An explosive eight-minute video statement issued by President Donald Trump, released through the messenger Truth Social, is a withering ultimatum to the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): "Lay down your arms and have complete immunity or in the alternative, face certain death."
While smoke billowed out from the Tehran skyline, Mr. Trump's address to Tehran announced that the United States had officially moved from “preemptive strikes” to “major combat operations” internally. A Promise of Immunity or Annihilation. Targets aimed directly to the Iranian security forces, Trump presented an uncomfortable choice.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2026
To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all the police: I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons,” Trump said. "You will be treated fairly with total immunity or you will face certain death." The President underscored that the mission, which is known as Operation Shield of Judah by American forces, is not merely to delay Iran’s nuclear program but to systematically destroy the regime’s offensive capabilities.
“We are going to obliterate their missiles and bring their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally obliterated. We are going to completely destroy their navy,” he vowed.
A Message to the Iranian People: "Seize Your Opportunity."
A large part of the address's content was directed at the Iranian public, which has been engaged in nonstop nation-wide protests starting late 2025. Trump specifically demanded the overthrow of the current government, depicting the military strikes as a spur to revolution. “To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is upon us,” Trump said. “When we finish, take over your government. It will be yours to take.
This will be probably your only opportunity for generations.” He urged civilians to remain sheltered from the bombardment, warning that “bombs will be dropping everywhere,” and ended by saying that “America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.”
OpenAI and Strategic Justification
The President defended this massive escalation saying that Iran used the recent diplomatic openings in Geneva and Oman to “clandestinely rebuild” its nuclear program and develop the long-range missiles that now can be sent to the United States homeland. Military analysts claim that the “surgical” precision of the strikes which have reportedly aimed at particular IRGC command bunkers with the goal of lowering civilian casualties has been greatly enriched by the recent infusion of OpenAI’s frontier models into the Department of War’s classified targeting capabilities.
Such a technological edge has put the U.S. in real-time the movement of senior government officials, including the recently removed Judiciary Head Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei. Regional Response: A state of emergency. In response to the strikes and Trump’s comments, Israel announced a 48-hour state of emergency, with the IDF preparing for a “crushing response” from Iranian proxies.
Iraq and Jordan have shut down their airspace and the U.S. State Department has issued an urgent “Authorized Departure” for all personnel not necessary to the operation in the region. And as the second round of “major combat operations” kicks off, the world is seeing the most direct and high-stakes effort toward regime change in the Middle East since an invasion of Iraq in 2003.
