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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Special Bulletin | U.S. & Israel Launch Joint Strikes On Iran
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It's Saturday, 28th February, the very last day of February. Welcome to this President's Daily Brief special Report. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And the world stage just got a bit hotter. All right, let's get briefed. The US and Israel are now at war with Iran for the second time in eight months. This is obviously a rapidly unfolding story and the information I'm about to share is the most accurate that we have as of this recording. Operation Epic Fury, that is the name of this operation, began at 1am Eastern time. That would be 9am Saturday morning in Tehran. An attack launched in broad daylight. Now let me pause there for a second. The timing of the opening salvo, the morning of a workday, rather than the usual strategy of attacking at night, could be for a combination of reasons. There likely was specific intelligence that drove the timing, meetings of leadership in Tehran or elsewhere in Iran taking place. It presented a particularly attractive target, perhaps a limited window on striking specific facilities, credible, actionable intel that dictated when to start this operation. There's also the element of surprise, meaning it's likely that the Iranian leadership was expecting any operation to begin under the COVID of darkness. And there's the messaging aspect of this to the Iranian population. Daylight strikes are about dominance. They send a very deliberate message. We don't need the night, we don't need shadows. We'll do this in full view of your people. And perhaps the Iranian people will interpret that as an opportunity to rise up against the brutality and repression of the mullahs in the Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF will. This operation was months in the planning with close coordination between Washington and Jerusalem. Multiple Iranian cities have reportedly been hit on this first day of strikes, including Tehran and Isfahan, largely in the center and the northwest of the country, according to state run media. Among the reported targets, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Bezechkian, the Defense Minister, the head of the judiciary, and multiple Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including those responsible for crushing protests earlier this year. Satellite imagery published by the New York Times appears to show significant destruction at Khamenei's compound in Tehran following an Israeli strike. However, his current whereabouts remain unknown and it's unclear whether he was present at the time. There have been some initial reports stating that Khamenei has been killed along with numerous senior leaders and commanders, but that reporting needs to be properly verified. Strikes also targeted Iran's offensive military capabilities. The IDF has released footage showing attacks on missile launchers in western Iran. According to the military, hundreds of Iranian military targets were struck, including strategic missile infrastructure. Early Israeli assessments, and I do want to stress that they are early assessments indicate that the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Mohammed Pakbor, was likely killed. Now, Pakpour had only taken over after Israel eliminated his predecessor Hossein Salami at the start of the June 2025 war. If true, well, obviously that would be significant. It would mean that two consecutive IRGC chiefs have been taken out in less than a year, creating disruption at the top of Iran's most powerful military institution. But here's the thing about the irgc. It is built for attrition. You remove one commander, another steps in the the structure survives even if the leadership changes. Israeli officials also assessed that Iran's Minister of Defense and Chief of Intelligence were likely killed. And again, there are early indications circulating in Israeli media that the supreme leader, Khamenei himself may have been eliminated. We also know that Iran's proxy network is being hit. The pro Iran militia Kataym Al Hezbollah is blaming the US for a strike on an Iraqi military base that houses its forces. That group says it will, quote, soon start assaulting American bases. In response, in an eight minute video statement confirming US strikes, President Trump said the objective is clear. Eliminate Iran's capability to acquire nuclear weapons. He addressed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC directly, telling them, quote, lay down your arms, you will be treated fairly with total immunity or you will face certain death. The President also made it clear that regime change is one of the goals of these strikes. He spoke directly to the Iranian people, especially those who were in the streets just months ago, saying, the hour of your freedom is at hand. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This is the moment for action. Don't let it pass, end quote. At the same time, he warns civilians to remain in place until the strikes conclude. And caution the American people that US casualties are possible.
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Meanwhile, as expected, Iran initiated retaliatory attacks. The regime has launched what it describes as an unprecedented wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and US targets across the region. The IRGC claims it targeted Aloudade Air Base in Qatar, Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Al Dharfra Air Base in the uae, the US Naval base in Bahrain, Mun Muwafak Al Salti Air Base in Jordan, and a U.S. facility in northern Iraq. Iranian state media also claims strikes reached Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Now, there's no confirmed word yet on casualties, though video has emerged showing missiles landing, including footage of smoke rising from buildings in Abu Dhabi and reports that the Palm Hotel in Dubai was also struck. Now, targeting Arab states could prove to be a strategic miscalculation on the part of the Iranian leadership. Saudi Arabia has issued a full condemnation of Iran and expressed solidarity with its neighbors, announcing that it will use all its capabilities to defend them. As expected, Iran is also once again launching missiles toward Israel. After all, their stated objective over many, many years has been the destruction of Israel. So far, the waves do not appear as large as Those during the 12 Day War last year. There are several possible reasons for that, though. First, Iran's offensive missile infrastructure was significantly degraded during that 12 day war last year. Estimates suggested that between one half and two thirds of its ballistic missile launchers were destroyed. While Iran retains the largest missile stockpile in the Middle east, numbering in the thousands, missiles without launchers are little more than useless inventory. Second, Iran has expanded its target set. Instead of concentrating fire solely on Israel, it is spreading retaliation across multiple countries in the region. That may create regional panic or concern, obviously, but militarily for Iran, it dilutes their punch. That said, Iran is far from powerless. It retains short and medium and long range missile capabilities and could reach targets well beyond the immediate region. It also has the ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, which it has done numerous times, a move that would have consequences for global trade and energy markets. Iran's Foreign Ministry has condemned what it calls, quote, criminal military aggression by the US and Israel, insisting it was prepared for negotiations, but even more prepared for defense. Those are strong words, but in conflicts like this, rhetoric tends to matter less than results. Now, as far as timing, this is likely just the opening phase of an operation that could last days, possibly even weeks. Now, as an aside, if you haven't already, I do encourage you to check out this weekend's PDB Situation Report. That's our our weekly extended weekend show. It was recorded just before this military operation began. But it does provide critical context and it includes an incredibly accurate prediction from open source intelligence analyst Ryan Macbeth, who predicted that strikes would begin this weekend. I'm Mike Baker and this has been a PDB special report on the opening round of the U. S. Iran war. I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB situation report as well as additional bulletins as the situation warrants. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.