Operation Epic Fury
Operation Epic Fury is the codename for the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on February 28, 2026. It opened with a decapitation strike targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the IRGC leadership, followed by sustained air and naval bombardment of Iranian military infrastructure. It marks the start of the active US-Iran War.
Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, 2026, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Iran. The opening salvo was a decapitation strike targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and key IRGC commanders — an attempt to paralyze Iranian command and control before a broader air campaign. Khamenei was killed; his son Mojtaba Khamenei was subsequently appointed Supreme Leader.
The operation was justified publicly on the grounds that Iran was planning an imminent strike on US assets in the region — a claim described by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as 'a feeling the president had based on facts.' The operation was named with the same Hollywood sensibility that characterizes much of the Trump administration's communication strategy: dramatic, aggressive, and designed for domestic media consumption.
In the first seven weeks of the war, the US conducted over 7,800 airstrikes. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz (the first time in history), launching missile and drone barrages against GCC states including Dubai, Bahrain, and Qatar, and activating proxy networks across the region. A two-week ceasefire was brokered by Pakistan on April 8, 2026, but was repeatedly violated and collapsed by April 20.
In the Predictive History analysis, Operation Epic Fury is not primarily about destroying Iran's nuclear program — it is the opening move in a broader American strategy to disrupt Russia's North-South Transport Corridor, block China's Belt and Road Initiative, and establish US control over global energy chokepoints. Iran is the battlefield, but the real targets are China and Russia's economic independence.
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What is Operation Epic Fury? ＋
Operation Epic Fury is the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began February 28, 2026. It opened with a decapitation strike killing Supreme Leader Khamenei, followed by sustained air bombardment. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz and attacking GCC states. A brief ceasefire in April 2026 collapsed within days.
Why did the US launch Operation Epic Fury? ＋
The official justification was a belief that Iran was planning an imminent attack on US assets — described as 'a feeling based on facts.' In the Predictive History analysis, the real strategic purpose was to disrupt Iran as the transit hub for both Russia's North-South Transport Corridor and China's Belt and Road Initiative, cutting off both rivals from independent trade routes.