Iran-Israel: Everything that Happened This Weekend

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By Max Frost

A lot happened in Israel and Iran over the weekend. Today, we bring the full timeline of major events. For ease of understanding, the timeline follows US Eastern time. 

Thursday Night: Israel Strikes

Around 3 AM Iran time Friday morning, 200 Israeli jets dropped 330+ munitions on Iran, targeting military bases, nuclear sites, and residential complexes housing top officials. 

Beyond dealing a blow to Iran’s nuclear program, the strikes sought to decapitate Iran’s military leadership, complicating any efforts at retaliation. The strikes are confirmed to have killed Iran’s three top generals – including the overall head of the military, the top commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and his deputy – as well as the entire leadership of Iran’s air force, which had been gathering in a bunker when a bomb struck. 

Also confirmed dead was one of Ayatollah Khamenei’s top aides, who was leading nuclear negotiations with the US, and several top nuclear scientists. 

Friday Morning: Iran, Trump, and Europe Respond

Iran vowed retaliation and launched 100 drones at Israel, most of which appear to have been shot down.

After silence on Thursday night, President Trump called Israel’s strikes “excellent” and said he had given Iran "chance after chance" to make a deal on its nuclear program. Despite warnings that the alternative would be "much worse" than anything seen before, Trump said, Iran "just couldn't get it done." 

"Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left," Trump added. 

In a subsequent post, Trump said that he "gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to 'make a deal.' They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!"

The statements marked a pro-Israel shift from Trump, after Secretary of State Rubio said on Thursday night, “We are not involved in strikes against Iran.” On Friday morning, Trump said, "We knew just about everything…We knew enough that we gave Iran 60 days to make a deal and today is 61, right? So, you know, we knew everything.”

Subsequent reporting by Axios revealed that reports from earlier in the week about Trump’s opposition to Israeli strikes were planted so Iranian leaders would leave themselves vulnerable. Israeli officials told Axios that the White House knew of the plan and planted reports of Trump’s opposition so that Iranian targets wouldn’t head to secure locations.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz came out and said that Iran's nuclear program presents "a serious threat to the entire region, and particularly to the state of Israel," while French President Emmanuel Macron said, “France has repeatedly condemned Iran’s ongoing nuclear program.”

Editor’s Note

Thank you all for reading and trusting us with this important news. We don’t take the responsibility lightly. Today, we want your predictions about where this conflict is headed, and your thoughts on how Israel, Iran, and the US should proceed. Send them by replying to this email.

And catch up on our latest stories below:

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See you back here tomorrow.

–Max and Max