US strikes Iran: Trump’s battle, briefly defined

[ad_1] This story appeared in The Logoff , a day by day e-newsletter that helps you keep knowledgeable concerning the Trump administration with out letting political information take over your life. Subscribe here .

Welcome to The Logoff: The US is at battle with Iran.

Hello readers, by now I’m certain you’ve seen the information: Early on Saturday morning, the Trump administration, after weeks-long naval buildup within the Center East, launched a significant assault on Iran.

As at all times with battle reporting, there’s a lot we nonetheless don’t find out about what has occurred, a lot much less what's going to come subsequent. Making an attempt to comply with all of it in actual time can really feel like consuming from a firehose, and that is prone to be a narrative of weeks and months, not days or hours.

With that in thoughts, right here’s what you must know proper now:

What occurred? The primary wave of assaults by the US and Israel, which started round 1 am Japanese time on Saturday morning, focused a number of Iranian cities, together with the capital, Tehran. A whole bunch are reportedly dead and plenty of extra injured.

Iran has responded by hanging at targets all through the area, together with Israel and various nations within the Persian Gulf which are residence to US bases: Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

To date, there have been no US casualties reported. There are additionally experiences that Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, by means of which roughly 20 p.c of the world’s oil passes because it makes its means into the worldwide market.

Why is the Trump administration doing this? As my colleague Zack Beauchamp reported this morning , Trump’s justifications for battle have been bewilderingly incoherent.

For much of the week , it has appeared like the potential of battle turned on the end result of US-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program (and its ballistic missile arsenal and assist for proxy forces like Hezbollah).

On Saturday, although, Trump solid the battle in grander phrases: “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted loss of life to America and waged an endless marketing campaign of bloodshed and mass homicide,” he stated in a video posted to social media. “We’re not gonna put up with it any longer.”

Trump can also be promising regime change in Iran, on the heels of his risk earlier this yr to intervene on behalf of anti-regime protesters ; “the hour of your freedom is at hand,” he stated on Saturday.

What’s the large image? Saturday’s strikes are Trump’s second norms-shattering use of navy drive overseas in simply the primary two months of 2026. However in contrast to Venezuela, this appears to be a full-scale battle, not a short operation already over by the point many People are tuning in.

Iran’s retaliatory strikes towards Gulf states on Saturday additionally elevate the chance that this might additional escalate right into a broader regional battle.

Trump on Saturday described the US marketing campaign as a “large and ongoing operation,” and with one plane provider group already within the area and one other on the best way, the US appears to be positioned for a possible multi-week battle.

What that can appear to be because it performs out, not even Trump could know: As Reuters reported Saturday , briefers instructed the president forward of the assault that it might be a high-risk, high-reward operation.

And with that, it’s time to log out…

We love to present you a hyperlink to click on right here, however that may be onerous to do on days like right now. So as a substitute, I’ll simply encourage you to log out in no matter means you like, whether or not that’s going for a stroll, watching a film, or one thing else.