Trump went from 'not happy' to bombing Iran in hours - here's why

Saturday, 28 February 2026 19:57

Earlier today, the US president said he was unhappy with how talks were progressing - now bombs are falling.

Just hours ago, US President Donald Trump appeared to indicate he was keen to continue talks between the US and Iran.

Now, missiles are raining down on multiple Iranian cities as the US and Israeli militaries coordinate attacks, and Trump has called for the Iranian people to "take over" their government.

There are decades of tension and conflict between Tehran and Washington that have led to this point, but the temperature has boiled over in recent months.

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The Trump administration launched airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear program in June last year, amid Israel and Iran's 12-day war.

Trump said at the time Iran's nuclear program had been set back years or even completely destroyed.

But more recently, both the US and Israeli governments have made contradictory claims, that Iran was still close to achieving weapons-grade uranium, prompting talks between Washington and Iran via Omani mediators.

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Trump earlier today said he was "not happy" with the progress of the talks, as Iran continued to insist on its right to enrich uranium for energy purposes.

"I'm not happy with the fact that they're not willing to give us what we have to have. I'm not thrilled with that. We'll see what happens. We're talking later," Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday local time.

"We're not exactly happy with the way they're negotiating. They cannot have nuclear weapons."

Israel said they conducted a pre-emptive strike against Iran.

Iran has persistently said it does not seek nuclear weapons but international observers have said it has previously enriched uranium that is a "step" away from weapons-grade material.

Iran and Israel have been long-time foes, but Israel has managed to successfully devastate the Tehran regime's terrorist proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah after the October 7 attacks in 2023.

Last year's 12-day war kicked off when Israel launched surprise strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites, but were unable to damage some of the deepest-buried facilities, that the US was later able to damage.

US participation in those attacks came as a surprise to the international community, just as these new ones have.

During a recent visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, sources claimed Trump pushed back against the idea of conflict, saying he wanted the talks to continue.

But in a speech after the strikes today, Trump said Iran "rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can't take it anymore".

Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi speaks during a news conference on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The regime of the ayatollahs, which typically refers to the US as the "Great Satan", took control of Iran in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution.

That revolution overthrew the monarchic Pahlavi dynasty, which had been backed by the US and UK, and established Iran as a nation governed as a theocratic Islamic republic.

With Associated Press.

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