PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 28: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy) U.S. President Donald Trump (L) speaks to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as he oversees “Operation Epic Fury” at Mar-a-Lago on February 28, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. President Trump announced today that the United States and Israel had launched strikes on Iran targeting political and military leaders, as well as Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs. (Photo by Daniel Torok/White House via Getty Images)
White House via Getty Images
MS NOW anchor Rachel Maddow told viewers Saturday afternoon that the network was in breaking news coverage due to the “United States having apparently started a war with Iran…for some reason.”
“Your guess, your personal guess sitting home watching me right now, is as good as any as to why the president of the United States has just started the war,” Maddow said.
‘Why did we just go to war with Iran?’
President Trump announced on Saturday–via a post on his Truth Social platform–that the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran had killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump said. The president added that the operation in Iran is “massive and ongoing.”
Iran’s foreign minister told NBC News Saturday that the country’s supreme leader—who President Trump said had been killed in the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran—was still alive “as far as I know.”
NBC News
The Iranian leader’s death has not been confirmed by the Iranian government, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News Khamenei is still alive “as far as I know.”
Araghchi also told NBC that regime change in Iran–what of the president’s objectives with the attack–is “mission impossible.”
The major attacks on Iran have prompted retaliatory strikes on American military bases in the region and civilian targets in cities like Dubai, where the BBC aired video of a luxury hotel on fire.
“So what are we doing here?” Maddow asked. “It’s not like they’re going to get us with intercontinental ballistic missiles. It’s not that they are enriching uranium to such a degree that it is dangerous and we must stop that…why did we just go to war with Iran?”
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin said the heavy attacks on Iran would continue for days.
Fox News
‘This is going to go on for days’
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin told viewers Saturday that it was likely the attacks on Iran would continue for days–or longer. “It appears that this operation has three parts to it,” Griffin said. “Remove the current Iranian leadership, destroy Iran’s ballistic missile capability, and target the other aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.”
“The panic is probably starting to set in as they realize this is not going to be a sort of one and done set of strikes,” Griffin continued. “In fact, I’m talking to people who suggest that while this won’t be a matter of hours, it will be a matter of days, but really it could be up to a matter of weeks as well. This is a war at this point, and the way Iran behaves… if it manages to hit any U.S. facilities or any U.S. warships, then we’re in a completely different situation. So this has the potential to escalate… It’s possible they’re holding back a bit, but this is going to go on for days.
Griffin also broke some news about the attack, revealing that the U.S. for the first time deployed drones in its operation on Iran. “This was a multi-geographic command and control effort designed to overwhelm their defenses, I was told,” Griffin said. “And the U.S. military used some new capabilities in these strikes. For the first time ever, the U.S. military used one-way attack drones in combat. I think we are the first to report that.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2026/02/28/rachel-maddow-your-guessis-as-good-as-any-why-trump-has-just-started-this-war-on-iran/
