U.S. and Israel strike Iran. Here's what we know

February 28, 2026·25 min·2 clips

Greg Myrie explains how the U.S. and Israel targeted Iran's Supreme Leader and President, signaling a push for regime change.

The premise is stark. This short-timeframe special walks through U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, with NPR reporting that the operation targeted Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Massoud Pesachkin and tried to kill them, according to a person briefed on Israel's operation. Iran has answered. Mary Louise Kelly says the response includes missiles aimed at Israel and at Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and other countries that host U.S. troops. The facts are still moving, so the episode keeps its footing by separating what has been reported from what remains unclear about escalation. Trump speaks from Mar-a-Lago, a detail the analysis lingers on because he was not at the White House when he addressed the strikes. His language reaches back to 1979, the embassy hostage crisis, Beirut, Iraq, and Americans killed by Iran-linked militants. That gives the moment a much longer shadow. Greg Myrie hears a wider signal too. The explanation no longer sounds limited to the nuclear program, even though that had led earlier public messaging. Regime change comes close to the center of the discussion. The reporters do not say it has happened, but Myrie reads Trump as preparing for something larger than a nuclear strike. The tone stays careful where the facts are thin. Casualties are treated as possible, and Trump's warning that American heroes may be lost is heard as preparation for combat deaths. Kelly closes by thanking Daniel Estrin and Greg Myrie, with the story still unresolved and the consequences still unfolding.

As heard by us

A fast-moving account that adds needed context while keeping the uncertainty around the strikes in view.

Mary Louise Kelly frames a brisk special report on the U.S. and Israel striking Iran, then Greg Myrie and Daniel Estrin sort through what is known about the strikes, Iran's retaliation, and the danger of escalation.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you need the latest read on the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and what could come next.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The NPR Politics Podcast