Iran Targets U.S. Bases Across Five Gulf Nations in Retaliation for Joint Military Operation

2026-02-28 global

Dubai, Saturday, 28 February 2026.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Middle East entered a critical phase of conflict as Iran launched a coordinated ballistic missile barrage targeting United States military personnel in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Jordan. This broad offensive serves as a direct retaliation to “Operation Epic Fury,” a massive joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign initiated hours earlier to neutralize Iranian threats. While regional air defense systems intercepted most projectiles, the strikes caused one civilian fatality in the UAE and forced the closure of airspace across the Gulf, disrupting major transit hubs like Dubai and Doha. Amidst this escalation, President Trump has explicitly encouraged the Iranian people to overthrow their government, signaling a decisive shift in U.S. policy towards regime change while global markets brace for potential impacts on energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Escalation Beyond Bahrain: A Regional Conflagration

Earlier today, we reported that the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain had been struck by a direct missile attack, marking the initial phase of a severe escalation in the Gulf [8]. Since that report, the scope of the conflict has widened dramatically. Following the launch of a joint U.S.-Israeli offensive on Saturday, February 28, 2026, Iran initiated a massive retaliatory wave of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. military installations across four additional nations: Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Jordan [1][7]. While the initial strike in Bahrain signaled intent, this coordinated multi-front assault confirms that the conflict has breached localized containment, drawing the entire Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region into the kinetic theater of operations.

Targeting Strategic Hubs

The Iranian barrage specifically targeted critical nodes of American power projection in the region. In the UAE, explosions were reported in Abu Dhabi and Dubai as Iranian forces targeted the Al Dhafra Air Base, a key facility housing U.S. military personnel [1][7]. Simultaneously, missiles were directed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar—the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)—and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait [7]. Reports also indicate that U.S. military sites near Amman, Jordan, were targeted, prompting the U.S. Embassy there to mandate immediate shelter-in-place protocols for diplomatic staff [7]. The sheer breadth of these targets suggests a strategy designed to overwhelm regional air defense architectures by saturating multiple vectors simultaneously.

Defensive Interceptions and Civilian Casualties

Despite the intensity of the barrage, regional defense systems appear to have mitigated the worst of the potential damage. The UAE Ministry of Defense announced that its air defense systems intercepted the incoming ballistic missiles with “high efficiency,” though falling debris caused material damage in a residential area [6]. Tragically, this debris resulted in the death of one civilian, identified as an Asian resident [6]. Authorities in the UAE have subsequently issued urgent warnings for the public to avoid approaching or photographing missile debris due to the risk of unexploded shrapnel [6]. In contrast, the toll within Iran has been significantly higher; reports indicate that 57 people were killed at a girls’ school in southern Iran during the initial exchange of fire [2].

Operation Epic Fury and The Roar of the Lion

The Iranian strikes were a direct response to a large-scale military initiative launched earlier on Saturday by the United States and Israel. The U.S. military has designated its campaign “Operation Epic Fury,” which President Donald Trump described as a “massive and ongoing operation” aimed at eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime [4]. Operating in tandem, the Israeli military initiated “The Roar of the Lion,” declaring a state of emergency across Israel as it intercepted incoming threats and launched its own sorties [4]. This joint operation has struck deep inside Iranian territory, with targets reported in Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, and near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [2][4].

Infrastructure and Information Blackout

As the kinetic conflict intensifies, information flow from within Iran has been severely curtailed. NetBlocks, an internet governance watchdog, reported a “near total internet blackout” across Iran on Saturday, with national connectivity plummeting to just 4% [4]. This digital isolation complicates the verification of damage assessments and casualty figures on the ground. Meanwhile, the skies over the Gulf have become effectively closed to civil aviation. The UAE temporarily closed its airspace, diverting flights around Dubai, while Qatar Airways suspended operations to and from Doha [1]. Major carriers such as Lufthansa have suspended flights to the region, including Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Oman, until at least early March, signaling that the aviation industry anticipates a prolonged disruption [1].

A Pivot to Regime Change

In a significant geopolitical pivot, the objective of the U.S. intervention appears to have shifted explicitly toward regime change. President Trump, utilizing his Truth Social platform, posted a video on Saturday encouraging the Iranian people to “seize control of your destiny,” framing the current military operations as potentially their “only chance for generations” to overthrow the government [2][3]. This rhetoric aligns with the scale of “Operation Epic Fury” and suggests that the United States is no longer seeking a return to the negotiating table for a nuclear deal, but is instead actively supporting the collapse of the Islamic Republic’s leadership structure [4].

Sources

Middle East conflict Energy security