The Middle East is now in open war.

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran under the name Operation Epic Fury. The campaign has struck more than 300 military targets and eliminated senior regime figures, including Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Officials have described the operation as an effort to dismantle Tehran’s military and terrorist infrastructure, disrupt its weapons capabilities, and advance a path toward regime change.

Iran retaliated with hundreds of ballistic missiles and armed drones aimed at Israeli cities and U.S. bases in the Gulf, triggering one of the most intense air defense battles in decades. Iranian strikes have resulted in multiple civilian deaths and injuries in Israel and have left U.S. service members wounded or killed.

The escalation has not been limited to Israel. For the first time, Iran has directly attacked an EU member state, marking a significant expansion of the conflict into EU territory. At the same time, Tehran has launched direct, large-scale missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, bringing Arab states directly into the line of fire and dramatically widening the scope of the war across the region.

This is a direct clash between Western military power and Iran and its terror proxies, one that could reshape the security landscape of the Middle East.

This emergency briefing will examine the strategic calculations driving both sides, the regional consequences unfolding across Israel, Europe, and the Arab world, and the scenarios that will determine whether this conflict stabilizes or widens into a broader war.