Trump Launches Operation Epic Fury, Hits Iran Leaders
SkimNews Take
Trump's oscillating approach to Iran, rather than projecting strength, has created an exploitable unpredictability that Tehran is leveraging to assert regional control.
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- Trump saw the January 2026 raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as a success and believed he had an instinct for when force would work.
- Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump Iran was weaker than ever and that now was the moment to deal the regime a blow, and Trump was receptive.
- Operation Epic Fury was launched on 28 February 2026 as a war of choice, despite no pressing need for a comprehensive nuclear deal.
- Trump made a deal with Venezuelan deputy Delcy Rodríguez to work with the United States, hoping to replicate the approach in Iran with a strongman from within the regime.
- Ali Khamenei was assassinated in the February 2026 campaign, eliminating many of Trump’s preferred successor candidates.
- Iran expanded the war by striking over a dozen regional countries and seized control of the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the United States to lift some oil sanctions and consider a counter‑blockade.
Why it matters: The war’s expansion cost the United States and its allies as Iran retaliated across the Gulf and seized the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the US to lift some oil sanctions and consider a counter‑blockade, while Trump’s promised quick victory proved elusive.
