The war for Iran’s future burst into the open overnight as U.S. and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on what they call the “power centers” of the Khamenei regime — leadership compounds, IRGC command hubs and strategic media and cyber facilities in Tehran, Isfahan and Mashhad.

Residents reported precision blasts near elite Revolutionary Guard bases and around heavily guarded neighborhoods where top clerics and security chiefs live. Western officials say the aim was to “decapitate command and control,” not topple the state outright — but inside Iran, the attack is being framed as an existential assault on the Islamic Republic itself.

Within hours, the IRGC unleashed region‑wide retaliation. Rockets and drones streaked toward Israel from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, while militia proxies in Iraq targeted U.S. bases with swarms of one‑way drones. In the Gulf, commercial shipping reported attempted GPS jamming and fast‑boat harassment at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state TV aired images of Khamenei meeting senior commanders in an underground bunker, vowing a “long war on all fronts” and urging allies from Hezbollah to Yemen’s Houthis to join what it calls a unified “resistance campaign.” Israeli and U.S. officials insist their air defenses are holding, but admit the risk of mass‑casualty strikes is rising with every new salvo.

Diplomats warn the conflict is now dangerously close to a regional conflagration: energy markets are spiking, airspace is closing, and neither side shows any sign of backing down from a showdown increasingly centered not just on territory or nukes, but on the survival of the regime in Tehran itself.