Policy Alert:  U.S. Launches Operation Epic Fury to Eliminate Iran’s Nuclear and Missile Threats 

What Is Happening

• A Joint U.S.-Israel Operation: In the early hours of February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a broad, coordinated joint operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure. The U.S. military component, designated Operation Epic Fury, is operating alongside Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion in what officials describe as the product of months of joint planning between the two militaries.
• The President’s Message: President Trump announced the strikes in an eight-minute video, declaring that the United States is conducting “major combat operations” to prevent Iran from threatening America and its core national security interests. He stated, “We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.” He called on members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to lay down their arms in exchange for immunity, warning that refusal would mean “certain death.” He called on the Iranian people to “take over your government” when operations conclude.
• Tehran’s Response: Iran has retaliated by launching missiles at Israel and U.S. military facilities across the region, including locations in Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Israel has declared a state of emergency, and its defense systems are intercepting incoming threats.
• Supreme Leader reported dead: It has been reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike on his compound. This aligns with escalating Israeli assessments throughout the day, with Prime Minister Netanyahu stating there are “growing signs that Khamenei is no longer around.” Reuters separately quoted an Israeli source claiming Khamenei’s body has been located.

How We Got Here

Why Operation Epic Fury Matters

• Dismantling the nuclear and missile threats: Operation Midnight Hammer set Iran’s nuclear program back, but it did not eliminate the threats entirely. Iran retained the knowledge, residual capability, and political will to reconstitute its nuclear program as well as a vast missile infrastructure. Since the regime signaled its intent to rebuild these capabilities and refused to make meaningful concessions at the negotiating table, force was the last option. Operation Epic Fury has targeted the remaining nuclear infrastructure, missile production facilities, and military-industrial complex that would enable reconstitution, an imminent threat to U.S. national security.
• Empowering the Iranian people: By degrading the regime’s military and senior leadership, the strikes bolster Iran’s historic protest movement and enforce President Trump’s red line against the regime’s mass killing of protestors. In his remarks this morning, President Trump directly addressed the Iranian people, calling on them to “take over your government.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the operations will “create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.” A weakened regime with a degraded repression apparatus is more vulnerable to the democratic aspirations of its own people, who are the longest suffering victims of this regime.
• Protecting U.S. and allied security: The operations target Iran’s missile industry, naval capabilities, and the military infrastructure that supports terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and other Iran-backed militias, that have destabilized the Middle East for decades. This is the most significant joint U.S.-Israeli military operation in history, conducted in “full synchronization and coordination” following months of joint planning.
• Advancing long-standing congressional policy of dismantlement: Congress has repeatedly reaffirmed that it is U.S. policy to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program. In the Iran Sanctions Act, the Clinton administration and a bipartisan majority in Congress agreed that terminating sanctions on Iran required the administration to certify that Iran was no longer developing a nuclear weapons capability; ceased its ballistic missile development; and was no longer a designated state-sponsor of terrorism. Similarly, the termination criteria for Iran-specific sanctions in the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA) require Iran to cease “the pursuit, acquisition, and development of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles and ballistic missile launch technology.” In 2012, President Obama also signed into law the bipartisan Iran Threat Reduction Act, which further strengthened the termination criteria in CISADA, by requiring that Iran “verifiably dismantle” its nuclear, chemical weapons, and ballistic missiles. Because Iran has rejected diplomacy and refuses to dismantle its nuclear weapons development infrastructure, the proliferation threat Congress sought to address remains imminent.

The President’s Clear Legal Authority

• Well-established Article II authority: The President’s authority to use military force to protect the United States from an imminent threat, such as the reconstitution of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, is well established under Article II of the Constitution. The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has consistently recognized that the President may deploy military force abroad without prior congressional authorization when such action serves important national interests.
• Every modern president has exercised this authority: In 1992, the Department of Justice advised that the President has “authority to commit troops overseas without specific prior Congressional approval” to protect U.S. interests. President Clinton conducted a sustained NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo (1999) without prior congressional authorization. President Obama ordered air operations in Libya (2011) that continued beyond the War Powers Resolution’s 90-day window. And in 2018, OLC’s opinion on airstrikes against Syrian chemical weapons facilities established that the President may use force when it (1) serves important national interests and (2) the anticipated hostilities do not rise to the level of “war” in the constitutional sense. Sustained strikes against identified military, missile, and nuclear targets, even over multiple days, fall well within the scope of operations that OLC has consistently found do not constitute “war” in the constitutional sense.
• Clear national security interest in eliminating imminent threats: Preventing Iran’s nuclear reconstitution and eliminating its missile threats address two very imminent threats to the national interest. Even after the 12-Day War, Iran maintains a stockpile of enriched uranium, still operates the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and sponsors terrorist proxies that have killed hundreds of Americans. A regime actively rebuilding these capabilities after they have been degraded poses a threat that the President has both the constitutional authority and the strategic obligation to thwart. Every day that reconstitution proceeds unchecked brings the Islamic Republic closer to a breakout that, once achieved, is irreversible.

What Congress Should Do Now

• Proactive reporting and oversight: Congress has an important and constructive role to play during these operations. The Trump administration should report proactively to Congress, consistent with past practices, including on the scope and objectives of the operation, the expected duration of hostilities, and the resources required to achieve U.S. goals. Members of Congress should request immediate classified briefings from the Departments of Defense and State on operational progress, force posture, and diplomatic end-state planning.
• Resources and replenishment: Congress should move swiftly to ensure the administration has the resources and authorities it needs to sustain operations and achieve its objectives, including through supplemental appropriations if necessary. This should include the replenishment of missile defense interceptors and other critical U.S. government munitions stocks that are being drawn down during active operations. Through engagement, oversight, and the power of the purse, Congress can shape this process constructively, not through resolutions that restrict the President’s ability to act lawfully consistent with his constitutional authorities.