US strikes Iran as military campaign escalates tensions further

The US government has made clear that military force against Iran remains firmly on the table, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stating that Washington is considering escalated action if diplomatic channels continue to stall. The comments come as Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, 2026, grinds through its fifth month with no resolution in sight.

Five months of escalation

Operation Epic Fury kicked off at 1:15 a.m. ET on February 28, 2026, under a directive from President Donald Trump. The initial focus was precise: Iranian missile capabilities, naval assets, and air defenses. Israel has served as a key ally throughout the campaign.

Early results were significant. US airstrikes reportedly produced an 86% decrease in Iran’s theatre ballistic missile launches, a number that would represent a near-total degradation of one of Tehran’s most important deterrence tools. Multiple Iranian ships were also sunk in the opening phases.

But the operation has grown well beyond those initial strikes. By July 2026, the US was targeting approximately 90 sites in a single round of attacks, hitting drone and missile installations critical to Iran’s coastal defense network. Over a two-day stretch that same month, around 170 targets were struck inside Iranian territory.

A temporary ceasefire offered a brief window for diplomacy. It didn’t hold. The US ruled out extending it and maintained its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes daily.

Ground troops and nuclear sites

Hegseth has stated that while current operations do not include ground troops, the US is prepared for further actions if necessary. That includes possible ground incursions into Iranian territory.

President Trump has echoed that posture, explicitly declining to exclude the deployment of ground forces or the seizure of strategic locations like Kharg Island. That island handles the vast majority of Iran’s oil exports. Controlling it would effectively choke Tehran’s primary revenue stream.

Trump has framed the campaign as defensive and time-limited, drawing a deliberate contrast with the US invasion of Iraq that began in 2003. Potential strikes on Iran’s designated nuclear sites also remain on the table, with Hegseth and Trump both indicating that these facilities could become targets if Iran does not change course.

Diplomatic dead ends

The temporary ceasefire in July showed that both sides could pause, but the US decision not to extend it suggested Washington sees continued military pressure as more productive than negotiation. The Strait of Hormuz blockade is doing double duty as both a military tactic and an economic weapon.

Iran’s options have narrowed considerably since February. With an 86% reduction in its ballistic missile launch capability and significant naval losses, Tehran’s conventional deterrence has been badly degraded.

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