U.S. forces launched a sweeping military assault on Iranian targets on Saturday, unleashing overwhelming air, sea and missile power in a coordinated operation with Israel.

The mission — dubbed «Operation Epic Fury» — began at 1:15 a.m. and struck more than 1,000 sites across Iran within its first 24 hours, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior regime officials were eliminated in the strikes.

The barrage featured B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 and F-16 fighter jets, A-10 attack aircraft, EA-18G electronic warfare planes, and an array of airborne early warning and communications platforms, CENTCOM said.

Missile defense systems, including Patriot interceptors and THAAD anti-ballistic missile defenses, were deployed as part of the operation.

Other assets included RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, HIMARS rocket systems, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, refueling tankers, and C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft, CENTCOM said.

The command also released images of Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as F-18 and F-35 fighter jets roaring into combat, according to Reuters.

CENTCOM additionally confirmed it deployed one-way attack drones in combat for the first time.

DOZENS OF TOP IRANIAN REGIME OFFICIALS, SUPREME LEADER KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKES

Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones were also used in the attack. (U.S. Central Command Public Affairs)

The Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System — known as LUCAS — is modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones.

«CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike — for the first time in history — is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,» CENTCOM wrote on X. «These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.»

Developed by Arizona-based engineering firm SpektreWorks, the LUCAS drone can be launched from catapults, vehicles or mobile ground platforms, according to Business Insider. 

The drones cost roughly $35,000 each, Reuters reported.

KEY MILITARY SITES TARGETED INSIDE IRAN AS PART OF COORDINATED US-ISRAELI STRIKES

A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on Feb. 28, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.  (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

The strikes targeted command and control centers, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Joint Headquarters and Aerospace Forces Headquarters, integrated air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, Iranian Navy ships and submarines, anti-ship missile sites and military communications infrastructure, according to CENTCOM.

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Iran retaliated by launching waves of missiles across the Middle East, targeting major U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, Business Insider reported.

Three U.S. service members were killed and five others were «seriously wounded» as part of Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM said Sunday morning. The joint military operation is expected to carry on for days.

CENTCOM did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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

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La unidad de computación en la nube de Amazon, AWS, suspendió este domingo las operaciones en uno de sus centros de datos en Emiratos Árabes Unidos después de que objetos no identificados impactaran la instalación, provocando chispas y un incendio que obligó a cortar el suministro eléctrico, según informó la compañía. El incidente ocurrió en medio de una ola de ataques iraníes con misiles y drones contra infraestructura civil y militar en toda la región del Golfo Pérsico.

Según AWS, los objetos impactaron alrededor de las 4:30 de la madrugada, hora del Pacífico. El departamento de bomberos local cortó la electricidad a la instalación y a los generadores mientras trabajaba para extinguir las llamas. La compañía indicó que esperaba autorización para restablecer el suministro eléctrico y que el restablecimiento de la conectividad en la zona afectada tomaría varias horas. Las demás zonas de disponibilidad en Emiratos operan con normalidad.

Cuando la agencia Reuters preguntó a AWS si el incidente estaba relacionado con los ataques iraníes en curso, la compañía no confirmó ni desmintió ninguna conexión. El Ministerio de Defensa de Emiratos reportó que desde el inicio de los ataques iraníes el pasado sábado, las fuerzas aéreas y de defensa antiaérea del país interceptaron y destruyeron 165 misiles balísticos, dos misiles de crucero y 541 drones. Sin embargo, 21 drones lograron impactar objetivos civiles, causando tres muertes de trabajadores migrantes de Pakistán, Nepal y Bangladés, además de 58 heridos.

Los ataques iraníes contra Emiratos forman parte de una represalia masiva tras operaciones conjuntas de Estados Unidos e Israel que resultaron en la muerte del líder supremo iraní, el ayatolá Ali Khamenei, el pasado sábado. Según medios estatales iraníes, los ataques estadounidenses e israelíes causaron al menos 201 muertes en 24 provincias iraníes, incluyendo 148 niñas en una escuela primaria en la ciudad sureña de Minab.

Las estructuras de AWS conocidas como zonas de disponibilidad están compuestas por uno o más centros de datos físicos interconectados dentro de una región geográfica. Estas zonas funcionan como ubicaciones aisladas diseñadas para garantizar la continuidad del servicio en caso de fallos. La región ME-CENTRAL-1, inaugurada en noviembre de 2022, representa la segunda infraestructura de AWS en Medio Oriente junto con la de Baréin.

El Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica de Irán anunció que sus ataques se dirigieron a 27 bases militares donde se despliegan soldados estadounidenses, la base aérea israelí de Tel Nof, el cuartel general del ejército israelí en HaKirya en Tel Aviv y un complejo industrial de defensa. La ofensiva iraní impactó también aeropuertos internacionales en Dubái, Abu Dabi y Kuwait, lo que provocó la suspensión de vuelos y el cierre de espacios aéreos en todo el Golfo Pérsico.

Las autoridades emiratíes activaron protocolos de emergencia en todo el país, emitiendo alertas de alta prioridad a través de teléfonos móviles que instruyeron a la población a buscar refugio inmediato en edificios seguros y mantenerse alejados de ventanas, puertas y áreas abiertas. El Ministerio de Educación ordenó la transición a educación a distancia para todas las escuelas públicas y privadas desde el 2 hasta el 4 de marzo.

La infraestructura de servicios en la nube ha adquirido una importancia estratégica crítica para economías como la de Emiratos, donde sectores financieros, energéticos y de telecomunicaciones dependen de centros de datos para operaciones esenciales. AWS opera miles de servidores en la región ME-CENTRAL-1 que proporcionan servicios a empresas gubernamentales, instituciones financieras y compañías de tecnología en todo Medio Oriente.

Los restos de misiles y drones interceptados cayeron en diversas áreas de Emiratos, causando daños materiales menores en propiedades civiles. En Palm Jumeirah, la isla artificial de Dubái famosa por sus hoteles de lujo, cuatro personas resultaron heridas cuando fragmentos de un misil impactaron un hotel de alta categoría, provocando un incendio. También se reportaron incendios en el puerto de Jebel Ali, uno de los más transitados de Medio Oriente, y en la fachada del icónico hotel Burj Al Arab.

El Ministerio de Defensa de Emiratos confirmó que de los 137 misiles balísticos detectados durante el ataque inicial del sábado, 132 fueron destruidos mientras cinco cayeron al mar. De los 209 drones rastreados, 195 fueron interceptados. Los sistemas de defensa aérea demostraron alta capacidad de respuesta, aunque algunos proyectiles lograron penetrar las defensas y causar daños colaterales.

La escalada regional ha generado disrupciones significativas en el transporte aéreo, con aerolíneas suspendiendo vuelos hacia y desde importantes centros de conexión en Medio Oriente. Mapas de tráfico aéreo mostraron espacios aéreos prácticamente vacíos sobre Irán, Irak, Kuwait, Israel y Baréin tras el inicio de los ataques. Emiratos, que se había posicionado como un refugio de estabilidad y seguridad en una región turbulenta, enfrenta ahora la fragilidad de esa percepción ante una confrontación militar de alcance regional.

SAN ANTONIO, TX – With hours to go until primary day in Texas, the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran is the latest flashpoint in Lone Star State’s high-stakes and combustible Senate showdown.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn and his two primary challengers are rallying around President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the attacks, which are now in their second day and resulted in the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Three American military members were also killed in the fighting.

But the two Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in a bid to try and flip the long-held Republican seat in right-leaning Texas are condemning the airstrikes on Iran.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

«I think the President did the right thing. It’s amazing to me that President Trump is the only president in my lifetime that is willing to take this kind of decisive action in order to stop the halt of terrorism and also radical Islam,» Cornyn said Sunday in a Fox News Digital interview.

Cornyn praised the operation, saying «this was well planned and was very decisive.» But he added, «There’s still a lot more to be done, and unfortunately, Iran still has a lot of ability to inflict casualties on people in the region.»

The senator’s top primary rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, thanked Trump for his «courageous leadership.»

Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump supporter who has survived a slew of scandals over the past decade, said in a social media post that «President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury is yet another overwhelming and historic military success. Khamenei’s been killed and the terroristic regime threatening our troops and nation has been decimated.»

IRAN’S NEAR HALF CENTURY WAR ON AMERICANS

Rep. Wesley Hunt, the Army veteran turned MAGA rising star, also praised the president, saying, «Trump did it again. PEACE THROUGH AMERICAN STRENGTH!»

«Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is DEAD, and now the people of Iran have a chance to be free,» added Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service who is in his second term representing a safe Republican district in the Houston-area.

Trump, whose clout over the GOP remains immense, has stayed neutral to date in the Republican primary. All three candidates, who have sought the president’s endorsement, were in attendance Friday as Trump held an event in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Trump has yet to make an endorsement in the closely-watched primary. (Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

«They’re in a little race together,» Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. «You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.»

Trump also complimented Hunt, and said that all three contenders were engaged in an «interesting election.»

DEMS’ POTENTIAL 2028 HOPEFULS COME OUT AGAINST US STRIKES ON IRAN

The two major Democrats in the race, progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett and rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, are chastising Trump for not seeking congressional approval.

«CONGRESS, not the PRESIDENT, but CONGRESS has the EXCLUSIVE authority to declare war! Speaker Johnson needs to call us in IMMEDIATELY & it is time for the House & the Senate to pass a war powers resolution!» Crockett wrote on social media this weekend.

The two Democrats in the race, Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico, sound decisively different from their GOP counterparts with regard to the strikes. (Stringer/Getty Images)

And Crockett, a vocal Trump critic and foil, asked, «Why is it that this President refuses to even pretend that he cares about following the law?! I’ve been stomping & telling people that this election is life or death!»

Talarico, taking to social media this weekend, emphasized, «No more forever wars.»

But he didn’t make specific comments about the military strikes during a campaign event Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.

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Cornyn criticized the Democratic candidates for not supporting the U.S. operation.

«When the President has, in an act of political courage, ordered the U.S. military, along with our ally Israel, to defeat the number one state sponsor of terrorism and to prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Whose side do they choose? They choose the Iranian side. It’s just mind-boggling to me,» he argued.

And the senator predicted, «this will continue to be an issue in the midterm elections, because I don’t think that’s what the American people want, to live in a new world where a nuclear-armed terrorist state can literally terrorize not just the region but the world.»