Florida Republicans just passed a sweeping voter integrity bill aimed at safeguarding the state’s elections — with one key timeline detail.
The Republican-controlled Legislature pushed the measure through Thursday, sending it to Gov. Ron DeSantis after it cleared both chambers in largely party-line votes. The Florida House approved the bill 77–28, while the Senate passed it earlier in the day by a 27–12 vote.
The legislation is modeled on President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act, a federal proposal that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.
The measure requires proof of citizenship during voter registration and expands coordination between election officials and state agencies responsible for confirming eligibility.
DeSantis praised the legislation after lawmakers sent it to his desk, saying the move would further cement Florida’s reputation as a national leader on election security.
“Although Florida has already enacted much of what the federal legislation contemplates, this will further fortify our state as the leader in election integrity,” DeSantis wrote on social media.
Florida already bans non-citizens from voting — a prohibition voters added to the state constitution in 2020. The new legislation builds on that rule by tightening how the state verifies citizenship during the voter registration process.
State Sen. Erin Grall, the Republican sponsor of the legislation, said lawmakers must continue strengthening election protections where vulnerabilities exist.
“What is our tolerance for fraud and lack of integrity?” Grall said during debate.
State investigators have previously uncovered instances of non-citizens registering or casting ballots. A report released last year by Florida’s Office of Election Crimes and Security said investigators reviewed more than 800 potential cases and identified nearly 200 individuals believed to have illegally registered or voted. Many of those cases were referred to law enforcement.
The legislation also includes additional election changes, including a provision preventing college students from using student identification cards when voting in person.
One key timeline detail appears in the legislation itself.
The proof-of-citizenship requirement would not take effect until 2027, meaning it would not apply to the 2026 midterm elections.
The delayed rollout gives state agencies and local election supervisors time to update voter registration systems and coordinate verification procedures before the new requirements begin.
The bill now heads to DeSantis’ desk for his signature.

Sunglasses with american flag on wooden table

Take Notes, America — Florida Just Passed A Voter Integrity Bill

Election

election integrity

President Trump

Ron DeSantis

SAVE America Act

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is used to running the state — but now his neighbors say he’s been running their backyard too.
A bitter property fight between the governor and the couple next door has exploded into a federal lawsuit, with Jeremy and Simone Mock accusing Shapiro and his wife, Lori, of trespassing on a slice of their land and trying to claim it for themselves.
At the center of the dispute is roughly 2,900 square feet of property between the two homes in the Philadelphia suburb of Jenkintown. The Mocks say the strip belongs to them. The governor’s family says otherwise.
According to the complaint filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the fight began after security concerns intensified around Shapiro’s homes. In April 2025, an arsonist hurled a Molotov cocktail into the governor&#8217;s mansion in Harrisburg while Shapiro and his family were inside celebrating Passover. The attack prompted officials to review security at the governor’s other home as well.
As part of those discussions, the Shapiros wanted to build an eight-foot security fence near the edge of their property in Jenkintown.
The situation also carries a dose of political irony. Shapiro previously criticized former President Donald Trump’s border wall and other immigration policies. Now the Democratic governor finds himself in a legal fight tied to building a fence around his own home.
That’s when surveyors discovered something surprising: a piece of land the Shapiros had long treated as part of their yard was actually deeded to the Mocks.
Court filings say the governor first tried to buy the land from his neighbors so the security project could move forward. When the two sides couldn’t agree on a price, the Mocks say they offered another option — leasing the strip instead.
But the lawsuit claims negotiations soon broke down.
The Mocks allege the Shapiros began acting as though the land already belonged to them, planting trees on the disputed strip and asserting control over the area. The complaint also claims that the Pennsylvania State Police began patrolling the property as part of a security zone connected to the governor’s protection detail.
When the Mocks attempted to access the land, officers allegedly told them the area was considered “disputed” and ordered them to leave.
The neighbors say the situation forced them to halt construction of their own fence and prevented contractors from entering the area.
The Shapiros strongly dispute the allegations and have filed their own legal action.
Their argument relies on Pennsylvania’s adverse possession law, which allows someone to claim ownership of land if they have openly used and maintained it for 21 continuous years without the legal owner objecting.
According to their filing, the Shapiros say they’ve treated the fence line as the real property boundary since they purchased their home in 2003, mowing and maintaining the area for decades.
The Mocks call the situation something else entirely — an “outrageous abuse of power.”
In the end, it’s the kind of neighbor property fight many homeowners have seen before — just with a governor on one side of the fence.
<iframe loading="lazy" class="scribd_iframe_embed" tabindex="0" title="Shapiro Lawsuit" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/1011011344/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-WnUh2hP4VmNYyj1PAhet" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488"></iframe>
<a style="color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Shapiro Lawsuit on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/1011011344/Shapiro-Lawsuit#from_embed"> Shapiro Lawsuit </a> by <a style="color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Leif Le Mahieu's profile on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/user/646035392/Leif-Le-Mahieu#from_embed"> Leif Le Mahieu </a>

Home improvement Josh Shapiro

The Backyard Battle Between Dem Governor And Couple Next Door

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania

Politics

Far-left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is suddenly drawing a bright line between politics and home life — insisting his wife isn’t a public figure even though she’s appeared in glossy magazine spreads and splashy media profiles that introduced the city to its newest political power couple.
The mayor made the claim Friday after fresh backlash erupted over reports that his wife, Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji, used her Instagram account to “like” posts celebrating the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.
When asked about the controversy, Mamdani attempted to shut down the line of questioning by framing his spouse as a private citizen.
“My wife is the love of my life, and she’s also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall,” Mamdani said.
He added that as mayor, he believes it’s his job — not hers — to answer political questions.
The explanation has drawn skepticism because Duwaji has hardly remained out of the spotlight.
In December, she appeared on the digital cover of New York Magazine’s The Cut, posing for photos and discussing life alongside the rising leftist politician. She has also been featured in coverage by The New York Times, which spotlighted her artwork and personal style during Mamdani’s early months in office.
In that same magazine profile, Duwaji acknowledged that Mamdani’s political ascent had thrust her into the public eye.
“I realized that it was not just his thing but our thing,” she said while reflecting on the sudden media attention surrounding their relationship.
The renewed scrutiny stems from a report detailing several social media posts Duwaji reportedly liked in the hours following the October 7 attack.
The posts included images and messages framing the Hamas assault — which killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel — as a form of “resistance.” One of the posts she liked described the breach of Israel’s border barrier as “breaking the walls of apartheid.”
Other posts reportedly showed militants celebrating inside captured Israeli military vehicles during the attack.
The revelations have revived scrutiny of Mamdani’s own rhetoric surrounding the conflict.
In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack, Mamdani — who was serving as a New York state assemblyman at the time — issued a statement mourning those killed while also criticizing Israeli policies and warning that the situation would lead to more violence.
Two years later, marking the anniversary of the attack, Mamdani again blasted Israel’s war in Gaza, accusing the country of committing “genocide” and citing casualty figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The episode has only intensified scrutiny around the mayor and his inner circle — especially as critics point out that someone featured in glossy magazine profiles doesn’t usually get to retreat behind the label of “private citizen” once controversy erupts.

Zohran Mamdani Sworn In As New York City’s New Mayor

Mamdani Makes Excuse For Wife Oct. 7 ‘Likes’ — But Paper Trail Doesn’t Add Up

Israel

mamdani

October 7

America’s military isn’t just hammering Iran’s regime on the battlefield — it’s blowing apart Tehran’s propaganda machine online too.
U.S. Central Command issued a blunt fact check on Wednesday, dismantling a string of dramatic claims pushed by the Iranian regime as Operation Epic Fury continues expanding across Iranian airspace.
Iranian state outlets and officials have circulated a series of sweeping claims in recent days, including that United States forces are withdrawing from the region, that an American destroyer had been sunk, that Iranian forces shot down United States fighter jets, and that 100 United States Marines had been killed.
CENTCOM says none of it is true.
“More fake news from the Iranian regime,” the command wrote in a statement posted to X, before outlining what it said is actually happening on the battlefield.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
More fake news from the Iranian regime: 
🚫The regime claims U.S. forces are withdrawing. 
🚫They say they sank a U.S. destroyer. 
🚫IRGC claims to have taken down U.S. fighter aircraft. 
🚫The regime says they killed 100 U.S. Marines. 
ALL LIES.
Reality: 
✅U.S. forces are… <a href="https://t.co/X0P0X4VdTa">pic.twitter.com/X0P0X4VdTa</a>
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/2029293740049715563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to the United States military, American forces are not retreating — they are expanding the fight.
United States aircraft and naval assets are pushing deeper into Iranian airspace as strikes intensify against military infrastructure tied to Tehran’s drone and ballistic missile programs.
At the same time, American forces have already destroyed a significant portion of Iran’s naval capability in the region.
According to CENTCOM, United States forces have sunk more than 20 Iranian regime vessels using what the command described as overwhelming firepower from air, land, and sea operations.
The campaign is also dramatically degrading Iran’s ability to launch attacks.
Over a four-day period, United States forces have reduced Iranian regime drone launches by 73 percent and ballistic missile launches by 86 percent, according to the military’s latest assessment.
The command concluded its fact check with a blunt reminder of the imbalance between the two forces.
“United States military power projection capability is unmatched,” CENTCOM said.
The update comes as Operation Epic Fury enters one of its most intense phases since the joint United States–Israel operation began.
The campaign was launched after United States and Israeli forces carried out a precision strike that eliminated Iran’s longtime Supreme Leader and targeted key components of the regime’s military infrastructure tied to its missile and nuclear programs.
In response, Iranian officials vowed what they called the “fiercest offensive in history,” launching waves of missiles and drones across the region, including attacks targeting Israel and United States positions.
But the latest battlefield data suggests those capabilities are already being severely degraded.
American and allied air defenses have intercepted many incoming threats, while follow-on United States strikes have systematically targeted drone launch sites, missile batteries, and naval assets tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
At the same time, Iranian officials and state media have continued circulating dramatic claims of battlefield victories — assertions the United States military says simply don’t match reality.
Battlefield data tells a very different story: Iranian missile launches are plummeting, its naval forces are being destroyed, and American forces are expanding strikes deeper into Iranian airspace as Operation Epic Fury intensifies.
As Iran pushes propaganda online, the United States military says the battlefield continues delivering the truth.

CENTCOM_FACT_CHECK_FINAL

America Isn’t Just Blowing Up Iran’s Battlefield — It’s Blowing Up Tehran’s Propaganda

Iran

Operation Epic Fury

At 3:38 p.m., President Donald Trump gave the order to strike Iran.
&#8216;Operation Epic Fury&#8217; was set in motion.
Less than an hour later on Friday, standing on the tarmac in Corpus Christi, Texas, Trump faced the press — calm, relaxed, completely unreadable.
A reporter asked him point-blank: “How close are you to making a decision on strikes?”
Trump smiled.
“I’d rather not tell you,” he said. “You would have had the greatest scoop in history, right?”
What the world didn’t know: the decision had already been made.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
President Trump gave the order for Iran strikes at 3.38pm, Gen. Caine says. Trump was on Air Force One at the time, along with the press pool, shortly before landing in Corpus Christi, Texas. At about 4.29pm my pool colleague <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieDebusmann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BernieDebusmann</a> asked him: ‘How close are you to… <a href="https://t.co/2t4uLzJNK2">pic.twitter.com/2t4uLzJNK2</a>
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannyctkemp/status/2028466599187960227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Trump had authorized the strikes while still aboard Air Force One. By the time he stepped onto the Texas runway, the machinery of war was already turning. Jets were moving. Plans were unfolding. Iran’s evil regime was hours away from feeling the full force of Operation Epic Fury.
And Trump gave nothing away.
No dramatic tone. No visible tension. No slip of the tongue.
He delivered remarks. He greeted supporters. He even stopped at Whataburger.
Behind the scenes, one of the most consequential military operations in decades was about to begin.
It was a masterclass in restraint — a president holding the winning hand while the cameras rolled, never flinching, never tipping the table.
Hours later, the strikes would land.
The main target? Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the joint United States-Israel operation. The 86-year-old ayatollah, who ruled Iran for more than three decades and consolidated near-total authority over the judiciary, state media, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was eliminated alongside more than 40 senior regime figures and military commanders.
Among those confirmed killed were Khamenei’s top security adviser Ali Shamkhani, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Khamenei’s chief military secretary Mohammad Shirazi, head of military intelligence Saleh Asadi, and senior figures tied to Iran’s nuclear research apparatus.
Israeli officials said opening waves of Operation Epic Fury decimated the regime’s chain of command. The strike triggered an immediate succession crisis inside Tehran. Under Iran’s constitution, an interim council assumes authority while the Assembly of Experts selects a new supreme leader — but with key leadership figures dead, the path forward is uncertain.
President Trump celebrated Khamenei’s death on Truth Social, calling him “one of the most evil people in History” and describing the killing as “justice” for Americans and others killed by Iran over decades of terrorism and proxy warfare. He said the United States intelligence played a direct role in tracking the ayatollah, writing that Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems.”
Trump warned that bombing would continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary” to achieve what he called the goal of “peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”

Trump

The Moment Trump Refused To Blink In Front Of The World — Minutes After Ordering Epic Fury

Donald Trump

Executive

Global Politics

Israel isn’t just striking Iran — it’s staring down thousands of Hezbollah rockets and daring the terror group to try.
As Operation Epic Fury targets Iran’s missile and military infrastructure, Israeli intelligence officials say Hezbollah still retains significant firepower. According to two officials who spoke to Fox News, the terror group has between 11,000 and 12,000 rockets and missiles remaining in its arsenal.
Roughly 5,500 to 6,000 of those are believed to be within range of Israel.
That’s about one-fifth of Hezbollah’s pre-war firepower — a dramatic reduction — but still enough to threaten civilian population centers, including parts of central Israel. Hundreds of the remaining weapons are medium-range missiles capable of reaching deep into the country.
And Israeli officials say Hezbollah isn’t backing down.
“They are actually trying to increase their capabilities,” one intelligence official said. “Both in the fire capabilities with rockets and rocket launchers, and ground units that they still have.”
In short, even after taking heavy losses, the Iran-backed group is trying to rebuild.
The warning comes as Israel expands its campaign following Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.–Israel strike aimed at dismantling Iran’s missile and nuclear infrastructure. Israeli leaders have described the mission as controlled and decisive — not a regime-change war and not an endless conflict — while making clear they prepared for retaliation from Tehran’s proxy network.
That includes Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s government says it is committed to the ceasefire framework brokered in part through U.S. diplomacy during President Donald Trump’s tenure.
Hezbollah terrorists appear to be operating outside that framework.
Despite Lebanon’s stated commitment, the group has continued rocket activity and military positioning that Israeli officials say undermines the ceasefire and increases the risk of escalation.
For Israeli leaders, that is precisely why preparations were made ahead of Operation Epic Fury.
The posture from Jerusalem is straightforward: Israel knows exactly what Hezbollah has left — and it is prepared for it.

Hezbollah rocket Lebanon

Hezbollah Terrorists Down To A Fraction Of Their Arsenal — Here’s What Remains

Hezbollah

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

World

Israel is not waiting to be attacked — it is dismantling threats in real time.
As Israeli aircraft strike underground bunkers in Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed it is also targeting Hezbollah command centers and launch sites in Lebanon, warning the terror group it is entering a fight it cannot win.
An IDF official said the strikes against Hezbollah were part of preparations tied to the broader operation against Iran’s regime leadership and military infrastructure.
“We were ready for this,” the official said. “As part of the preparations for our operation in Iran, the IDF prepared for an attack from Hezbollah, allowing us to carry out a swift response.”
According to the IDF, retaliatory strikes hit Hezbollah command and control centers, launch sites, and what the official described as senior terrorists embedded within the organization’s operational network.
Israeli strikes inside Iran were still underway.
“As I am speaking right now, our aircraft are striking targets in Iran, including Tehran,” the official said, noting that underground bunkers tied to the regime are among the targets.
The objective, the IDF stressed, is to eliminate threats before they reach Israeli civilians.
“We are operating to eliminate any threats to our civilians, and will continue doing so,” the official added.
The warning to Hezbollah was blunt.
“Hezbollah is entering a fight it cannot win.”
The escalation comes after the unprecedented joint U.S.–Israel operation targeting Iranian regime assets, a move that military analysts have long warned could trigger retaliation from Tehran’s proxy network — particularly Hezbollah, which maintains a vast arsenal of rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
As the military campaign unfolds, a political voice long in exile is positioning himself for what could follow.
Appearing on Fox &amp; Friends, Reza Pahlavi — the exiled crown prince of Iran — thanked President Donald Trump for giving Iran a chance to take his country back, while signaling he is ready to return to Iran and help lead a democratic transition should the regime collapse.
“If you were to give me the opportunity to say to the Iranian people and the world, when is it that I go back there?” Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, said. “It will be the first minute I get the opportunity to do that. And that has to be, of course, orchestrated properly.”
He added that he is prepared to return.
“I’m ready to go there as soon as possible. I would like to be there, whether it is before the regime collapses or right after the regime collapses. It is important for me to be among my compatriots to fight the final battle and bring it to fruition.”
Pahlavi has pledged that any transition would involve free and fair elections and a democratic system of government.
For now, however, the battlefield remains active. Israeli aircraft continue striking Iranian regime targets while signaling to Hezbollah that escalation will be met immediately.
The message from Israeli officials is clear: retaliation was anticipated, preparations were made, and the response is already underway.

israel_hezbollah

Blunt Warning To Hezbollah Terrorists As Israel Widens War Footing

The United States didn’t hedge — it called Tehran out by name, publicly torching what it says are flat-out lies from the Iranian regime in a blunt, point-by-point takedown posted by U.S. Central Command, just hours after the joint United States–Israel operation that eliminated Iran’s supreme leader.
The fact-checking barrage comes in the wake of the coordinated strike by the United States and Israel that took out Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move officials have framed as a decisive blow against what they describe as the regime’s decades-long campaign of terror and regional destabilization.
In a pair of sharply worded statements on X, CENTCOM directly contradicted claims made by Iran’s ambassador at the United Nations and by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, labeling them false and accusing Tehran of deliberately misleading the international community.
During a U.N. Security Council meeting, Iran’s ambassador claimed Tehran’s response had been directed “solely and exclusively at the bases and assets of the United States.”
CENTCOM <a href="https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2028182813837828251">rejected</a> that claim outright.
“The Iranian Regime is actively targeting civilians and has attacked more than a dozen locations,” the command stated, listing sites it says were struck.
According to CENTCOM, those locations include:
<ul>
<li>Dubai International Airport</li>
<li>Kuwait International Airport</li>
<li>Zayed International Airport, Dubai</li>
<li>Erbil International Airport, Iraq</li>
<li>Fairmont Palm Hotel, Dubai</li>
<li>Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai</li>
<li>Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bahrain</li>
<li>Port of Dubai</li>
<li>Residential areas in Beit Shemesh, Israel</li>
<li>Residential areas in Tel Aviv, Israel</li>
<li>Residential area of Era Views Towers, Bahrain</li>
<li>Residential areas in Qatar</li>
</ul>
The public rebuttal marks a significant escalation in messaging, with the United States accusing Tehran of attacking civilian infrastructure while misrepresenting its actions before the international community.
In a separate claim, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps asserted it had struck the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with ballistic missiles.
CENTCOM again <a href="https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2028124242273767557">dismissed</a> the claim.
“The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” the command said. “The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”
The forceful denials come as the United States and Israel continue a coordinated military campaign targeting Iranian military assets, including air defenses, missile infrastructure, and naval capabilities.
By publicly labeling Tehran’s statements as false, Washington is waging an information battle alongside ongoing military operations — seeking to counter Iranian claims, reassure allies, and underscore that key U.S. assets remain fully operational.

FACT-CHECK: U.S. Destroys Iran’s UN ‘Lies’ After Supreme Leader Strike

Fact Check

United Nations

Fireballs obliterating defense sites, plumes of black smoke twisting into the Tehran skyline, and precision strikes flashing across the darkness — dramatic new footage released by the Israel Defense Forces shows what it says was a rapid seizure of air superiority over the Iranian capital within 24 hours of launching a joint assault with the United States.
The IDF says the Israeli Air Force carried out more than 700 sorties and unleashed thousands of munitions in a sweeping campaign designed to dismantle Iran’s military infrastructure at speed and scale.
“The Air Force cleared the way to Tehran within 24 hours,” the IDF said, adding that Israeli aircraft have been operating “with air superiority in the skies over Tehran” in recent hours.
The video shows fighter jets lifting off for strike missions, explosions ripping through Iranian air defense systems, and thick columns of smoke rising from targeted sites across the city. Interceptor missiles can also be seen streaking skyward as Israeli forces knock down waves of unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory.
According to the IDF, targets struck include ballistic missile launchers, military headquarters, air defense batteries, and command centers tied to what Israel describes as the Iranian regime’s terror apparatus.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Israel Defense Forces says it is striking targets in Tehran, releasing video strikes on defense systems. <a href="https://t.co/4JmoS5F53u">pic.twitter.com/4JmoS5F53u</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2028181310435422663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At the same time, Israel’s multi-layered air defense network — including the Iron Dome system, which intercepts incoming aerial threats mid-flight — working alongside fighter jets and attack helicopters, has knocked down Iranian drones since the beginning of the operation, the military said.
The air campaign unfolds as part of a broader joint offensive between Israel and the United States targeting Iranian military assets across multiple fronts. President Donald Trump announced that United States forces, operating alongside Israel, have sunk multiple Iranian naval vessels and largely obliterated Tehran’s naval headquarters, signaling a coordinated push to degrade Iran’s land, air, and sea capabilities simultaneously.
Securing air superiority over a capital of nearly nine million people in less than a day marks a significant escalation. Control of the skies allows for sustained precision strikes and limits Iran’s ability to contest operations from above.
Israel says strikes in Tehran are ongoing, with additional attacks carried out in the heart of the city in recent minutes against remaining defense systems.
Iran has responded by launching drones and vowing retaliation, setting the stage for further exchanges as the confrontation intensifies.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bottom-of-the-sea-trump-declares-irans-navy-is-finished?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jordan+Schroeder&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=‘Bottom+Of+The+Sea’%3A+Trump+Declares+Iran’s+Navy+Is+Finished">‘Bottom Of The Sea’: Trump Declares Iran’s Navy Is Finished</a>

WATCH: Israeli Air Blitz Rocks Tehran As U.S.-Backed Offensive Redoubles Attacks

Military

President Donald Trump dropped a thunderclap into the escalating showdown with Iran, declaring that United States forces alongside Israel have sunk nine Iranian naval ships and largely obliterated Tehran’s Naval Headquarters, gutting the regime’s surface fleet in a matter of hours.
The announcement lands just 24 hours after United States and Israeli forces eliminated Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a decapitation strike that reset the board overnight. Now, the focus appears to have shifted from leadership targets to hard military assets at sea.
“I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important,” Trump wrote. “We are going after the rest — they will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also! In a different attack, we largely destroyed their Naval Headquarters.”
The blunt message framed the joint United States–Israel operation as a decisive strike at Iran’s maritime backbone — not a symbolic exchange, but a direct dismantling of naval capability.
If confirmed, the loss of nine vessels — potentially including larger patrol or missile craft — would mark one of the most severe single-day blows ever dealt to Iran’s navy. The reported destruction of naval headquarters compounds that impact, targeting both ships and the command structure directing them.
For decades, Tehran has relied on asymmetric naval tactics, fast-attack craft, and choke-point pressure near the Strait of Hormuz to project power and threaten global shipping. A shattered surface fleet dramatically weakens that leverage and limits the regime’s ability to flex in the Gulf.
Trump made clear the campaign is ongoing.
“We are going after the rest,” he warned — signaling that additional strikes could follow as the operation widens.
Iran’s naval forces are led by Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, commander of the regular Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, and Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. It remains unclear whether either commander was present at the naval headquarters or harmed in the recent strikes.
With Wall Street closed on Sunday, attention now turns to oil futures when trading resumes later in the evening. Energy markets will be watching closely for signs of disruption in the Persian Gulf. Bitcoin, which trades around the clock, briefly dipped on the headline before rebounding, reflecting the immediate shock and rapid repositioning typical of geopolitical escalations.
Iran still retains missile forces, drones, and proxy networks capable of responding. But if the scope of these reported naval losses holds, Tehran’s blue-water ambitions may have been set back dramatically in a single sweep.

‘Bottom Of The Sea’: Trump Declares Iran’s Navy Is Finished

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

U.S. Military

Before the missiles ever lit up the Tehran sky, the hunt was already over.
For months, U.S. intelligence officials were quietly tracking the movements of Iran’s most powerful men, piecing together a detailed picture of where and when they would gather. Analysts monitored patterns, locations, and leadership schedules — waiting for a rare window when the regime’s top figures would be in one place at the same time.
That window came early Saturday morning in Tehran, when senior political and military leaders assembled inside a heavily guarded compound housing the offices of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the presidency, and the Supreme National Security Council.
According to The New York Times, citing people familiar with the operation and officials briefed on the intelligence, the CIA had tracked Khamenei for months and passed what&#8217;s described as “high fidelity” intelligence on his location to Israel ahead of the strike. U.S. and Israeli officials reportedly adjusted the timing of the operation after learning that multiple senior leaders would be gathered together.
Israel had assessed that those expected at the compound included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Military Council head Admiral Ali Shamkhani, IRGC Aerospace Force commander Majid Mousavi, and Deputy Intelligence Minister Mohammad Shirazi, among others.
Around 8 a.m. Tehran time, Israeli fighter jets reportedly took off, armed with long-range precision munitions. Roughly two hours later, missiles struck multiple locations in Tehran, including the leadership compound.
Senior national security officials were gathered in one building, while Khamenei was in another nearby structure, the Times reported. An Israeli defense official claimed that the strike was “carried out simultaneously at several locations in Tehran,” adding that Israel achieved “tactical surprise” despite Iranian preparations for war.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA also confirmed Sunday the deaths of several senior military figures Israel said it targeted, including Shamkhani, Pakpour, and Nasirzadeh.
Hours after Khamenei’s death was confirmed and Iran’s leadership reeled from the blow, Tehran unleashed a volley of retaliatory missiles and rockets toward Israel — fulfilling vows from Iranian officials to launch the “fiercest offensive in history” in response to what they called an unprovoked attack and the killing of their supreme leader. The strikes triggered sustained air-raid sirens across Israeli cities, forcing residents into shelters as air defenses worked overtime.
As of the latest reports, Israeli rescue services and military officials have said that at least ten people have been killed on Israeli soil from Iran’s retaliation — including civilians in Beit Shemesh and Tel Aviv — and dozens more wounded across central and southern regions as a result of incoming missiles and intercept debris.
Last June, as plans were being discussed to potentially strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump said the United States knew where Khamenei was hiding and could have killed him. At the time, Trump referred to the Iranian regime as “evil,” underscoring how he viewed the leadership in Tehran.
Months of surveillance and intelligence coordination converged in a strike that reshaped Iran’s power structure in a matter of minutes — and ignited one of the most volatile escalations in Middle East history.

Precision From The Shadows — How The CIA Locked In On Khamenei And An ‘Evil’ Regime

The world tilted on its axis Saturday as President Donald J. Trump sat locked in at Mar-a-Lago, eyes fixed, jaw set, while U.S. military forces unleashed what the White House dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran — a day nearly 37 years in the making since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took power as Iran’s supreme leader in 1989.
The images are historic. Inside a darkened room at Mar-a-Lago, transformed into a working situation room, heavy black curtains block out the Florida sunlight. A large operations map stands behind the president, marked with strategic indicators. Secure phones sit within arm’s reach. Briefing folders are spread across the table. Trump sits at the head, wearing a white USA cap, leaning slightly forward as updates come in.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026 <a href="https://t.co/OfnMkmBZ8G">pic.twitter.com/OfnMkmBZ8G</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2027838386342334802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Around him, senior advisors are tightly packed, some clasping their hands, others focused on intelligence screens out of frame. Aides line the wall, arms folded, listening. No one is smiling. No one looks relaxed. It is command in motion.
February 28, 2026 unfolded rapidly. U.S. military strikes targeted Iranian regime infrastructure in coordination with Israeli military actions. Explosions were reported in multiple locations across Iran as sites tied to the regime’s security and military apparatus were hit.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026 <a href="https://t.co/st88hbLrpY">pic.twitter.com/st88hbLrpY</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2027838392730292578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Then came the development that sent shockwaves around the globe. Israeli officials said the body of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been located following the strikes and that he was confirmed dead. U.S. officials indicated they were aware of the reports and were assessing the intelligence as information continued to come in. If confirmed, Khamenei’s death would mark the most consequential leadership rupture in the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
Since assuming power in 1989, he has overseen Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its regional proxy network, and its decades-long confrontation with the United States and Israel.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet Secretaries in the Situation Room, February 28, 2026 <a href="https://t.co/x3AFYv3fyH">pic.twitter.com/x3AFYv3fyH</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2027838395993518149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Inside the Mar-a-Lago situation room, the imagery captures a president monitoring every development as the day intensified. Advisors studied maps. Secure lines remained active. The atmosphere appears disciplined but heavy — the kind of quiet intensity that accompanies irreversible decisions. Iranian state media had not publicly confirmed Khamenei’s death as of publication. Regional tensions remain elevated as governments worldwide assess the fallout and military forces reposition across the Middle East.
Operation Epic Fury now stands as one of the most aggressive direct military actions against the Iranian regime in modern history. What follows could redefine the balance of power in the region — and close a chapter that has shaped global politics for nearly four decades.

Menu

Jordan Schroeder