Donald Trump has condemned Iran‘s ‘vicious’ leaders’ 47-year ‘campaign of bloodshed and mass murder’ as he announces strikes on the country.
The US President spoke via a video on Truth Social following a daylight missile attack, launched by the US and Israel on Iran.
Trump vowed ‘to raze [the country’s] military industry to the ground as he stressed the region’s terrorist proxies would be ‘obliterated’ and troops would face ‘certain death’ if they did not lay down their weapons.
Iran had ‘waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder’, Trump said in his eight-minute-long address, while asserting his country would not tolerate ‘mass terror’.
Stressing how the regime’s proxies continued to launch attacks on US forces in the Middle East in recent years, he added: ‘It’s been mass terror, and we are not going to put up with it any longer.
‘From Lebanon to Yemen, and from Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias which have soaked the earth with blood and guts.’
It comes as the first apparent strike was launched on Iran following weeks of knife-edge tensions between the countries, near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, this morning.
However, officials have said the 86-year-old, who has not been seen in public for days, is not in Tehran and has been transferred to a secure location, as unverified reports claim Iranian cities including Isfahan and Tabriz have been hit.
Meanwhile, Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi has urged Iranians to prepare for an uprising and to take to the streets in the midst of the Islamic Republic’s collapse.
Donald Trump has condemned Iran’s ‘vicious’ leaders’ 47-year ‘campaign of bloodshed and mass murder’ as he announces strikes on the country
The explosions come as tensions are high between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme
He warned civilians to stay at home for now and to prepare to mobilise, ready for his instructions.
Describing the US’s attacks as ‘humanitarian intervention’, he reminded security forces they had sworn to protect the Iranian people and not IS and its leaders.
He warned, if they did not switch sides, they would ‘sink’ alongside the current regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, in his statement, Donald Trump described the Iranian regime as a ‘vicious group of very hard, terrible people’.
‘For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted death to America and has waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder,’ he said.
‘Targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many many countries.
‘Among the regime’s first acts was to back a violent takeover of the US embassy in Tehran, holding of dozens of American hostages for 444 days.
‘In 1983, Iran’s proxies carried out the marine barracks bombing in Beirut, which killed 241 US military personnel.
‘In 2000, they knew and were probably involved in the attack on the USS Cole. Many died, Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq.
Plumes of smoke rise into the air following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026
This week Trump made the grave warning that Iran is manufacturing weapons that could soon strike US
A woman runs for cover following an explosion in Tehran
Smoke rises over residential area after an explosion in Tehran, Iran
‘The regime’s proxies have continued to send attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as US vessels in international shipping lanes.
‘It’s been mass terror, and we are not going to put up with it any longer.
‘From Lebanon to Yemen, and from Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias which have soaked the earth with blood and guts.’
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned the Iranian regime ‘must not be armed with nuclear weapons’.
‘My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short time ago, Israel and the United States embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.
He said the regime had ‘spilled our blood’, and ‘murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people.’
‘This murderous terrorist regime must not be armed with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity,’ he said.
‘Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.
‘The time has come for all segments of the Iranian people – the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baluchis, and the Ahwazis – to throw off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peaceful Iran.
‘Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will ensure the eternity of Israel.’
An Iranian missile was intercepted over Qatar by the Patriot Defence system, the country’s Defence Ministry said, as UK citizens have been urged to shelter by the British embassy in Doha.
Qatar has also warned residents via an alert sent on mobile phones to stay indoors and away from military bases.
The UK withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran on Friday due to security concerns, as the Foreign Office has also moved some staff based at the British embassy in Tel Aviv and their dependents to another location in Israel.
The Operation has been named ‘Lion’s Roar’ by Israel and ‘Epic Fury’ by the US Department of Defense.
He denounced the regime as the ‘world’s number one stage sponsor of terror’, which had recently killed ‘tens of thousands of its own people as they protested’.
‘It has always been the police of the United States, in particular my administration that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon,’ the US president added.
‘I will say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.’
He also said ‘Iran’s proxy Hamas’ ‘launched the monstrous October 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1000 innocent people’.
Trump lambasted the incident as ‘brutal’ and ‘something like the world has never seen before’.
Israel Katz, the Israeli Defense Minister, announced that the country is under a state of emergency as thick smoke rose from an explosion in downtown Tehran (pictured)
More explosions struck Iran’s capital after Israel said it was attacking the country. Authorities have offered no casualty information from the strikes
The IDF launched the surprise ‘preemptive’ attack in coordination with the US, according to Israeli and American officials
He said they ‘sought repeatedly to make a deal’ with Iran, but claimed the regime continuously changed its mind.
‘They didn’t know what was happening; they just wanted to practice evil,’ he said.
‘Iran refused just as it has for decades and decades. They rejected every possibility to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore.
‘Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and continue developing their long-range missiles, which can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe and our troops’ stations overseas and could soon reach the American homeland.
‘Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had, and were actually armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message.’
The US president maintained for these reasons, the US would undertake ‘a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America’ and its national security interests.
‘This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the US armed forces,’ he added.
‘I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration, and there is no military even close to its power, strength or sophistication.’
He warned that while his administration had taken ‘every possible step to minimise risk to US personnel in the region, ‘the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost’ in what he described as a ‘noble mission’.
‘We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and their children will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran,’ he said.
‘We are the greatest in the world, and [the US armed forces] will prevail.
‘To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police.
‘I say tonight you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or in the alternative face certain death.
‘So lay down your arms, you will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.’
He then turned his address to the ‘great proud people of Iran’, saying it was their ‘hour of freedom’ was at hand.
Warning them to stay sheltered and at home, he urged them to ‘take’ their government after the US operation is over.
‘This will probably be your only chance for generations,’ he said. ‘For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it.’
‘No president was willing to do what I was willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is willing to give you what you want.
‘So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.
‘Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is in your reach.
‘This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass. May god bless the brave men and women of America’s armed forces.
‘May god bless the United States of America. May god bless you all.’
