Operation Epic Fury and the Architecture of Iranian Retaliation
On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury / Operation Roaring Lion, a joint military campaign against Iran that fundamentally altered the strategic landscape of the Middle East. The operation struck over 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, eliminated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior regime officials, and deployed, for the first time in combat, artificial intelligence tools in active targeting and intelligence support roles. B-2 stealth bombers, Tomahawk cruise missiles, F-35 fighters, and low-cost one-way attack drones drawn from the LUCAS program formed the kinetic backbone of an operation described by U.S. Central Command as unprecedented in scale and speed.
Iran’s response has been swift, multi-domain, and carefully calibrated to impose costs without triggering a response that could obliterate its remaining capacity. Tehran has launched kinetic strikes against U.S. forward bases across the region from Bahrain to Jordan to Iraq, while activating state-sponsored cyber actors, proxy networks, and the diplomatic architecture of its trilateral partnership with China and Russia. This paper analyses both dimensions of this confrontation: the effectiveness of the U.S.-Israeli strike campaign, with particular attention to AI integration; and the full spectrum of Iranian retaliation options now in play.
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