strikes across the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Israel.
Iran has also vowed to hit the US and Israel with a force “never seen before”. Meanwhile, in a video address earlier today, President Donald Trump warned Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms or “face certain death”. He added that America was standing with the people of Iran.
But how did we get here? Here is a timeline:
2025: The Iran-Israel standoff
Even though the roots of the matter go back a long way (read here), last year’s 12-day war between Iran and Israel is where things picked up pace.
On June 13, 2025, Tel Aviv launched major air strikes against Iranian nuclear and military facilities while the Islamic republic was in nuclear talks with the US. Tehran responded with large-scale missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities.
A few days later, Washington too entered the war by claiming attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan. Trump even stated that Tehran’s nuclear programme was consequently degraded, but Iran refuted the claims.
The war eventually ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, but talks between Washington and Tehran fell apart. Western countries accuse the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies, though it insists on its right to enrichment for civilian purposes. Iran, for its part, is seeking to negotiate an end to sanctions that have proven to be a massive drag on its economy.
January 2026: Massive protests in Iran
At the tail end of 2025, one of Iran’s largest and most violent protest movements broke out over an inflationary spiral — a dire economy and the aftermath of the war with Israel — resulting in thousands of deaths, cancelled flights, and a communications blackout that lasted for days.
The Iranian supreme leader had then accused protesters of acting on behalf of Trump, adding that the US president’s hands “are stained with the blood of more than a thousand Iranians” and told him to focus on the problem inside America.
On the other hand, Trump made use of the situation, encouraging Iranians to keep protesting and promising that “help is on the way” — a rhetoric that he has used since. He had also warned Tehran of consequences if it “violently kills peaceful protesters”.
However, Washington came close to — and then stepped back from — military action.
February 2026: Nuclear talks resume
In Feb, Iran and the US held three rounds of discussions mediated by Oman and hosted by Geneva, after Washington pursued a major military build-up in the region in tandem with the talks, and both sides traded threats of military action for weeks.
During this time, Trump repeatedly threatened strikes on Iran. On Feb 19, he had given Iran 15 days to reach a deal, and while Tehran insisted the discussions focus solely on its nuclear programme, the US wanted Tehran’s missile programme and its support for armed groups curtailed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had, however, responded that the US would have to drop its “excessive demands” to reach a deal. On the other hand, in a “breakthrough development” on February 27, mediator Oman had said that Iran agreed never to stockpile enriched uranium in indirect talks with the US.
Feb 28: D-day
A day later, Israel and the US launched large-scale coordinated strikes on Iran. The missiles struck several areas of Tehran, state media reported, adding that smoke was seen rising in the city. In heartbreaking scenes, an Israeli strike also hit an elementary school in Minab, a city in southern Iran, killing 175 people and leaving 100 others injured.
One of the areas targeted in Iran’s capital was near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reported The Associated Press.
Shortly after, explosions rocked various parts of Israel and the Gulf states that host US military assets, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Iran’s Fars news agency had confirmed that the country had carried out attacks targeting military bases in each of these countries.
Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain said they had intercepted Iranian missiles. UAE state media reported the death of one person in Abu Dhabi, according to Reuters, but did not give more details.
On Dubai’s posh Palm Islands, a fire broke out near a hotel, and huge plumes of smoke could be seen from a distance as multiple blasts echoed throughout the day. Meanwhile, falling shrapnel from intercepted missiles caused concern across the region.
In Bahrain, such debris landed on a road in the Sanad area, near an army headquarters, and Qatar’s interior ministry warned against touching any fragments.
March 1: Khamenei assassinated
As the night descended into March 1, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, along with his family and other top commanders, was killed in the airstrikes. President Trump followed Tel Aviv by stating the same in a post on social media platform Truth Social as well.
Initially, officials in Tehran denied the claim, with some even saying that Khamenei was to address the people of Iran soon. However, as the run rose above the Islamic republic, the Iranian media broke the news of Khamenei’s assassination and declared 40 days of national mourning along with seven public holidays.
Among the dead were also Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Supreme Leader military office head Mohammad Shirazi, police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian and top security adviser Ali Shamkhani.
Khamenei’s daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and daughter-in-law were also killed in the strikes, Iranian media reported. State media said Khamenei was working in his office when Saturday’s attack struck.
Subsequently, Alireza Arafi was appointed as the jurist member of Iran’s Leadership Council, a body tasked with fulfilling the supreme leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader, ISNA news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the escalation remained swift and deadly on several fronts; Iranian missiles killed at least nine people in a central Israeli town, while the US and Israel continued the bombardment of Tehran. Separately, explosions were heard in Gulf cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Dubai International Airport sustained damage during Iran’s attacks, while airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait were also hit. In Dubai, puffs of white smoke from missile interceptions were seen while billows of dark smoke rose over the Jebel Ali port, Al Jazeera reported.
The three people killed in the UAE attacks were Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationals, the Ministry of Defence in Abu Dhabi said.
Later in the day, the Oman News Agency reported that the Duqm commercial port came under attack by two drones, adding that an expatriate worker was injured in the attack.
March 2: The first of the US casualties
In the early morning hours, the US Centcom confirmed that three US servicemen were killed and another five were wounded in the operation against Iran. Subsequently, in a video address, Trump paid tribute to the three killed as “true American patriots” but warned that there will likely be more casualties. “That’s the way it is,” he said.
At the same time, the US president vowed that military strikes on Iran would continue until “all our objectives are achieved”, but fell short of providing specifics. He said the assault had so far wiped out Iran’s military command and destroyed nine Iranian navy ships and a naval building.
Around Monday afternoon, Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence said several US military aircraft crashed in the city. All crew members survived and were in stable condition. In a separate incident, smoke was seen rising near the US Embassy compound in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Iran said its nuclear facility at Natanz was struck during US and Israeli military operations. Iranian media stated that at least 555 people had been killed in the country since Feb 28.
Separately, airstrikes were reported in Tehran and some Gulf states.
Header image: A person uses a mobile phone to record as supporters of Iraqi Shia armed groups attempt to move toward the US embassy located in Baghdad’s Green Zone following the Israel and US strikes on Iran. — Reuters