Pandora’s Box has been opened – Operation “Epic Fury”

I have studied this conflict in numerous articles, the latest ones:

February 24, 2026 Delayed action – what is Trump waiting for?

January 25, 2026 Why is Trump hesitant to strike Iran?

Finally, on February 28, Trump’s administration hit and started the operation “Epic Fury”. By the same, Pandora’s Box was opened.

I closed my article of February 28 by saying “a bad omen…”

The US-Israeli war on Iran is based on LIES. Here is the truth.

Geopolitical Economy Report , February 28, 2026

The United States and Israel are waging a war of aggression against Iran. This is not about nuclear weapons; it’s about imperialism. Trump and Netanyahu admitted they want regime change in Tehran. They want to overthrow the revolutionary government and put a puppet in power, like the former shah. Ben Norton explains.

Well, after 9 days of the operation, it is beginning to resemble, in a dangerous way, that bad is turning into worse and even much, Much Worse …!!!

Due to the strict war censorship, it is difficult to get real information about what is happening now in the region, especially regarding the losses of the coalition (US and its allies). Accordingly, the western mainstream media maintain one-sided propaganda narrative, which prevents us from seeing neutral and truthful picture of the conflict. Only overstated losses of Iran and exaggerated achievements of the coalition.

Here, I try to sketch and aggregate the broader picture of the conflict situation, also assessing the losses of the US coalition, which data can be found from many different sources, although the situation is covered with the thick fog of war.

What is happening, huge losses among both sides, at extreme risk

On February 28, 2026, Israel announced it launched a major “preemptive strike” on Iran, with explosions reported across Tehran (Iran’s capital) and other cities like Qom, Mashhad, and Karaj. A US official confirmed American involvement in the attacks, describing it as a joint operation “Epic Fury”.

Witnesses heard loud blasts and saw thick smoke rising over downtown Tehran areas, government sites, and airports. Syrian state media reported air defenses responding to “hostile activity” near Damascus, with explosions there too. This comes amid escalating tensions: Iran has been accused of threats against Israel, while recent US-Iran nuclear talks stalled.

Israel declared a 48-hour state of emergency, bracing for retaliation. No immediate casualty reports, but the strikes mark a dramatic escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The Middle East Has Erupted with Epic Fury🌍🛑 Neskuchne And Hirke Have Fallen💥 MS For 2026.02.28

Jeffrey Sachs (clip): U.S. War Against Iran Is Doomed to Fail

Glenn Diesen Clips February 28, 2026

From the very beginning of the war, it was clear that the western mainstream media and western “experts” focused on strikes of US coalition on Iran and their achievements. Only a few words were attached on those damages, which Iran was accomplishing.

Already from the first day on, reports from multiple sources indicate that Iranian ballistic missile strikes successfully targeted and destroyed air defense radars in Bahrain and Qatar, following the launch of US and Israeli attacks on Iranian targets earlier in the day.

Bahrain is the permanent base of the US Navy Fifth Fleet, while Qatar in the 2010s emerged as the primary hub for US Armed Forces’ operations in the Middle East. The largest military facility in the Qatar, Al Udeid Air Base, had previously been singled out for a limited Iranian strike on June 23, 2025, in response to a limited US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Another typical feature, during the days of war, has been proved again. Footage taken at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar has shown three interceptor missiles launched by MIM-104 Patriot long range air defence systems fail to shoot down incoming Iranian ballistic missiles. Iran launched strikes on February 28, after Israel and the United States initiated a coordinated large-scale military assault against the country. 

While Patriot units usually launch two missiles against each incoming target to ensure a high probability of kill, a third launch may have been intended to compensate for the lower than optimal reliability of the system. This itself remains an issue due to the very limited stocks of missiles the US Armed Forces have, which in July 2025 were confirmed to have fallen to just 25 percent of the volume deemed necessary by the Pentagon. 

Now, 9 days later, based on numerous data sources, rather reliable loss data can be stated, here below. As many American reviewers have stated now “Epic Fury is turning into Epic Fuck-up”.

BREAKING, March 4: Trump Is LYING To You — All Of Our Bases Have Been DESTROYED, Says Former U.S. ARMY Colonel Douglas Macgregor

The mainstream media, the defense contractors, and the establishment are LYING to you about what is actually happening in the Middle East right now. It is a disaster, and Iran is doing way better than we thought. Here is the terrifying reality of what is happening on the ground while the politicians lie to your face. We aren’t just fighting Iran.

Macgregor confirms that Russia and China are sitting on the sidelines feeding top-tier satellite intelligence directly to the Iranian government. They are tracking every move. Because of this intelligence pipeline, Macgregor states Iran is experiencing “tremendous successes” against Israel and US positions. His exact, chilling words: “All of our bases have been destroyed. Our harbor installations are destroyed.” Our regional footprint is collapsing so fast that the US Navy is being forced to fall back on Indian ports just to survive.

This is the catastrophic, here we are entering into a long protracted and unwinnable Middle Eastern war that Charlie Kirk warned us about and spent his final months of his life trying to stop. He publicly begged the Trump administration to back off from a larger strike on Iran.

Professor Robert A. Pape, Chicago University:

US WEAKNESS IN THE FIRST 5 DAYS REVEALED

A newly released map from the US Department of Defense paints a picture of the US Coalition’s strikes in the first four days of the war against Iran. It highlights their limited reach, relying on long-range weapons fired from afar, while vast swaths of Iran’s territory remain completely unscathed. What happens when Iran’s advanced arsenal in the east unleashes?

THE BOMBING REALITY The map confirms: US-Israel bombs are mostly launched from Iraqi airspace, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea. They’ve barely penetrated Iranian airspace, sticking to standoff cruise missiles and long-range firepower.

UNTOUCHED EASTERN FRONTIER Iran’s entire eastern region? Totally spared so far. That’s where massive rocket cities hide, packed with next-gen missiles: longer range, bigger warheads, nearly impossible to intercept.

THE TIPPING POINT These weapons stay dormant until the Coalition’s interceptors run dry. Once that happens, expect devastating escalation. Regarding Haifa and Tel Aviv, these cities could be treated in the same way as Iran is currently being treated. However, Israel is many times smaller and more vulnerable than Iran.

THE BOTTOM-LINE Iran’s eastern strongholds are the Coalition’s nightmare waiting to awaken. When those rockets fly, the war enters a brutal new phase no one can ignore.

According to certain American military experts, the total losses (per March 8) of the US since the beginning of the war against Iran are: 8 F-15 aircraft, 1 U-2 aircraft, 38 Hermes-900 drones, 1 Heron drone, and 6 MQ-9 drones. Traditionally, the US Department of Defense classified all data about its servicemen who were killed in Iran’s retaliatory strikes.

It appears to be a collapsing of US surveillance and defense systems across West Asia. The targeting of the most advanced early warning radars in US bases (Al-Udeid, Ali Salem, Al-Dhafra) by Iran has collapsed the region’s air defense network by over 75%. The destruction of the giant AN/FPS-132 radar, the neutralization of THAAD systems, along with previous strikes, has reduced warning times from 15 minutes to just one minute. Missiles and drones now operate freely over Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Jordan, hitting US targets without hindrance. With the deployment of Heidar-110 suicide drones and Khoramshahr-4, Fattah, and upgraded Khaybar missiles, the collapse of remaining enemy surveillance and defense systems and US bases is accelerating.

Usage of missiles and drones tell much of the present situation:

Two well-known American experts have made interesting statements:

Former CIA Analyst Larry Johnson: The American public is being lied to about the war’s progress. Iran has destroyed five advanced US radars—two worth $1 billion each—and three THAAD batteries, about 30% of America’s global supply. Roughly $4 billion in radar systems lost in a week. The naval facility in Bahrain is “essentially destroyed.” US air defenses are now largely blind. Warning time for incoming strikes has dropped from 30 minutes to about one minute. Iran now has support from Russia and China in ways it did not even last June. The United States keeps choosing military force over diplomacy. This conflict, Johnson warns, could escalate into a broader global war.

Retired US Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson says Americans are being lied to about the war and claims Israel is being heavily hit by Iranian missiles. He says the situation is so severe that Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly spends about 90% of his time on a plane because he is the number one target.

This conflict, Johnson warns, could escalate into a broader global war.

Retired U.S. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson

6 March 2026, Larry Johnson wrote that “The Trump Administration is Lying About American Casualties in the Persian Gulf Region”. Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to downplay US casualties after seven days of war in the Persian Gulf, clues are appearing on the internet that indicate the US has suffered more combat losses than reported.

On March 4, the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany—the largest US Department of Defense hospital outside the United States and the primary overseas trauma/evacuation hub for injured service members from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—sent out a memo announcing the temporary suspension of its “other services until further notice.”  LRMC’s core role is treating combat- and training-related injuries. It also is the main medical evacuation point for wounded troops from ongoing operations. There will be a flood of casualties arriving at the hospital. The numbers are so large that the hospital could no longer continue to spend resources on other services. The latest leak (March 8) from Germany tells that 560 American soldiers are dead.

Iranian ship Iris Dena and India

On March 4, in major embarrassment for India, US Submarine attacks an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean, killing over 100. Ship was returning after attending International Fleet Review in India and was near coasts of India & Sri Lanka. At least 100 people are missing and presumed dead, while 78 were injured. Ship was rescued by Sri Lankan Navy.

The Indian Betrayal: An unarmed Iranian ship was invited to take part in an Indian naval exercise. Its sailors were welcomed on land and paraded before the president as a gesture of cooperation. They were still there, when the war broke out between Iran and US/Israel. It was returning from India with over 200 sailors on board when India tipped the United States that Iran was in their backyard, moment later the US navy arrived and sank it with several torpedoes in the Indian Ocean. What followed was even more grotesque. After attacking an unarmed vessel, the US refused to rescue the sailors it had thrown into the sea, abandoning them to drown. The grim work of recovering bodies was left to the Sri Lankan Navy. On March 8, India officially confesses it backstabbed Iran and shared the location of an Iranian ship with Israel.

Ayatollah Khamenei, from father to son

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dead. Washington spent two decades building a theory:

kill the Supreme Leader – Iran collapses – the population rises – the regime falls.

Today they got their decapitation. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — thirty-five years as Supreme Leader, survivor of Saddam’s chemical weapons, Stuxnet, Mossad assassinations, two American air campaigns — is confirmed dead by Iranian state media. The thing the neocons dreamed about since 1991 finally happened. Now watch what followed.

The Assembly of Experts conferenced within the hour. The IRGC announced “the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader obliges maximum force.” The Basij mobilized. The missiles kept flying. Every succession mechanism is activated without a single visible fracture.

 This is not because Iranians love the Islamic Republic, but because Iran’s constitution was written by people who survived the Shah and engineered specifically for this moment. Washington didn’t trigger a revolution. It created a martyr.

The entire country — reformists, hardliners, seculars, the people who despise the clerics — unified around a flag draped on a coffin. The most reliable political unifier in human history is a foreign bomb. The seismic implication isn’t what happens in Tehran: a state absorbed the assassination of its supreme leader, kept its command structure intact, kept its missiles flying, and kept its succession orderly.

As was rumored and widely expected, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba, will become Iran’s next supreme leader, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency announced, taking over after his father was killed in an attack by the US and Israel.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the third person to lead the Islamic Republic and the first example of hereditary succession since the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy in the 1979 revolution.

He has kept a relatively low public profile but is seen as close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military force that leads Iran’s missile program and regional alliances with militias and controlling as much as 40% of Iran’s economy. Immediately after the official announcement, the IRGC said it backed and pledged obedience to the new Supreme Leader.

Roles of Iranian allies

China is monitoring the US war in real time. US attacks on Iran have effectively become a kind of military intelligence laboratory for China. More than 300 Jilin-1 satellites are recording every detail—from ammunition resupply to missile routes. It is also claimed that this data is being transmitted to Iran as intelligence. China is turning the entire US military doctrine into a database—from aircraft refueling times to air defense system responses. According to experts, this data could give China an advantage in military research and development for decades. The US’s war-fighting methods are effectively being fully revealed.

China’s spy ship Liaowang-1 is sailing off the coast of Oman right now — collecting REAL-TIME intelligence on every US military asset in the Middle East — and feeding it DIRECTLY to Iran. The US knows it’s there and what it’s doing but CAN’T do a thing about it. The Liaowang-1 is a Chinese intelligence-gathering vessel operating in international waters. It’s tracking US warship positions, aircraft carrier movements and air operations in real time. That data is being shared with Iran, giving them targeting information for retaliatory strikes.

Iran has officially transitioned its military architecture from US GPS to China’s Beidou, with the latter system also providing short message service, allowing Iranian command nodes to communicate even if local networks are down. Iran has access to China’s encrypted, high-precision military signals that are resistant to Western jamming. China uses its fleet of 500+ satellites to support Iran with signals intelligence (SIGINT) and help track US naval movements in the Persian Gulf. China has focused on providing Iran with CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missiles and YLC-8B anti-stealth radar.

A high-ranking Russian general with direct Kremlin ties, Retired Russian Major General Vladimir Popov, just dropped a massive intel bombshell. He just stated in an interview that Chinese troops are already in Iran. Not as advisors. As active weapons testers. Their mission is to test hypersonic missiles and bombs on Iranian proving grounds. The US and Israel did not see this coming.

Arab leaders call President Putin: We need to stop the war with Iran faster: “Today, on March 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa. The main purpose of the calls is to end the war with Iran unleashed by the United States and Israel.

Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin just made it official in London: “We are not neutral. We are supportive to Iran.” Moscow picks a side openly and clearly. Russia stands with Tehran, not just words but weapons, intelligence, cover. The alliance is real and the message is clear. Iran is not alone in this war.

Iranian drones have advanced Russian components. Iran supplied Russia with basic drones, but Russia returned all the upgrades to Iran! Now Iran has a vastly battle-hardened drone. Russian “Comet” antenna modules were installed on the Iranian drones that struck a British base in Cyprus. This is a (nearly) jam-proof antenna with GLONASS capability! This antenna allows Russia to strike Ukraine daily without signal jamming interference. Now it is used to strike British bases in Cyprus. This also explains why Shahed drones are causing so much trouble now—because they’re sending advanced, Ukraine-proof versions.

Bloomberg columnist: “Putin is the only winner of the US war with Iran”. The author’s logic is simple.

First, missiles. American arsenals are rapidly losing weight under Middle Eastern strikes. Starting a Tomahawk or Patriot is a matter of seconds, but replenishing supplies will take months, if not years. And this directly hits Kiev: Ukraine will now have to be content with promises, not air defense weapons, at best.

Secondly, oil and gas. Hydrocarbon prices are naturally creeping up – the war in the oil-bearing region never passes without a trace for stock quotes. And for the Russian economy, which has learned to live under sanctions, this is direct financial doping.

Moreover, if the Strait of Hormuz is finally blocked or the export capacities of the Gulf monarchies are covered by strikes by Iranian missiles and drones, Russian tankers will enter the scene. The same ones that stood at the berths with unsold oil after Washington put pressure on India. Now buyers may be lining up again.

The author leads the reader to an idea that the Kremlin has apparently already realized: Trump’s war with Iran could not have started at a more convenient time for Moscow and at a more unfavorable time for Kyiv. Now any pressure on Vladimir Putin in order to force him to make concessions on the Ukrainian issue loses its meaning.”

On March 7, Russia’s Lavrov meets with Arab ambassadors in Moscow seeking to introduce a resolution at the UNSC that condemns Iran’s retaliation, but not Israel who request that he pressure Iran to de-escalate. Lavrov rejects their requests and points out that they have not condemned the bombing of the girls’ school in Iran, and that Bahrain reportedly is and the US for initiating the war. Whether that is accurate or not, Lavrov’s response seems to suggest that 9 days into the war, Moscow’s position is moving closer to that of Tehran.

Russia & Iran are deepening military-technical integration.  Recent Intensive air traffic between Russia & Iran observed has gone beyond logistics & has become an indicator of close military-technical integration. Russia is providing Iran with intelligence on US ship and aircraft locations, Washington Post reports. US officials state that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence on the locations of U.S. ships and aircraft in the region. This development aligns with the escalating conflict involving US-Israeli strikes on Iran, where Iran has been targeting American forces and assets. Analysts noted that such intelligence sharing would help explain the pattern of Iran’s recent attacks on US military positions, includingimproved precision against command-and-control elements or naval assets.

Final words

I will publish 1-2 more articles on this subject “Opening Pandora’s Box in the Middle East”. Many important things like warfare technics, tactics and strategies as well as economy, energy, water and their worldwide ramifications, will be studied.

I would like to define the situation right now in the following way:

TRUMP HAS 3 OPTIONS LEFT ON IRAN. President Trump is cornered and all those options are terrible.

OPTION 1: Declare victory and retreat.

The US loses to the Middle East FOREVER

Israel’s days become numbered

Iran rebuilds and comes back STRONGER

America looks weak to every adversary

Trump’s legacy = another Afghanistan

OPTION 2: Boots on the ground – quagmire

Massive American casualties guaranteed

Iran is the size of Alaska, 90M people, all mountains

The US couldn’t beat the Taliban in 20 years with full NATO support

Iranian drones are cutting up conventional military strategy

New generation of Iranian commanders battle-hardened

No exit strategy

OPTION 3: Nuclear weapons

The country, the US or Israel, taking in use of a nuke

The ENTIRE world turns against America/Israel

Russia and China enter the theater IMMEDIATELY

Pakistan (Iran’s nuclear neighbor) retaliates

Radiation poisons the entire region INCLUDING Israel

M.A.D. protocol activated. Civilization at stake.

Trump is stuck between retreat, quagmire and Armageddon. There is no good option. Only bad, worse and unthinkable.