 "What has Israel and US targeted in Iran? How is Iran retaliating?")
A full blown conflict has broken out in West Asia after Israel and the US launched strikes against Iran on Saturday morning (February 28). The operation, dubbed ‘Roar of the Lion’, by Israel has resulted in Iran launching its own counter-attack — a barrage of missiles — towards the Jewish nation.
The US-Israel attacks came after Donald Trump expressed frustration at Iran’ s stance in negotiations over its nuclear and missile programmes. The American leader said Washington’s goal was “eliminating imminent threats” from Iran, while Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz described the action as a “preventive strike”.
- Catch live updates from the Israel-Iran conflict here
“The United States’ military began major combat operations in Iran,” Trump said in a video message posted on his social media site while he spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated. We’re going to annihilate their navy,” said Trump.
As all three countries are now embroiled in a conflict, here’s a closer look at the targets they chose during Operation Roar of the Lion.
Targets chosen by US and Israel
>> On Saturday morning, news first broke of explosions in the Iranian cities of Isfahan, Qom, Lorestan, Karaj, Kermanshah and Tabriz as well as the capital Tehran. Plumes of smoke could be seen from the cities after the blasts. Fars news agency said “seven missile impacts were reported in the Keshvardoost and Pasteur districts” of Tehran.
>> “I saw with my own eyes two Tomahawk missiles flying horizontally toward targets,” an office worker told AFP on condition of anonymity. “At first we heard a dull noise and thought it was a fighter jet.”
> According to Iranian state-affiliated news, explosions could be heard in Tehran’s Pasteur district, which houses the highly secure compound of the residence and office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
>> It isn’t clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei had been in his office at the time of the attacks. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the United States have grown.
>> Reports also stated that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was among those targeted in the Israeli and US strikes in Iran this morning. However, the Iranian president is in “full health”, reported Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
>> The other targets were the homes of ministers and military chiefs, defence and Intelligence Ministry installations, and a presidential facility.
> One news report also stated that the US-Israel strikes targeted the Atomic Energy of Iran office, the defence ministry office and Parchin, a major Iranian military complex.
Dozens of targets of the Iranian government are being bombed in Tehran, including, among others, the presidential compound, the airport, and intelligence headquarters — Israel Hayom
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) February 28, 2026
pic.twitter.com/7anm9IQO2e
Iran responds with its strikes on Israel, other regions in West Asia
>> Following the strikes, Israel said that Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against it. The IDF said that Iran has fired missiles towards Israel in response to the attack. “Sirens were sounded in several areas across the country following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel.”
> “At this time, the Israeli Air Force is operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat. The defence is not hermetic, and therefore it is essential that the public continue to adhere to the Home Front Command’s guidelines. The public is requested to continue to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command,” it said.
> “Dozens” of ballistic missiles have been launched towards Israel, Nour News, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said, according to CNN. Another state-affiliated news agency, Mehr News Agency, said the missiles were targeting the “whole of Palestine,” referring to Israel. Iran’s English-language state news outlet Press TV reported that “30 to 75” missiles were “coming out of Iran right now.”
>> Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it has begun “the first wave of extensive missile and drone attacks” against Israel. In a statement, it says the attacks come “in response to the hostile and criminal enemy’s aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
> There were sirens sounds in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and in northern and southern Israel. There are no reports of injuries following Iran’s ballistic missile attack on northern Israel, the Magen David Adom ambulance service was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.
>> Meanwhile, the IDF has instructed civilians to remain in bomb shelters until further notice. “You are requested to continue following the Home Front Command instructions and the guidelines distributed to you. You must remain in a protected area until an official notice is given,” the army says.
>> Moreover, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have decided to resume missile and drone attacks on shipping routes and on Israel in support of Iran. That’s according to two senior Houthi officials, who spoke in condition of anonymity because there is no official announcement from the Houthi leadership. One of the officials said the rebels’ first attack could come as soon as “tonight.”
> The rebels ceased their attacks on the Red Sea shipping route as part of a deal with the Trump administration that also halted US strikes against the Houthis. They also stopped their attacks against Israel after an October ceasefire that halted major fighting in Gaza.
A U.S. military base in Bahrain was targeted by Iranian missile strikes. pic.twitter.com/yqNSXTXZjE
— Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) February 28, 2026
>> An Al Jazeera report stated that explosions have taken place in Bahrain. Iran has reportedly targeted a US base in Bahrain. Smoke is seen rising from the Al-Juffair area in Bahrain, which houses a US naval base. Earlier, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued an emergency alert and urged citizens to nearest safe location.
>> Emergency sirens were also heard near the US base in Qatar. The country has intercepted two Iranian missiles, according to an official.
>> Explosions have also been heard in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.
With inputs from agencies
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