2 FEB 26 SITREP

• President Trump confirmed that Operation Epic Fury began several days earlier with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes announced early Saturday morning from Mar-a-Lago, targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leadership and clerical leadership while leaving civilian leadership largely intact.
• U.S. and Israeli forces conducted continued strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile force, Iranian Navy, command and control systems, and broader warfighting capabilities, with President Trump stating from the East Room of the White House that objectives may be achieved ahead of the previously confirmed 4-week bombing campaign timeline.
• President Trump publicly called for mass protests inside Iran and stated he is willing to work with new Iranian leadership if it emerges, referencing a Venezuela model involving a targeted raid to remove leadership followed by disengagement without a prolonged ground war.
• Demonstrations in Tehran included chants of “death to America” and public mourning for the Ayatollah, while members of the Iranian diaspora publicly expressed support for the strikes and gratitude toward President Trump.

• Iranian counterattacks targeted U.S. allies in the Gulf, including strikes affecting Dubai, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, described as asymmetric warfare conducted by decentralized IRGC units operating independently after leadership losses.
• A base in Kuwait was struck, hitting a tactical operations center, with reports indicating 4 American service members KIA and as many as 18 wounded; Secretary Hegseth confirmed that the facility struck was a tactical operations center.
• Over Kuwait, 3 U.S. F-15 aircraft were shot down in a friendly fire incident, with all crews surviving and at least 1 pilot reportedly losing 1 or 2 fingers.
• Iran has also announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s largest oil transit chokepoint, through which more than 20 million barrels of crude, condensate, and fuel passed daily last year on average, directly affecting oil shipments bound for Europe, the United States, and Asia.

• Yesterday morning In Austin, a Muslim migrant from Senegal, Africa carried out a mass shooting at a bar following the launch of Operation Epic Fury, raising concerns about domestic retaliatory violence linked to foreign military operations.
• The attacker had previously held legal status in the United States, including a visa that he overstayed, later obtaining a green card and at one point American citizenship, showing that his presence in the country moved through multiple legal stages.
• Statements following the attack asserted that the shooter did not view the United States as his nation and instead carried foreign loyalties, ethnic feuds, and overseas conflicts into American communities.
• The shooting intensified scrutiny of immigration and vetting policies, with concern that millions had entered the country both illegally and legally without sufficient background screening to prevent foreign sectarian violence from occurring on American soil.