The War in Iran: Where we are and how we got here
Since the U.S. and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, events have developed so quickly that trying to keep up can be overwhelming. Here’s a rundown of the key events since the invasion began.
February 28:
The U.S. and Israel launch Operation Epic Fury — coordinated airstrikes on Iran, with reportedly hundreds of targets hit in under 12 hours. In a live TV address, President Trump announces the beginning of “major combat operations” and urges the Iranian people to overthrow their government.
One of the early strikes in the war kills Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with other senior officials including the country’s defense minister and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).
During this early period in the war, a missile strike on an Iranian school kills at least 175 people, primarily children. The U.S. and Israel initially deny responsibility for the attack, but all evidence points to an attack by U.S. forces.
Iran retaliates for the attacks with missiles and drones fired at Israel and U.S. bases and assets across the Middle East, hitting multiple Gulf countries. Iran soon claims control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply flowed. The disruption triggers a prolonged increase in oil and gas prices, and concerns worldwide about a potential energy crisis.
March 1:
Three U.S. service members are killed and five others are injured in the first American casualties in the war.
March 2:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells reporters that the US struck Iran primarily because “Israel’s determination to attack Iran forced Washington to strike.”
March 7:
Israeli forces strike fuel depots near Tehran, causing toxic “black rain” to fall across the capital.
President Trump describes the war as a “minor excursion” that will make the world safer, demanding “unconditional surrender” from Iran’s leadership.
March 9:
Iran names Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the previous supreme leader, as the new paramount ruler.
March 12:
Six U.S. airmen die in a KC-135 refueling crash.
March 27:
12 U.S. service members are injured in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
March 31:
According to data from the American Automobile Association, the average gas price in the U.S. hits $4 per gallon, the first time since August 2022 that it had breached the $4 mark.
April 7:
With the deadline approaching for Iran to accept the U.S.’s ceasefire plan,
President Donald Trump declares that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
Iran rejects the U.S. framework and counters with its own 10-point plan. Pakistan successfully brokers a provisional two-week ceasefire the following day.
April 11:
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Vice President JD Vance leads the U.S. delegation in high-level talks with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan. These are the highest-level direct talks between the two countries since 1979. After 21 hours, the talks end without a deal.
April 12–13:
Following ongoing diplomatic gridlock, the U.S. imposes a naval blockade on all Iranian ports, forbidding maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports.
April 16:
A ceasefire deal is reached between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Despite this, fighting continues in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is located.
April 25:
President Trump abruptly calls off a diplomatic mission to Islamabad for talks with Iran, when it becomes apparent that the Iranian team left Islamabad before the talks even began. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had been slated to represent the U.S. in the talks.
June 14–15:
News reports emerge that a Pakistan-brokered preliminary agreement has been reached between the U.S. and Iran. The deal would include an extension of the shaky ceasefire and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, among other commitments.
June 17:
President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sign the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), committing to an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities contingent on both sides taking certain actions, such as the end of military operations in Lebanon (a term that Israel opposed from the start), toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the beginning of withdrawal of troops from the region.
The MOU also includes a commitment by the U.S. and/or Gulf countries to invest $300 billion in the reconstruction of Iran after the war, something for which President Trump is heavily criticized and mocked.
The MOU provides a 60-day window to negotiate a final peace deal.
July 1:
A U.S. sailor is lost in the Arabian Sea during a helicopter’s emergency water landing.
July 8:
The Islamabad ceasefire deal collapses after Iran resumes attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The retaliates with major strikes on Iran, targeting air defenses, coastal radar installations, anti-ship missiles and IRGC boats
The U.S. revokes the waiver on oil sanctions it had granted Iran as part of the Islamabad MOU.
At a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Trump vents his frustration with the failed deal, calling Iranian leadership “scum” who can’t be trusted. The president says the ceasefire is “over” and calls it a “waste of time.”
Iran retaliates with drones and missiles targeting U.S. forces and sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and other Gulf countries.
July 17:
Iranian attacks kill several U.S. troops in Jordan. Soon after, a U.S. soldier is killed while dismantling an Iranian drone in Iraq.
August 1:
President Trump announces on Truth Social that he had cancelled a major air attack on Iran (“the biggest attack since WWII”) at the urging of Gulf allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, along with requests from Iranian officials who said they were close to a deal.
August 11–16:
President Trump claims “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iran negotiates with Oman over a deal for control of the strait. (Iran borders the strait on the north, while Oman borders it on the south.) Trump threatens Oman with bombing if the country “interferes” with the strait.
August 17:
The 60-day deadline for a final peace deal, outlined in the Islamabad MOU, comes and goes without any sign of a deal. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to traffic, and major issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and the freezing of Iranian assets abroad remain unresolved.
