Saudi and Israeli Pressure Helped Push Trump Toward Military Strike on Iran, Report Says

In a week-long lobbying effort, a trio, led by President Donald Trump on February 28, launched massive strikes on Iran with Israel. This came after the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel pressed for coordinated military action, sources told The Washington Post. The strikes by Israel and U.S. forces reportedly killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been in power for nearly four decades.

Over the past month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made multiple phone calls to Trump advocating for a U.S. strike on Iran, despite his public support for diplomatic solutions, according to people familiar with the matter. At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued his public campaign for U.S. strikes against Iran, which he viewed as an existential threat to Israel.

In scope, February 2026 has had major decision-making by U.S. and allied officials. The attacks on Iran came despite U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran’s forces were unlikely to pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory within the next decade. The attacks on February 28 marked a departure from a longstanding U.S. policy of avoiding full-scale efforts to remove a regime from power in a country with a population of more than 90 million. It also marks a shift from Trump’s previous military forays, which have been narrower in scope.

The combined efforts helped Trump launch a major aerial attack on Iran’s leadership and military. The initial strikes reportedly killed Ayatollah Khamenei and several other senior leaders of the Iranian military.

Khamenei led Iran's clerical establishment and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's two main centres of power. However, the reported killing of Khamenei opened a new chapter in U.S. intervention, coming as talks over Tehran's nuclear program were ongoing. Because Iran's supreme leader had a major say in the policies, his death has created questions about a power vacuum and succession.

Trump now has to bear the risk of the bet he has placed: that a major military operation conducted from the air can achieve political goals on the ground. “No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight,” Trump said to the Iranians in a video address posted as the strikes were underway. “Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, let’s see how you respond to that,” he added.

In a nationally televised interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a nationally televised address, said there were many signs that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck the compound. Shortly after, senior Israeli officials said Israel had confirmed Khamenei's death.

As the attack on Iran continued, Trump asked Iranians "to seize control of their destiny" by rising against the Islamic leadership. In the video message, he also said, " We are done. Take control of your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations."