10 Days, Then Rain Of Missiles: How Trump And Israel Warned Iran For Weeks

Explosions in Iran's capital Tehran after reported Israeli strikes have sharply escalated tensions in the Middle East, capping weeks of increasingly explicit warnings from both Washington and Jerusalem that military action was imminent if Iran did not change course.

For several weeks, US President Donald Trump and senior Israeli officials had publicly signalled a limited window for diplomacy. On February 19, Trump said Iran had "10 to 15 days" to reach what he called a "meaningful" understanding with the US, warning that "bad things" would follow if Tehran did not move, as Washington reinforced its military posture in the region. 

Israeli leaders, still on edge after the 2025 Iran–Israel war and a series of clashes with Iranian-backed groups, authorised earlier strikes in January and repeatedly stressed they would not allow Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities to expand unchecked.

As that informal 10-day window drew to a close, regional anxiety spiked. Russia, European governments and UN officials issued calls for restraint, while analysts openly mapped out what might happen "if Trump's deadline expires without a deal", underscoring the risk of direct Israeli action on Iranian soil. Intelligence assessments cited in Western media in mid-February said Iran was continuing sensitive nuclear and missile-related activities despite the rhetoric, reinforcing perceptions in Washington and Jerusalem that Tehran was testing the limits of deterrence.

Against this backdrop, Israel said it launched a pre-emptive strike against Iran, with explosions reported in Tehran early Saturday. 

Initial reports indicated several strikes hit areas close to sites linked in the past to the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, although Reuters, citing officials, reported that the 86-year-old leader was not in the capital at the time and had been moved to a secure location. 

Eyewitnesses and journalists reported hearing at least three to four explosions in the city, underscoring the direct nature of the attack.

Trump confirmed that American forces had launched "major combat operations in Iran". In a televised address, he framed the US action as a response to what he described as "imminent threats from the Iranian regime", saying the objective was to defend Americans by eliminating those threats. Calling Iran's leadership "a vicious group of very hard, terrible people", he accused Tehran of waging a decades-long campaign against US interests and personnel and declared, "We're not going to put up with it any longer."

The strike has further dimmed hopes for a negotiated off-ramp and raised fears of Iranian retaliation against Israel, US assets and regional partners.