People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, this morning
THE United States and Israel bombed Iran this morning in an unprovoked act of war.
An emergency demonstration has been called outside Downing Street for 3.30pm today to oppose war on Iran, which could escalate into regional or even world war.
Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen rising from the capital Tehran. US President Donald Trump announced the start of “major combat operations” and called for regime change in the country, urging Iranians to rise up in collaboration with the attackers.
A huge US armada has built up in the Middle East in recent weeks, larger than that assembled in the Caribbean before the US bombed Venezuela and kidnapped its president last month. Mr Trump suggested the war could be a bloody one, anticipating US casualties and saying “that often happens in war.”
Talks had been ongoing in Geneva over US insistence that Iran abandon uranium enrichment for its civil nuclear power programme, as Washington claims Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied.
Mr Trump unilaterally tore up the previous agreement on Iranian nuclear power (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed in 2015) in 2018, and broke up negotiations on the issue last year by joining an unprovoked Israeli bombing spree as they were under way.
This year’s talks may also have been undertaken in bad faith by the United States, with an Israeli official briefing Reuters that the attacks had been planned for months and the launch date decided weeks ago.
Israel reported yesterday morning that retaliatory Iranian missiles had already begun to hit the country.
Tens of thousands of US troops — and about 4,000 British soldiers — are stationed on bases in the Middle East, which could be targeted by Iran in retaliation.
It is unclear if British bases have been used in any capacity by the US in the attacks. Reports in recent weeks have suggested British authorities objected to involvement in any attack, though Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also indicated he would be prepared to join US aggression against Iran.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States are illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable.
“Peace and diplomacy was possible. Instead, Israel and the United States chose war.
“This is the behaviour of rogue states — and they have jeopardised the safety of humankind around the world with this catastrophic act of aggression.
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US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before he departs the White House in Washington, DC en route to Corpus Christi, Texas on February 27, 2026.(Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Trump ran on an explicitly anti-interventionist platform when he ran for president,” noted one critic. “He lied to the American people.”
As the world braces for a possible US war on Iran and people in Venezuela, Nigeria, and Yemen still reel from recent US attacks, President Donald Trump—the self-proclaimed “peace president” who has bombed more countries than any other American administration—said Friday that the United States may launch a “friendly takeover” of Cuba.
“The Cuban government is talking with us, they’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing for Texas. “They have no money. They have no anything right now. But they’re talking to us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.”
“We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba,” he added.
BREAKING: Trump floats a “friendly takeover” of Cuba while he pushes the U.S. closer to war in Iran. Trump ran on an explicitly anti-interventionist platform when he ran for president. He lied to the American people. pic.twitter.com/zs58bXb7Mw
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary Account) (@MAGALieTracker) February 27, 2026
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío posted on social media Friday that “the US maintains its fuel embargo against Cuba in full force, and its impact as a form of collective punishment is unwavering.”
“Nothing announced in recent days changes this reality,” he added. “The possibility of conditional sales to the private sector already existed and does not alleviate the impact on the Cuban population.”
Trump’s comments sparked criticism on social media, with one X user writing: “A ‘friendly takeover’ is an interesting phrase in international diplomacy. If the US is discussing Cuba’s future, I’m sure [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is suddenly very interested in the definition of friendly’ too.”
University of North Texas, Dallas political science professor Orlando Pérez said on X that “more often than not, [Trump’s] mouth is his worst enemy.”
“This BS plays into the hands of hard-liners on both sides of the Florida Straits and reduces chances of a negotiated deal,” he added. “Why would anyone in Cuba agree to a deal that leads to a US ‘takeover’?”
Meanwhile, dozens of civil society groups on Friday sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers “to press the Trump administration to reverse its aggressive policy towards Cuba.”
“Instead, Congress should call on the administration to expand humanitarian relief, support political and economic engagement, and foster a more vibrant private sector that can deliver a better quality of life for the Cuban people,” added the groups, which include Alianza Americas, American Friends Service Committee, CodePink, Demand Progress, Peace Action, Presbyterian Church USA, RootsAction, United Church of Christ, and Win Without War.
Trump’s remarks Friday came in response to a question from NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez regarding Wednesday’s incident in which Cuban maritime defense forces killed four men and captured six others during a shootout with a Florida-registered speedboat allegedly carrying weapons intended for what Havana called “an infiltration for terrorist purposes.” South Florida has long been a base for right-wing Cuban exiles who have launched numerous terror attacks against the Cuban people and international tourists on the island, including by speedboat strafings.
Trump did not clarify his comments, seemingly suggesting that moves to topple Cuba’s socialist government—which has outlasted a dozen US presidents—could be freshly afoot. Since Cubans overthrew a brutal US-backed dictatorship in 1959, the United States or allied exile forces tried to assassinate former Cuban President Fidel Castro hundreds of times, backed an ill-fated invasion at Bay of Pigs, served as a base for perpetrators of some of the hemisphere’s worst terror attacks, and even hatched a plan to detonate a nuclear bomb high above the island to convince its people that the return of Jesus Christ was nigh and the only thing standing in the way of the so-called “Second Coming” was Castro.
A 64-year US economic embargo on Cuba, which Trump recently worsened by cutting off fuel, has been a leading force crippling Cuba’s economy and is now being blamed for a soaring infant mortality on the island.
Friday’s remarks by Trump came as Iranians and people across the Middle East and beyond are bracing for a possible US attack on Iran—the second in as many years—and less than than two months after the president ordered the bombing and invasion of Venezuela during an operation that ended with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro abducted and jailed in United States, where he is expected to face trial for dubious narco-trafficking charges.
If the US strikes Cuba, it will be the 11th country attacked during Trump’s two terms in office. The president—who says he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize—has ordered attacks on Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, and has bombed dozens of boats allegedly transporting drugs in international waters in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
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U.S. military refueling aircraft are spotted at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv amid ongoing discussions over a possible U.S. strike on Iran in Tel Aviv, Israel on February 25, 2026. [Gideon Markowicz – Anadolu Agency]
Six additional US aerial refueling aircraft are expected to head to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv as part of a broad US military buildup in the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, the Times of Israel reported Thursday, Anadolu reports.
Citing unnamed analysts tracking open-source flight data, the newspaper said: “Five American KC-46 refueling planes will depart from Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire, and a sixth tanker will depart from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. All are scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport.”
The report added that several US refueling and cargo aircraft were spotted at the same airport earlier this week, along with the arrival of 11 F-22 stealth fighter jets at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, accompanied by logistical support aircraft and aircrews.
In recent weeks, dozens of US fighter jets—including F-35s, F-22s, F-15s, and F-16s—have been spotted heading to the Middle East, alongside dozens of refueling planes and hundreds of military cargo flights, according to the report.
The developments come as indirect negotiations between the US and Iran continue, amid Israeli media assessments that Washington could carry out a strike against Tehran, though no official military decision has been announced by US authorities.
In recent weeks, the US has reinforced its military presence in the region and signaled the possibility of military action to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear and missile programs and curb “its regional allies.”
Tehran has accused Washington and Israel of fabricating pretexts for intervention and regime change and has warned it would respond to any military attack, even if limited, while insisting that sanctions relief must accompany any restrictions on its nuclear program.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a working breakfast with governors in the State Dining Room at the White House on February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
One analyst predicted Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz and attack oil installations “in the hope of driving oil prices to record levels” should the US strike.
US President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that he’s considering launching an unprovoked military strike against Iran.
According to the New York Times, Trump was asked by reporters on Friday if he was considering attacking Iran, and he replied, “I guess I can say I am considering that.”
The US has for weeks been sending fleets of warships, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, to the Middle East in apparent preparation for a massive military operation against Iran.
According to a Friday report from Al Jazeera, the buildup is the largest by the US Air Force in the region since the 2003 Iraq War, and it includes deployments of E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, F-35 stealth strike fighters and F-22 air superiority jets, and F-15 and F-16 fighter jets.
Trump has not given any justification for launching such an attack, nor has he asked the US Congress to approve it, even though the Constitution gives the legislative branch the power to declare war.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have been pushing for a vote in the US House of Representatives on a war powers resolution that would require Congress to debate and approve any act of war with Iran.
It is also not clear what goals the president would hope to achieve with the attack. A Thursday CNN report indicated that Trump is now weighing several options ranging from “more targeted strikes to sustained operations that could potentially last for weeks,” including “plans to take out Tehran’s leaders.”
Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote in a Friday analysis of Trump’s reported attack plans that there is little chance that the president will be able to achieve a quick victory over Iran simply because the offers he has made to its government are nonstarters.
“Since the US strategy… is to escalate until Tehran caves, and since capitulation is a non-option for Iran, the Iranians are incentivized to strike back right away at the US,” explained Parsi. “The only exit Tehran sees is to fight back, inflict as much pain as possible on the US, and hope that this causes Trump to back off or accept a more equitable deal.”
Parsi acknowledged that there is no way Iran can defeat the US militarily, but could “get close to destroying Trump’s presidency before it loses the war” through a number of maneuvers intended to spike the price of oil, including “closing the Strait of Hormuz” and attacking “oil installations in the region in the hope of driving oil prices to record levels and by that inflation in the US.”
“This is an extremely risky option for Iran,” Parsi conceded, “but one that Tehran sees as less risky than the capitulation ‘deal’ Trump is seeking to force on Iran.”
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People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, this morning
