When missiles fly, we expect explosions. We expect smoke, sirens and satellite images. What we do not expect is silence. 

On February 28, 2026, as fighter jets and cruise missiles struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard command centers during Operation Roar of the Lion, a parallel assault reportedly unfolded in cyberspace. 

Official news sites and key media platforms went offline, government digital services and local apps failed across major cities, and security communications systems reportedly stopped functioning, plunging Iran into a near-total digital blackout.

According to NetBlocks, a global internet monitoring organization that tracks connectivity disruptions, nationwide internet traffic in Iran plunged to just 4 percent of normal levels. 

That level of collapse suggests either a deliberate state-ordered shutdown or a large-scale cyberattack designed to paralyze critical infrastructure. Western intelligence sources later indicated the digital offensive aimed to disrupt IRGC command and control systems and limit coordination of counterattacks. 

For the United States and its allies, the episode offers a stark reminder that modern conflict now blends airstrikes with digital warfare in ways that can ripple far beyond the battlefield.

In a matter of hours, modern conflict looked less like tanks and more like a blinking cursor.

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Iran internet shutdown: A country offline in real time

Reports described widespread outages across Iran. Official news sites stopped functioning. IRNA, Iran’s state-run news agency, went offline. 

Tasnim, a semi-official news outlet closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly displayed subversive messages targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 

The IRGC, Iran’s powerful military and intelligence force, plays a central role in national security and regional operations. At the same time, local apps and government digital services failed in cities like Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz.

This was not one website defaced for headlines. It appeared systemic. Electronic warfare reportedly disrupted navigation and communications systems. 

Distributed denial of service attacks, often called DDoS attacks, flooded networks with traffic to overwhelm and disable them. 

Deep intrusions targeted energy and aviation systems. Even Iran’s isolated national internet struggled under pressure. 

For a regime that tightly controls information, losing digital command creates both operational and political risk.

Why cyber warfare matters in the Iran conflict

Cyber operations offer something missiles cannot. They disrupt without always killing. They send a signal without immediately triggering full-scale war. That matters in a region where escalation can spiral fast. 

History shows Iran understands this logic. Between 2012 and 2014, Iranian actors targeted U.S. financial institutions in Operation Ababil. Saudi Aramco also suffered a major cyberattack. 

After Israeli strikes in 2025, cyberattacks targeting Israel surged dramatically within days.

Cyber retaliation lets leaders respond while limiting direct military confrontation. It buys leverage in negotiations. It creates pressure without necessarily crossing a red line.

But there is a catch. Every cyber strike risks miscalculation. And digital damage can spill into the real world fast if critical infrastructure is hit.

If the blackout and strikes mark a turning point, Tehran has options. None are simple.

1) Cyberattacks against U.S. or allied infrastructure

Cyber retaliation remains one of Iran’s most flexible tools. It can range from disruptive attacks and influence campaigns to more targeted intrusions that pressure critical services. Recent expert commentary warns that U.S. cyber defenses and the private sector could face sustained testing.

2) Targeting U.S. drones and unmanned systems

Iran has used drones and electronic interference as signals before. Analysts continue to flag jamming, spoofing and harassment of unmanned systems as a way to raise costs without immediately striking large numbers of personnel.

3) Maritime attacks in the Strait of Hormuz

This risk is rising fast. An EU naval mission official reportedly said IRGC radio transmissions warned ships that passage through Hormuz was ‘not allowed’. Greece has also urged ships to avoid high-risk routes and warned about electronic interference that can disrupt navigation. Insurers are already repricing the danger, with reports of war-risk policies being canceled or sharply increased.

4) Support for allied or informal armed groups

Iran has long worked with allied forces and militias in the region, and some of those groups could step up attacks on U.S. interests or allied partners in retaliation, widening the clash without direct state-to-state engagement.

5) Limited ballistic missile strikes

Missile strikes remain a high-impact option, but they raise the odds of rapid escalation. Recent expert analysis continues to frame them as a tool Iran may use for signaling, especially if leadership feels cornered.

The escalation risk between the U.S. and Iran

Here is the uncomfortable truth. Neither Washington nor Tehran likely wants a full-scale regional war. In moments like this, military strikes rarely stand alone. 

They often move alongside diplomacy. Leaders send signals. They apply pressure. At the same time, they try to leave room for talks.

But escalation has momentum. Each missile changes the equation. Each casualty raises the stakes. The more damage done, the harder it becomes to step back. 

Fear plays a role. So does pride. Domestic audiences demand strength. Leaders feel pressure to respond in kind. That is how limited strikes can spiral into something much larger.

What the Iran cyberattack blackout means for global cybersecurity

This episode highlights something bigger than regional tension. Nation-states now pair kinetic strikes with digital offensives. 

Cyberattacks can blind communications, freeze infrastructure and disrupt financial systems before the world even processes the first explosion.

For businesses and individuals, that reality matters. Modern conflict no longer stays confined to battlefields. 

Supply chains, energy grids and online platforms can feel the ripple effects. The blackout in Iran serves as a reminder that digital resilience is now a national security issue. 

How to stay safe during rising cyber tensions

When a country’s internet can plunge to just 4 percent of normal traffic in hours, it is a reminder that cyber conflict can escalate quickly. 

Even if the disruption happens overseas, global networks are interconnected. Financial systems, supply chains and online platforms can feel the ripple effects.

You cannot control geopolitics. You can control your digital hygiene. Here are practical steps to reduce your personal risk during periods of heightened cyber activity:

Install strong antivirus software to guard against state-linked phishing and malware campaigns that often spike during geopolitical conflicts. 

Nation-state actors frequently exploit breaking news and global instability to spread malicious links and ransomware. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com

Keep devices updated so security patches close vulnerabilities that attackers often exploit during global cyber spikes.

Use strong, unique passwords stored in a reputable password manager to protect your accounts if cyber retaliation campaigns expand beyond government targets. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on financial, email and social accounts to safeguard access in case stolen credentials circulate during heightened cyber conflict.

Be cautious with urgent headlines or alerts about international conflict, since attackers frequently mimic breaking news.

Monitor financial accounts for unusual activity in case broader disruptions spill into banking systems.

When tensions rise, phishing campaigns often rise with them. Threat actors exploit fear and confusion. Staying disciplined with basic security habits makes you a harder target if malicious traffic increases.

Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com        

Kurt’s key takeaways

The reported cyber blackout inside Iran may signal a new chapter in modern conflict. Jets and missiles still matter. But so do servers, satellites and code. Leaders may try to contain the damage while showing strength. 

Still, history shows how quickly careful plans can unravel once pressure builds. War today runs on electricity and bandwidth as much as fuel and ammunition. 

When networks go dark, the impact does not stay on a battlefield. It spills into banking systems, airports, hospitals and the phones in our pockets. That is what makes this moment different.

If an entire nation’s digital systems can be disrupted in hours, how prepared is your community if something similar ever hits closer to home?  Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved. 

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As the White House confirmed on Sunday, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leadership has contacted the U.S. asking for talks. The list of potential successors to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday by an Israeli airstrike, includes his son and former advisers. 

Since the establishment in 1979 of the Islamic Republic, led by the fiery anti-American Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, this will be only the second time that a new supreme leader has been selected. 

The potential successors to Khamenei include a list of hard-line anti-Western extremists who, like Khamenei, are set on the destruction of Israel and the continued export of the Islamic revolution.

Ali Larijani

One possible successor is regime loyalist Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who reportedly implemented Khamenei’s plan to massacre over 30,000 Iranians who protested against his regime in January.

On Saturday, he threatened a response in a statement on X on Saturday, writing, ‘We will make the Zionist criminals and the vile Americans regret it,’ adding, ‘The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hell-bound oppressors of the international order.’

In January, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Larijani as one of ‘the architects of the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.’ The statement added, ‘Larijani was one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people.’

Larijani was the president of the Islamic Republic’s parliament and, like Khamenei, has engaged in Holocaust denial. Larijani was also a commander for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S. and EU-designated terrorist organization.

Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute of National Security Studies in Israel, questioned reports claiming that Larijani is favorite to be the next supreme leader. He told Fox News Digital, ‘Larijani is not a cleric, but he can help some of the candidates who are clerics behind the curtains, such as his brother, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, who was head of the judiciary.’ 

Mohammad-Javad Larijani

Mohammad-Javad Larijani has called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust. He was previously secretary general of Iran’s high council for human rights. 

As a close adviser to the late supreme leader, he has defended stoning for adultery, declaring it protects ‘family values’ as part of Islamic law. 

Mojataba Khamenei

Another replacement for Khamenei might be his second son, Mojtaba, who works closely with IRGC. The first Trump administration sanctioned him in 2019. 

According to the Treasury Department sanction designation, ‘The Supreme Leader has delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities to Mojataba Khamenei, who worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and also the Basij Resistance Force (Basij) to advance his father’s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.’ 

Iran International reported that the IRGC seeks a rapid-fire replacement for Khamenei. The Islamic system in Iran prescribes an elected body of 88 senior clerics—the Assembly of Experts—to select the next leader.

Alireza Arafi

The cleric and jurist Alireza Arafi, 67, who is part of a three-person temporary leadership council to run Iran might also be the successor to Khamenei.

According to the U.S.group United Against a Nuclear Iran, Arafi promised ‘death’ to protesters who knock over the turbans of Iranian Islamic clerics. ‘Those who attack the turbans of the clergy should know that the turban will become their shroud,’ Arafi said. 

Ayatollah Mohammad-Mehdi Mirbagheri 

The extremist Ayatollah Mohammad-Mehdi Mirbagheri is also a contender to replace Khamenei. Mirbagheri argues for fighting and overcoming ‘infidels.’ 

Mirbagheri has quoted Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, declaring that a ‘new culture based on Islam in the world’ would mean ‘hardship, martyrdom and hunger’ and that Iranian people had ‘voluntarily chosen’ to embrace this activity, according to Iran International. Mirbagheri’s theological credentials position him as a natural replacement for Khamenei.

Other names

Another clerical successor to Khamenei being discussed is Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He is the custodian of the Khomeini mausoleum and, at 53 is young by the Islamic Republic’s standards for leadership.

United Against a Nuclear Iran ranked Ayatollah Seyyed Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, who was born in 1956 in Bardkhun, Bushehr, a second tier candidate to replace Khamenei.

‘Bushehr, is a powerful figure in Iran’s religious and academic spheres. He embarked on his theological education in Bushehr before moving to Qom to further his studies. 

According to UANI, In 2024, Bushehri urged Iranian women to ‘address issues such as the status of women’s rights in Western societies and the flaws that exist in this area in the West,’ which would prevent the ‘enemy [the West]’ to ‘not even have a chance to challenges us [Iran].’

Iran analyst, Sabti, who was born in Tehran, said, ‘I don’t think that Israel and the U.S. should allow them to choose the next leader.’ He compared the successor system to Hamas when Israel eliminates a Hamas terrorist leader, and he is swiftly replaced with a new leader. 

‘There is a need to ‘prevent the next leader from being chosen,’ he said. ‘Maybe we can eliminate the next one even before he is chosen.’ 

He said it is important to ‘break the system’ to prevent the continuation of terrorism. ‘It is bad for Arab countries and Israel if the regime remains the same’ in Iran.  

Sabti said the regime can continue to build its illicit nuclear weapons program, ballistic missiles and sponsor terrorism, adding it is better to dissolve the regime and ‘bring in a new system. 

He concluded that regime change requires ‘talking to the people,’ and, ‘maybe it is time for them to come out and make the good revolution.’ 

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American counterterrorism agencies are quietly monitoring suspected sleeper cells on U.S. soil in the wake of joint U.S.–Israel strikes on Iran, stepping up surveillance amid heightened fears of possible retaliation from Iran-linked operatives or sympathizers.

Federal and local law enforcement have also boosted on-the-ground security in major U.S. cities as part of a precautionary posture, even though no specific, credible threats have been publicly identified.

The move comes on the heels of a Saturday morning operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials in a coordinated U.S.–Israeli military campaign.

Security experts warn that the fallout could extend beyond the Middle East.

‘If ever there’s going to be a Hezbollah cell or a Hamas cell act in the United States in a violent way it’s now,’ Chris Swecker, a former assistant FBI director, told Fox News.

‘Both organizations are Iranian-backed all the way. Both organizations have had a presence in the United States since the 1980s,’ he added.

Swecker said U.S. authorities have long been aware of domestic networks and sympathizers.

‘We know that they have cells here. We also know that there are lone sympathizers, many of whom have come out in these protest groups,’ he added.

He also warned that border security vulnerabilities may have compounded the risk.

‘We just come off four years of open borders, and I have said before that that was an open door for terrorists to terrorist cells and terror sympathizers to infiltrate. Many were already here, but it’s impossible that they would not infiltrate into these particular groups and sort of act as catalysts, as enablers.’

Against that backdrop, the FBI is moving to reinforce its domestic security posture.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday that counterterrorism and intelligence teams are now on high alert amid ongoing U.S. actions involving Iran.

‘Last night, I instructed our Counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed,’ Patel wrote on X.

Patel added that while the U.S. military is handling force protection overseas, the FBI ‘remains at the forefront of deterring attacks here at home’ and will continue working around the clock to protect Americans.

Jason Pack, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and Fox News contributor, said heightened monitoring is routine when U.S. military operations intersect with adversaries that have historically responded through indirect or unconventional means.

‘The intelligence and counterterrorism communities work on this kind of scenario continuously, long before any conflict begins,’ Pack said. ‘When the United States commits to a joint military campaign with Israel, the domestic threat environment doesn’t simply remain static. It could shift, potentially significantly.’

He noted that adversarial actors — including Hezbollah, Hamas’s external networks and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps proxies — have historically demonstrated both intent and, in some cases, the capability to retaliate against U.S. military actions.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is ‘in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.’

The heightened alert comes as parts of the Department of Homeland Security face a partial shutdown, raising additional questions about resources and operational strain at a time when federal agencies are on elevated watch.

While no specific plots have been identified, officials acknowledge the threat environment could shift quickly as tensions overseas evolve and whether that escalation reaches American soil remains to be seen.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Kelley Kramer contributed to this report. 

Three U.S. service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday morning.

In addition, several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are in the process of being returned to duty, CENTCOM announced.

‘The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified,’ CENTCOM said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Pope Leo XIV warned Sunday that U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran risk plunging the Middle East into an ‘irreparable abyss,’ urging leaders to halt a dangerous spiral of violence.

Speaking at the Angelus, the pontiff expressed ‘deep concern’ over recent developments and called on nations to choose dialogue over war.

‘Stability and peace are not built with mutual threats, nor with weapons, which sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue,’ the pope said, according to Vatican News.

‘Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions,’ he added, ‘I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss!’

The pope’s warning came after Israel and the U.S. launched a joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, dubbed ‘Operation Epic Fury.’ The attacks reportedly killed several senior leaders, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades.

Meanwhile, Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed miles from Jerusalem.

The pope reinforced his warning in a two-part message posted Sunday morning on X.

‘I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time,’ he wrote.

‘Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue.’

In a follow-up post, he warned of ‘the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions’ and urged all parties involved to ‘assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm.’

‘May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace,’ he added.

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At least nine people are dead and more than two dozen injured after violent clashes outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

Hundreds of protesters stormed the diplomatic compound in a sharp escalation of anti-American demonstrations.

The unrest followed reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike, sparking anger among Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that many of the protesters were Shiite Muslims who expressed outrage over Khamenei’s reported death and alleged U.S. involvement. Protesters chanted anti-American and anti-Israel slogans, and attempted to breach the consulate’s perimeter.

Security forces deployed police and paramilitary units as clashes intensified outside the compound.

Between 25 and 30 people were wounded in the clashes, according to local officials.

Pakistani authorities tightened security around the consulate and other U.S. diplomatic missions in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar amid fears the unrest could spread. The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan issued a security alert urging American citizens to monitor local news, avoid large crowds and remain vigilant.

‘We are monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the U.S. Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional demonstrations at U.S. Embassy Islamabad and Consulate General Peshawar,’ the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said on X. ‘We advise U.S. citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news and observe good personal security practices, including being aware of your surroundings, avoiding large crowds, and ensuring your STEP registration is up to date.’

The violence comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program, regional influence and support for proxy groups.

Pakistan has seen protests over what demonstrators describe as Western aggression.

The unrest comes as U.S. and Israeli forces continue coordinated strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure, air defenses and command centers. The Pentagon named the mission Operation Epic Fury, while the Israel Defense Forces called its portion Operation Lion’s Roar. U.S. officials said the strikes aim to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities and neutralize what they describe as imminent threats to the United States and its allies.

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Some of the top rumored Democratic potential candidates for president in 2028 are showing a united front in opposing U.S. strikes on Iran, with several high-profile figures accusing President Donald Trump of launching an unnecessary and unconstitutional war.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Trump was ‘dragging the United States into a war the American people do not want.’

‘Let me be clear: I am opposed to a regime-change war in Iran, and our troops are being put in harm’s way for the sake of Trump’s war of choice,’ Harris said in a statement Saturday following the joint U.S. and Israeli strikes throughout Iran.

‘This is a dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives that also jeopardizes stability in the region and our standing in the world,’ she continued. ‘What we are witnessing is not strength. It is recklessness dressed up as resolve.’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered some of his sharpest criticism during a book tour stop Saturday night in San Francisco, accusing Trump of manufacturing a crisis.

‘It stems from weakness masquerading as strength,’ Newsom said. ‘He lied to you. So reckless is the only way to describe this.’

‘He didn’t describe to the American people what the endgame is here,’ Newsom added. ‘There wasn’t one. He manufactured it.’

Newsom is currently promoting his memoir, ‘Young Man in a Hurry,’ with recent and upcoming stops in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada — three key early voting states in the Democratic presidential calendar.

Earlier in the day, Newsom said Iran’s ‘corrupt and repressive’ regime must never obtain nuclear weapons and that the ‘leadership of Iran must go.’

‘But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people,’ Newsom wrote on X.

California is home to more than half of the roughly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States, including a large community in West Los Angeles often referred to as ‘Tehrangeles.’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a leading progressive voice and ‘Squad’ member, accused Trump of dragging Americans into a conflict they did not support.

‘The American people are once again dragged into a war they did not want by a president who does not care about the long-term consequences of his actions. This war is unlawful. It is unnecessary. And it will be catastrophic,’ Ocasio-Cortez said.

‘Just this week, Iran and the United States were negotiating key measures that could have staved off war. The President walked away from these discussions and chose war instead,’ she continued.

‘In moments of war, our Constitution is unambiguous: Congress authorizes war. The President does not,’ she said, pledging to vote ‘YES on Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie’s War Powers Resolution.’

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, another Democrat often mentioned as a potential 2028 contender, also criticized the strikes and accused Trump of ignoring Congress.

‘No justification, no authorization from Congress, and no clear objective,’ Pritzker wrote on X.

‘Donald Trump is once again sidestepping the Constitution and once again failing to explain why he’s taking us into another war,’ he continued. ‘Americans asked for affordable housing and health care, not another potentially endless conflict.’

‘God protect our troops,’ Pritzker added.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro focused his criticism on war powers, arguing Trump acted outside constitutional guardrails.

‘In our democracy, the American people — through our elected representatives — decide when our nation goes to war,’ Shapiro said, adding that Trump ‘acted unilaterally — without Congressional approval.’

‘Make no mistake, the Iranian regime represses its own people … they must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons,’ he said. ‘But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war.’

Shapiro added that ‘Congress must use all available power’ to prevent further escalation.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also accused Trump of launching a ‘war of choice.’

‘The President has launched our nation and our great military into a war of choice, risking American lives and resources, ignoring American law, and endangering our allies and partners,’ Buttigieg wrote on X. ‘This nation learned the hard way that an unnecessary war, with no plan for what comes next, can lead to years of chaos and put America in still greater danger.’

Buttigieg has been hitting early voting states, stopping in New Hampshire and Nevada in recent weeks to campaign for Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who has been floated as a rising national figure within the party, said he lost friends in Iraq to an illegal war and opposed the strikes.

‘Young working-class kids should not pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn’t been explained or justified to the American people. We can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die,’ Gallego wrote on X. 

Fox News’ Daniel Scully and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday, calling the death, which came amid strikes from Israel and the U.S. a ‘cynical violation’ of norms.

Putin made the statement in a letter to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that the Kremlin released to the public in the wake of Khamenei’s death. Saturday’s bold daytime strikes eliminated Khamenei along with several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

‘Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,’ Putin wrote.

‘In our country, Ayatollah Khamenei will be remembered as an outstanding statesman who made a huge personal contribution to the development of friendly Russian-Iranian relations and bringing them to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership,’ Putin continued.

‘I ask you to convey my most sincere sympathy and support to the family and friends of the Supreme Leader, the government and the entire people of Iran,’ he added.

Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani condemned the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes that rained down on his country throughout Saturday during a U.N. Security Council meeting.

Iravani accused the U.S. of undermining its claims of pursuing international stability while attacking a sovereign country for its ‘domestic’ activities.

‘Neither the charter nor international law recognize internal matters of a state as justification for the use of force by other states. The rule of law would be replaced by the rule of force,’ Iravani said.

‘Iran will continue to exercise its right of self-defense decisively and without hesitation until the aggression ceases in full and unequivocal terms.’

On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump ordered the execution of Operation Epic Fury, citing Tehran’s continued efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

‘It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon,’ Trump said in remarks about the attack Saturday.

Trump said the strikes were meant to ‘defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime’ and that they had come after Iran had refused to abandon plans to develop nuclear capabilities.

Iravani called the attack a continuation of longstanding U.S. aggression against Iran.

‘Mr. president, this morning the United States regime, jointly and in coordination with the Israeli regime, initiated an unprovoked and premeditated aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the second time in recent months,’ Irvani said, referring to strikes the U.S. carried out against its nuclear enrichment sites last year. ‘The president of the United States and the prime minister of the Israeli regime have openly claimed responsibility for this act of aggression and have explicitly articulated regime change as their objective, an unmistakable admission of their intent to violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.’

Fox News’ Leo Briceno and Reuters contributed to this report.

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As coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran continue, current and former defense officials say that while a limited strike lasting several days is feasible, sustaining a broader confrontation — one involving potentially hundreds of incoming missiles — is far more complicated.

The U.S. and Israel undertook a mission known as Operation Epic Fury, targeting Iranian leadership and military sites Saturday. Its duration is still unclear, but the campaign may go on for days, according to U.S. officials. 

Sustaining operations beyond the initial window presents a more complex challenge — one shaped by a ‘zero-sum’ competition for missile defense inventories between the Middle East and Europe.

Officials and analysts warn that certain U.S. missile and air-defense interceptor inventories have been severely drawn down by the relentless pace of recent operations. The strategic dilemma for the Pentagon is that the systems required to shield U.S. bases from Iranian retaliation are the same ones being depleted by the defense of Ukraine and the ongoing protection of Israel.

Iran already has fired counterattacks near U.S. positions in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan, with several host governments saying their air defense systems intercepted incoming projectiles. No U.S. service member fatalities or injuries have been reported as of Saturday, a U.S. official told Fox News Digital. 

U.S. authorities have not publicly released casualty figures or formal damage assessments.

During the intense June 2025 Iran–Israel conflict, U.S. forces fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Interceptors — roughly a quarter of the total global inventory — and a large number of ship-based standard missiles to protect allies, according to published defense assessments.

This shortfall largely is attributed to the dual pressure of supplying Ukraine against Russian cruise missiles and the surge of batteries to the Middle East. Replenishing these high-end systems can take more than a year, analysts say, because production lines are optimized for peacetime and cannot be surged overnight.

Independent groups have noted the U.S. currently produces roughly 600–650 Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles annually, reflecting recent contracts to boost production capacity. Analysts say that in a high-intensity war with a near-peer adversary like Iran — where multiple interceptors are often used to defeat a single incoming missile — even a year’s worth of production could be consumed in a matter of weeks, especially after recent drawdowns in Ukraine and the Middle East.

‘The Department of War has everything it needs to execute any mission at the time and place of the President’s choosing and on any timeline,’ Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in response to readiness questions.

Retired Air Force Gen. Charles Wald, former deputy commander of U.S. European Command, said the United States retains the ability to surge conventional strike munitions into the region and draw from prepositioned stocks if a campaign is ordered. 

‘From a conventional munition standpoint, we can always fly in more weapons from around the world,’ Wald told Fox News Digital. ‘There are a lot of weapons stored there with this type of mission in mind.’

The greater concern, he acknowledged, lies on the defensive side. 

‘The issue will be defensive weapons — Patriot, SM-3, and the Arrow system in Israel,’ Wald said. ‘You can never have enough defense.’

Regional analysts caution that in a sustained missile exchange, interceptor inventories — not offensive strike weapons — could become the binding constraint. 

‘There is a limit to how many THAAD missiles can be used,’ Israeli defense analyst Ehud Eilam said. ‘These are not systems you can reproduce overnight.’

Iran is believed to possess between 1,500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 ballistic missiles, as well as drones and shorter-range rockets capable of striking U.S. bases and Gulf energy infrastructure.

Several experts also pointed to the psychological impact of recent U.S. operations. 

The swift Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela in January 2026 and summer 2025’s 12-day exchange with Iran have reinforced confidence in American military capability. However, one former defense official cautioned that success in these tightly scoped missions can create a false sense of momentum toward action in far more complex scenarios.

‘Iran is a very different problem,’ the official said — a large, heavily armed state with extensive missile forces and regional proxy networks that would not resemble a short, surgical operation.

Wald acknowledged that risk. 

‘You don’t want to get people so confident that you don’t consider the risks. It’s not going to be as clean or pure as, say, Venezuela was, or the 12-day war.’

Even as the strikes continue, officials warn that retaliation from Iran and its network of allied militias could broaden the conflict. Iran’s ballistic missiles and drones — coupled with allied groups in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen — already have prompted missile salvos against U.S. bases and Gulf partners, according to defense reporting.

Experts say the 2025 conflict underscored how quickly escalation can test both defensive systems and political will. 

‘Once these things break, you own what follows,’ one former official said, underscoring the risk that missiles and proxy actions could quickly widen a limited U.S. strike.

Wald warned that even a successful military phase would not eliminate the political uncertainty. 

‘Bombing Iran is not going to do regime change,’ he said, emphasizing that air power can degrade capability but cannot guarantee a stable political outcome.

Beyond the immediate exchange, officials say the economic consequences could prove just as consequential. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply transits the Strait of Hormuz, and even limited disruption could send global energy markets sharply higher.

For Washington, the strategic calculus extends beyond the Middle East. China remains the primary long-term competitor, with the war in Ukraine already consuming significant resources. 

A sustained regional conflict would draw on naval assets and air-defense systems that planners must also consider for potential future contingencies in Taiwan or North Korea.

Officials familiar with internal deliberations say President Donald Trump has sought a high degree of confidence in how an Iran contingency would unfold — a standard that becomes harder to meet in scenarios involving escalation and political fallout.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Related Article

Trump issues stern Iran warning as Tehran angrily reacts to speech amid muted world reaction

After radical students overthrew Iran’s shah in 1979 and took hostages in the U.S. embassy, the Middle Eastern nation became a strident and blood-soaked adversary of what its new Islamic fundamentalist dictatorship has long called the ‘Great Satan.’

Since then, Tehran has sponsored terrorism around the globe, including targeting the U.S. in multiple, high-profile instances. Former Reagan Justice Department Chief of Staff Mark Levin said Sunday there are at least 44 examples of Iran targeting Americans either directly or indirectly.

‘The Iranian-Nazi regime … [has] murdered more than 1,000 Americans [and] relentlessly pursued nuclear weapons to use against us — they are genocidal warmongers,’ said Levin, an author, attorney and Fox News Channel host.

The stage for Iran’s transformation from ally to enemy of the U.S. was set in the 1960s, when Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi began clashing with influential Islamic cleric Ruhollah Khomeini. The monarch infuriated the theocrat by liberalizing the national constitution to allow faiths other than Islam to be sworn into office on holy books of their choice.

Khomeini’s rhetoric from France, where he was exiled, intensified during the period known as the White Revolution, including misogynistic and xenophobic sermons and demands that Pahlavi be ousted.

Early aggression toward the US

With Pahlavi as a U.S.-aligned leader, this marked an early instance of antagonism by proxy. As protests engineered by Khomeini broke out in fall 1978, the shah declared martial law, and military police fired on a massive crowd of protesters.

Pahlavi and Empress Farah Pahlavi soon fled on a ‘vacation’ to Egypt but never returned. By February 1979, Khomeini returned to Tehran with significant sectarian support.

Failed Carter strategy develops into hostage crisis

Carter National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski — the father of ‘Morning Joe’ host Mika Brzezinski — coined the term ‘arc of crisis’ and advanced an ultimately failed ‘Green Belt’ strategy that supported an arc of largely unstable but fundamentalist regimes across the Middle East that were also viewed as oppositional to the Soviet Union.

Brzezinski’s envisioned buffer strategy soon collapsed when Khomeini proved to be just as anti-American as anti-Soviet.

In October 1979, after months of debate over whether to admit him to the U.S. amid the new turmoil in Iran, President Jimmy Carter relented and permitted the cancer-stricken shah to seek medical care in New York.

That November, the group ‘Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line’ stormed the U.S. embassy, beginning 444 days of captivity for 52 American hostages.

The U.S. severed diplomatic ties the following April, and one rescue mission failed and left several U.S. servicemembers dead. The shah died that summer in Egypt, leaving Khomeini in full control of the government.

In what was seen as the final offense to Carter, Iran suddenly released the hostages minutes into President Ronald Reagan’s administration on Jan. 20, 1981.

Lebanon hostage crisis

On July 5, 1982, the years-long saga known as the Lebanon Hostage Crisis began with the systematic abductions of foreigners, including Americans, by Hezbollah and Iranian proxies in the Mideast country, according to United Against a Nuclear Iran.

That group, founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Ambassador Mark Wallace, maintains a comprehensive history of Iranian aggression on its website and is a nonpartisan policy organization formed to combat the threats posed by the Islamic Republic.

During the Lebanon Hostage Crisis, several victims spent years imprisoned by Hezbollah, where they were forced to undergo psychological and medical torture, including CIA Beirut Station Chief William Buckley, who was not related to the National Review founder of the same name. 

Buckley was tortured for months by Dr. Aziz al-Abub, a Lebanese Hezbollah psychiatrist and medical expert who reportedly forced him to take phenothiazines and experimented on him to induce interrogation and make an example of him to the West.

Buckley reportedly died in custody amid these experiments on June 3, 1985.

The CIA later memorialized him on its wall in Langley, Va., and Obama-era Director John Brennan said in a 2014 statement that ‘we remember Bill not for the manner in which he died but for the legacy he left behind. From his time as an Army lieutenant colonel to his tenure with the Agency, Bill inspired those around him to do great things despite often dangerous conditions.’

The agency later caught up with the figurehead of the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Jihad terrorist group — carrying out what the Washington Institute described as a rare contemporary CIA assassination nearly 25 years later.

Imad Mughniyeh’s group had announced Buckley’s execution in October 1985, but the actual date was determined later, with allegations that he died not from execution but from the side effects of the medical torture he endured. Former hostage David Jacobsen told the institute that Buckley was often sick and delirious in his cell and ultimately died ‘drowning in his own lung fluids’ after a bout of torture.

David Dodge, then-president of the American University in Beirut, was also kidnapped for about a year, and U.S. journalist Terry Anderson was held in captivity for more than six years.

Reagan-era bombings and murders of American servicemembers

On April 18, 1983, an Iran-backed group seen as the predecessor to today’s Lebanese Hezbollah bombed the U.S. embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people, including 17 Americans.

That October, a suicide truck bomb linked to Iran hit a U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 servicemembers, in what remains the deadliest single day for the Corps since Iwo Jima.

According to the MEMRI translation of Khomeini’s representative to Lebanon, Sayyed Issa Tabatabai’s interview with the IRNA: ‘I quickly went to Lebanon and provided what was needed in order to [carry out] martyrdom operations in the place where the Americans and Israelis were.’ 

He added, ‘The efforts to establish [Hezbollah] started in [Lebanon’s] Baalbek area, where members of [Iran’s] Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) arrived. I had no part in establishing the [political] party [Hezbollah], but God made it possible for me to continue the military activity with the group that had cooperated with us prior to the [Islamic] Revolution’s victory.’

The MEMRI report continued, ‘It is noteworthy that the part of the interview in which Tabatabai acknowledged receiving Khomeini’s fatwa ordering attacks on American and Israeli targets in Lebanon was removed by IRNA from its website shortly after publication. This is apparently because no official representative of Khomeini, the father of the Islamic Republic, or of Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, had ever said that Iran had any involvement in ordering, planning and carrying out the massive bombings in Lebanon against U.S.’

In 1985, Iran-backed Hezbollah hijacked Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 847 as it departed Athens. The hijackers collected IDs from the passengers and singled out U.S. Navy Seabee Robert Stethem of Waldorf, Md., mistaking him for a Marine and blaming him for involvement in the Lebanese Civil War.

The hijackers tortured Stethem as they flew to Beirut before shooting him dead, dumping him on the tarmac, and shooting him again.

Operation Praying Mantis

In 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf and nearly sank. The Roberts had been escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers as a protective measure.

After the mines were matched to the Iranian ship Ajr, which had been captured by the Americans earlier that year, President Reagan sprang into retaliatory action.

Reagan’s operation destroyed two oil platforms reportedly used as Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) surveillance structures, leading Iran to begin attacking nonmilitary targets.

The mission also claimed two other Iranian ships and was considered the largest naval surface engagement since World War II.

Two Americans died in a helicopter crash during the operation, while dozens of Iranian officers were killed.

Clinton-Bush-Obama era; 9/11

The FBI linked a 1996 attack on an American military housing complex in Saudi Arabia to another Iranian-backed terrorist group.

Hezbollah al-Hejaz was blamed for the Khobar Towers bombing in June of that year, which killed 19 U.S. servicemembers.

In the aftermath of Al Qaeda’s 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole destroyer in Aden, Yemen, American courts found Iran indirectly liable in that it provided support for the terrorists – in part by letting them be trained in Tehran-linked Hezbollah bases in Lebanon.

In 2015, FISA Judge Rudolph Contreras found Iran and Sudan liable, and during the Biden administration. Sudan agreed to settle claims of murdered sailors’ families.

After 9/11, when the U.S. went to war in Iraq, Iran and its proxies were suspected of causing a large portion of American casualties by supplying land mines to the Iraqi Shia insurgents. In 2019, the Department of Defense officially raised its estimate to more than 600 troop casualties directly tied to Iran or its proxies, meaning one in six Iraq War losses were caused by Tehran.

Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson told the Army Times at the time that ‘these [American] casualties were the result of explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), other improvised explosive devices (IEDs), improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAMs), rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), small arms, sniper fire, and other attacks in Iraq.’

During his first term in the White House, President Donald Trump ordered a strike on the IRGC, killing its legendary commander, Qassem Soleimani.

While Iran was not directly implicated as having specific knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, it was found to be complicit in facilitating the planned terrorism.

The report, led by former New Jersey Republican Gov. Tom Kean Sr., found a ‘persistence of contacts’ between Iranian officials and Al Qaeda.

Chapter 7 of the report found that Iran at least knew that the terrorists being trained by Hezbollah were going to act against the U.S. and/or Israel. The findings thereby blew apart critics’ claims that the Sunni terror group could get along with its religious archenemy, the Shia who ran Iran.

Tehran border patrol officials also did not stamp passports of Al Qaeda operatives traveling around the region, as the marking would have been flagged upon application for any U.S. visa.

In 2016, hackers linked to the IRGC were indicted by the Justice Department – including one 34-year-old Iranian national who allegedly gained access to the controls of a major dam in Rye Brook, N.Y., near the confluence of Interstate 287 and the New England Thruway.

In 2011, the U.S. also foiled an IRGC plot targeting the homeland, in which a District of Columbia restaurant was to be bombed to kill Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir.

Iranian-born U.S. citizen Manssoor Arbabsiar and Quds Force member Gholam Shakuri were charged in the incident. Arbabsiar was arrested at New york’s JFK Airport and Shakuri remains at large.

A confidential federal source met with Arbabsiar in Mexico that July, where the suspect agreed to pay $100,000 toward a $1.5 million bounty placed on al-Jubeir, according to the Justice Department.

Then-FBI Director Robert Mueller said at the time that the arrests depict the U.S. ‘increased ability … to bring together the intelligence and law enforcement resources necessary to better identify and disrupt those threats, regardless of their origin.’

Biden era

By 2020, Iran was blamed for several recent attacks on commercial oil tankers, and after Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dispatched ballistic missiles at Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq.

Several dozen U.S. troops were wounded.

After Hamas militants massacred Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah launched about 180 attacks on Western forces in the region, including a drone strike on a base in Jordan that killed three Americans.

Trump era: Assassination plot on the president

After an Afghan-born Iranian proxy and two American men were charged with allegedly trying to hunt down and assassinate an Iranian-born American critic of the ayatollah’s regime, the Justice Department disclosed that Trump was also the subject of a similar assassination plot.

Farhad Shakeri, who had spent 14 years in a New York state prison for robbery and made U.S. contacts to create a ‘network of criminal associates’ to ‘supply the IRGC with operatives’ domestically, was allegedly seeking to kill Masih Alinejad — a journalist who often appears on Fox News Channel.

Shakeri remained at large, likely in Iran, as of 2024, but his American counterparts were put on trial in Brooklyn.

Jonathon Loadholt of Staten Island and Carlisle Rivera of Brooklyn allegedly ‘were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on U.S. soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime,’ according to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.

‘We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security,’ Garland said, as the criminal complaint suggested Shakeri and Rivera first met while serving time.

The two men stalked Alinejad and were also accused of rotating plates on Loadholt’s car to avoid suspicion, while then-FBI Director Christopher Wray mentioned Trump as another target of an Iranian plot in a related statement on the Alinejad case.

Shakeri reportedly spoke to the FBI voluntarily from Iran, where he disclosed efforts to assassinate Trump, according to The New York Times.

Shakeri said he was told to create a plan to kill Trump after an IRGC meeting that October and that, if he could not, the assumption from the militia was that Trump would lose to Kamala Harris and be ‘easier to assassinate’ while out of office.

‘Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, their deadly schemes were disrupted.  We’re committed to using the full resources of the FBI to protect our citizens from Iran or any other adversary who targets Americans,’ Wray said in a statement at the time.

Trump has since warned Iran repeatedly to back down, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth overseeing 2025 airstrikes on nuclear facilities, and the administration ultimately taking what it described as long-term military action to force regime change.

‘Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,’ Trump said Saturday.

Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.