At this moment, the United States and Israel are striking Iran, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations. These strikes are happening while U.S. and Iranian diplomats are engaged in talks to negotiate a deal to limit Iran’s development of its nuclear program and prevent a war; they had planned on continuing their discussions next week.
Iran had previously issued a strong warning, threatening a “never-experienced,” brutal response to any U.S. military strike. Should they be taken seriously? After all, Iran’s threats tend to exceed its actual actions.
How dangerous is the warning?
There’s a reason the U.S. has dealt with Iran a lot differently than Iraq over the past several decades. Their strength is to be respected.
A little perspective.
— Not Your Average Liberal (@NotAvgLiberal) June 23, 2025
Iran is almost triple the size of Iraq.
Iran’s military is close to 1 million strong,
The largest most technologically advanced military in the Middle East.
Twice the size of Iraq’s military in 2001.
America’s military spent 20 years in Iraq.
Thousands… pic.twitter.com/ntktxsWEMc
Iran is not a militaristic peer to the U.S. or Israel, but it is very dangerous as a regional power because of its large missile and drone inventories, dispersed/underground infrastructure, cyber capabilities, and a still‑potent network of regional proxies; they can bomb Israeli cities and U.S. military bases in the Middle East and damage other critical infrastructure, such as ports and energy facilities.
Iran still maintains control over its own arms and possesses significant missile and drone capabilities. The country supplies a major power like Russia with weapons and equipment; these are the realities of Iran’s strength.pic.twitter.com/lKfnpHeWXA
— Aryan.A🟩☫🟥 (@Aryan8208) February 27, 2026
Experts worry that today’s U.S./Israeli strike on Iran could drag the whole region into crisis.
What about the U.S. homeland?
Tehran’s proxy network (Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, Houthis, and others) can, via covert cells, launch one-off terror attacks on the U.S. homeland and allied targets worldwide (including Europe). However, their missiles aren’t capable of reaching the U.S.
🇮🇷 Iran vs 🇺🇸 USA Military Capability:
— World Insights (@World_Insights1) February 28, 2026
✈️ Total Military Aircraft:
🇮🇷 Iran ⟶ 600+
🇺🇸 USA ⟶ 13,000+
🚁 Attack Helicopters:
🇮🇷 Iran ⟶ 150+
🇺🇸 USA ⟶ 5,400+
💥 Missiles:
🇮🇷 Iran ⟶ 3,000+ (short & medium range)
🇺🇸 USA ⟶ 10,000+ (ICBM, cruise, precision)
🛩️ UAV / Drones:
🇮🇷… pic.twitter.com/WC3nspaSZ6
Can Iran ding the U.S. economy?
Iran has repeatedly signaled it would use mines, fast boats, and anti‑ship missiles to threaten shipping and possibly partially disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, without fully closing it at first. And even limited attacks on tankers or Gulf export terminals could spike oil prices and pressure Washington to de‑escalate.
How effective is Iran’s cyberterrorism capability?
U.S. intelligence now ranks Iran as a major cyber threat actor alongside Russia, China, and North Korea, citing “growing expertise and willingness” to conduct aggressive operations against U.S. and allied networks. Keep in mind that Iran’s Operation Ababil (2011–2013) consisted of large Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) campaigns that repeatedly knocked U.S. banks’ websites offline, costing tens of millions of dollars.
Iran probably isn’t capable of a truly catastrophic, sustained “cyber‑9/11” against hardened U.S. infrastructure on its own, but it is dangerous enough that any major U.S.–Iran confrontation would almost certainly feature disruptive Iranian cyberattacks as part of the toolkit.
🔴🇮🇷 Iran's Cutting-Edge Drone: A Technological Marvel
— Observer Report (@Observer1514) February 16, 2025
With range of 2,000 kilometers, state-of-the-art camera technology, and the ability to carry a diverse array of munitions, this drone stands out as one of Iran's most advanced Drone. pic.twitter.com/SLEMY9PMzx
Prediction: Look for Iran to launch widespread but controlled missile and drone salvos at U.S. bases, Israel, and other key regional infrastructure to show it can still hit back. That’ll be important to them. They will try to cause chaos and exact revenge while still attempting not to push the conflict to a higher level.
Second, expect them to increase and expand cyberattacks against the U.S., Israel, and their allies.
Israel has activated air raid sirens nationwide after detecting Iranian ballistic missile launches, signaling an incoming threat. pic.twitter.com/G3J3ECS3G9
— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) February 28, 2026
Biggest Concern: If Iran believes tonight’s attack could be the start of regime change, they will be more willing to use their most dangerous options (larger missile barrages, more serious Hormuz disruption, broad proxy war), even at high risk.
Let’s hope a deal is reached soon.
