Epic Fury: Khamenei Dead, Americans Killed, and Trump’s Base in Revolt
The Morning Sixpack - 03/02/2026 Khamenei killed, US troops dead, F-15s downed, CIA intel revealed, MAGA revolt brews
Khamenei Dead, US Boots on the Ground—Epic Fury Blows the Lid Off the Middle East
The United States and Israel launched “Operation Epic Fury,” killing Iran’s Supreme Leader and igniting a regional war that is already claiming American lives.
Four U.S. service members are dead—and the week is just getting started.
Over the weekend, coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior Iranian figures, according to Iranian state media. The 86-year-old leader died when his compound was bombed Saturday morning, kicking off missile and drone retaliation across Israel and U.S. bases in the region. Iran says hundreds have died there. Israel and Gulf nations are also reporting casualties as the conflict expands.
President Donald Trump called it “heavy and pinpoint bombing” and signaled strikes would continue “through the week or longer.” Allies are scrambling to intercept Iran’s barrages. Hezbollah has reentered the fight. Oil prices jumped. Flights across the Gulf were disrupted. And just days after nuclear talks, we’re back to bombs.
Iran has formed a three-member leadership council and says a new supreme leader will be chosen in “one or two days.” There was no designated successor. On the streets, there have been scattered celebrations and heavy internet restrictions. Meanwhile, Israel says it is targeting Iran’s “leadership and nuclear infrastructure,” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming a security victory as missiles streak toward Jerusalem.
What happens next? More strikes are expected. Iran has hit U.S. bases; Washington confirms four American deaths—the first known U.S. casualties of this campaign. The Strait of Hormuz is back in the crosshairs, and OPEC+ is moving to boost production as markets brace for supply shocks. Diplomacy is being dangled, but only “eventually.” For now, it’s war.
Source: AP News
Editor: So we decapitated a regime, lit the region on fire, and crossed our fingers the oil keeps flowing. What could possibly go sideways next?
More in this primer. Link: Operation “Epic Fury” - How the War with Iran Is Going
Trump’s Iran War May Be Illegal—And Congress Is Sitting on Its Hands
An expert says President Trump had no legal authority to launch strikes on Iran, making “Operation Epic Fury” a constitutional crisis as much as a military one.
If Congress didn’t authorize it, this isn’t just controversial—it’s illegal.
In a blunt assessment to TIME, David Janovsky of The Constitution Project said there’s “no indication” that circumstances justified unilateral military action by Donald Trump. The Constitution gives Congress—not the president—the exclusive power to declare war. Unless there’s an actual or imminent attack to repel, the Commander in Chief’s authority is limited. Janovsky’s bottom line: this doesn’t qualify.
Under the War Powers Resolution, if a president sends U.S. forces into hostilities without congressional approval, the clock starts ticking—60 days to get authorization or get out. Congress can also cut funding. It can fast-track a vote to end the conflict. And yes, impeachment is on the menu. As Janovsky put it, “The main remedies run through Congress—votes to end or restrict the military action, aggressive oversight, or even impeachment.”
This isn’t the first time the administration stretched the law. Janovsky argues the 2025 strikes weren’t legally justified either, even under claims of collective self-defense with Israel. Self-defense, he notes, requires a much more immediate threat than what’s been presented now. Creative lawyering doesn’t rewrite Article I.
So why the muted reaction on Capitol Hill? Decades of congressional acquiescence, Janovsky says. Lawmakers have watched executive power expand and largely shrugged. The charitable read after the 2025 strikes was that it was a one-off. Now that we’re in a full-blown war following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that theory looks quaint.
If Congress formally restricts the president, it changes both the legal and political calculus. It boxes in executive branch lawyers. It forces military lawyers to think twice before greenlighting strike orders. And politically? A clear statement that there is no buy-in for war would sting. This White House notices when allies peel away.
Source: TIME
Editor: We’re told this is about defending democracy—while bypassing the branch of government that’s supposed to decide when we go to war. Article I would like a word.
Fourth U.S. Troop Dies in Iran War—And Trump Says Expect More
A fourth American service member has died in Operation Epic Fury as Iran’s retaliation widens and even U.S. jets are falling from “friendly” fire.
“Sadly, there will likely be more...before it ends,” President Trump said—because apparently that’s the plan.
U.S. Central Command confirmed Monday that a fourth service member succumbed to injuries sustained during Iran’s initial retaliatory attacks. Three troops were killed Sunday, and five others were seriously wounded by shrapnel. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” Central Command posted, as missiles and drones streaked across the region.
The expanding conflict follows the U.S.-Israeli strike that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials. In response, Iran has targeted Israel and U.S. bases, with reported hits near the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait. Gulf nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, have reported casualties from the broader missile exchanges.
President Donald Trump acknowledged the mounting toll in a Truth Social video, saying, “Sadly, there will likely be more...before it ends, that’s the way it is. Likely be more.” He has suggested operations could stretch for weeks, even as the White House floats eventual talks with whatever leadership emerges in Tehran.
Complicating matters further, Central Command also said Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles during the chaos. All six aircrew ejected safely and are in stable condition—but friendly fire in the opening days of a regional war is not exactly a confidence builder.
The U.S. and Israel say the campaign—dubbed Operation Epic Fury—will continue. Iran says it will, too. Meanwhile, four American families are planning funerals.
Source: The Independent
Editor: When your war plan includes “there will likely be more,” maybe it’s time to ask who exactly signed off on the math.
Friendly Fire Fiasco: Three U.S. F-15s Blown Out of the Sky by Ally in Kuwait
Three American F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses during active combat, a self-inflicted blow in the opening days of Operation Epic Fury.
Yes, we’re losing jets to our own side while the war is barely out of the gate.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the aircraft—F-15E Strike Eagles—were mistakenly targeted around 4 a.m. GMT as Iranian aircraft and missiles lit up the region. All six crew members ejected safely and were recovered in stable condition, with video showing parachutes drifting down near Al Jahra, west of Kuwait City.
The incident unfolded as the U.S. and Israel pressed forward after killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a strike that detonated a broader regional fight. Iranian retaliation has included missile and drone attacks across Israel and Gulf states, with U.S. personnel already killed in separate strikes. President Donald Trump has said operations will continue for weeks and acknowledged, “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends.”
The F-15E—an upgraded strike variant introduced in 1989 and capable of nearly 2,000 mph—is a workhorse of U.S. air power. Watching three of them fall from the sky because an ally’s air defenses pulled the trigger is the kind of operational breakdown that raises hard questions about coordination, identification systems, and command control in a crowded battlespace.
This is what escalation looks like: missiles over embassies, drones over airports, schools reduced to rubble—and now friendly nations firing on friendly aircraft. Fog of war is one thing. Shooting down your own team is another.
Source: Metro
Editor: If this is the “precision” phase, I’d hate to see what chaos looks like.
CIA Tracked Khamenei for Months—Then Israel Pulled the Trigger
U.S. intelligence pinpointed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s location at a leadership compound in Tehran, allowing a coordinated strike that decapitated Iran’s ruling elite in a single morning.
This wasn’t a lucky hit—it was a kill shot built on months of surveillance and a last-minute timing change to catch them all in one place.
According to reporting from The New York Times, the C.I.A. had been tracking Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for months, refining its understanding of his movements and security patterns. When intelligence revealed that senior Iranian officials—including top military and intelligence leaders—would gather at a Tehran compound Saturday morning, Washington and Jerusalem shifted their timeline. Fighter jets launched at dawn. Two hours later, long-range precision munitions struck.
The strike didn’t just kill Khamenei. Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of senior figures including Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Ali Shamkhani, head of the Defense Council. Later updates reported the killing of Sayyid Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff. In one blow, much of the regime’s inner circle was wiped out.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei was killed “in the opening blow.” President Donald Trump quickly claimed credit and urged Iranians to “take over” their government. He warned that U.S. strikes would continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary.”
Inside Iran, the reaction was split. Some poured into the streets celebrating. Others mourned. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed revenge. A transitional leadership structure—president, judiciary chief and a Guardian Council jurist—has reportedly taken temporary control while the Assembly of Experts considers succession. The power vacuum is real. So is the risk of chaos.
Meanwhile, Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz plummeted. Oil markets braced. Analysts warned that removing the supreme leader could either fracture the regime—or harden it.
The message from Washington is regime change without boots on the ground. History suggests that’s the easy part to say out loud.
Source: The New York Times
Editor: Months of surveillance, a perfectly timed strike, and now we’re hoping 90 million people sort it out themselves. What’s the succession plan—vibes?
By the way, wanna know where Khamenei was killed? HIS OFFICE.
“He Could Be Impeached”: Trump’s Base Turns on Him Over Iran War
MAGA’s loudest voices are revolting after Donald Trump launched a war with Iran—accusing him of betraying his “no new wars” promise and risking impeachment.
The movement that sold “America First” is now asking why it looks like regime change again.
In the aftermath of U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered Iranian retaliation, key figures in Trumpworld are openly furious. Donald Trump called the mission “noble” and acknowledged “there will likely be more” casualties. But the anti-intervention wing that powered his 2024 campaign is calling it a betrayal.
Tucker Carlson labeled the strikes “absolutely disgusting and evil.” Dave Smith said Trump had “betrayed the American people and his own base.” Pollster Rich Baris wrote, “No, sorry, I don’t think regime change suddenly became good policy or politics just because Donald Trump did it.” Even Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted the administration as “sick…liars” and compared the posture to Lord Farquaad’s infamous line: “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.”
The anger cuts to the core of Trump’s brand. On the trail, he promised, “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars.” His allies—Tulsi Gabbard, J.D. Vance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—built their credibility on opposing foreign entanglements. Now they’re defending a campaign the president himself explicitly framed as war, with regime change rhetoric to match.
Curt Mills of The American Conservative warned Republicans could pay dearly in 2026, saying, “Republicans can legitimately lose the Senate…He could be impeached for any of these things.” That’s not MSNBC talking—that’s the populist right.
Trump insists the base is still with him. “MAGA loves it…MAGA is me,” he said previously about another intervention. But when your most loyal megaphones are using words like “illegal,” “depressing,” and “never voting again,” it’s not just a messaging problem. It’s a coalition problem.
War abroad. Friendly fire at home. And now, a fracture inside the movement that got him back to the Oval Office.
Source: Vanity Fair
Editor: When the podcast bros start muttering about impeachment, you’ve got more than a foreign policy crisis—you’ve got a family fight.