The US Congress announced awareness of strikes on Iran in advance

US President Donald Trump informed Congressional leaders about the start of the operation in Iran a few days before the attack. This was announced on February 28 by Speaker of the lower house of the American parliament Mike Johnson.

"Earlier this week, the Group of Eight (the informal name of the Congressional leaders. — Ed.) was informed in detail that military action may be required to protect American troops and U.S. citizens in Iran. After that, I received an update from Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio and will remain in close contact with the president and the Department of Defense as this operation develops," he wrote on his page on the social network X (former. Twitter).

Johnson added that the US administration is making efforts to find peaceful and diplomatic solutions "in response to Iran's ongoing nuclear ambitions and development of nuclear weapons." He also accused Tehran of sponsoring terrorist organizations.

CNN, citing a source, clarifies that Rubio was able to warn only seven of the eight leaders of the lower house of parliament about the start of the operation in Iran. It is not specified who exactly was not informed. In addition, according to the channel, the American parliamentarians were not provided with a full legal justification for the strikes.

At the same time, Anwar Gargash, adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), told CNN that the country had not previously been warned about the impending attack, but the authorities guessed about the operation based on the failure of negotiations between Washington and Tehran. He also condemned the Iranian attacks on US military bases located in neighboring countries, including the UAE.

"We are extremely, extremely shocked and condemn Iran's expansion of this conflict into its neighbors. <...> At the same time, we all understand that the region needs to be protected from a military confrontation of a scale that we do not fully understand," he concluded.

The Middle East beyond the border: Israel strikes Iran

Israel launches a series of attacks on military and nuclear facilities, Tehran is preparing a response

Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran on the morning of February 28. Also, the American leader Donald Trump announced the beginning of a US military operation against Iran. Military installations in western Iran, the residence of the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as an elementary school in the city of Minab were hit.

Later, Iran fired rockets towards Israel. The US Fifth Fleet maintenance center was shelled in Bahrain. In addition, Iran attacked four US military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Against this background, the United States began evacuating some personnel from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.

At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a massive airstrike on military installations in western Iran. The city of Shiraz was attacked. In addition, 70,000 Israeli reservists were called up for military service.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation around Iran with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia demands that the situation around Iran be immediately brought back to a political and diplomatic settlement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the "unprovoked armed attack" by the United States and Israel on Iran.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.