Iran posed an “intolerable risk” to the U.S. with its missile threat and, during negotiations, wouldn’t accept “free nuclear fuel forever” – all of which led up to Saturday’s attack on Tehran.
Senior administration officials briefed reporters on the hours leading up to “Operation Epic Fury.”
One official described Iran’s missile inventory and said it posed “an intolerable risk to the United States.”
President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026 The White HouseThe US had “indicators” that Tehran was going to launch a preemptive strike against American assets in the region, pointing to Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US bases in the region, including ones in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as proof.
Jared Larson / NY Post Design“The president decided he was not going to sit back and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks from conventional missiles. We had analysis that basically told us, if we sat back and waited to get hit first, the amount of casualties and damage would be substantially higher than if we acted in a preemptive, defensive way to prevent those launches from occurring,” the official said.
This video grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on February 28, 2026 and verified by AFPTV teams in Paris shows people inspecting the damage at an impact site following US and Israeli strikes on Tehran. UGC/UNKNOWN/AFP via Getty Images
A satellite image shows black smoke rising and heavy damage at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026. via REUTERSAnother senior administration official described the final talks in Geneva with Iranian officials and revealed the astonishing offer the Americans made.
A US warship fires a missile towards Iran during Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central CommandFollow The Post’s coverage on the latest in the peace deal with Iran:
- Fed-up Trump threatens to ‘blow the s–t’ out of Iran — prompting Tehran to storm out of US peace talks
- Vance suggests US, Iran could ‘transform’ relationship but Tehran officials insist they’re not making friends: ‘Primary option is jihad’
- Trump vows to ‘hit Iran very hard again’ if Tehran doesn’t rein in Hezbollah
- Strait of Hormuz closing again, IRGC announces — as US Central Command says commercial traffic has ‘increased’
“One of the things we offered – we said, we will give you free nuclear fuel forever,” the official said. “And they basically said that didn’t work for them. They needed to enrich uranium.”
The Trump administration said Iran’s nuclear capabilities were destroyed in Operation Midnight Hammer last year, but were concerned Tehran was preparing to ramp them up again.
