President Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning that the U.S. had begun “major combat operations in Iran” as news broke of joint Israeli-U.S. strikes on hundreds of military and regime sites in the Middle Eastern nation.
In his brief video announcement, Trump touted the effort as a “noble mission” for which the “lives of courageous American heroes may be lost.” He also called on Iranians to “take over your government” in the immediate aftermath of the initial strikes, indicating that the purpose of the new war is not only to “ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon” but also regime change.
The onset of the war comes after a weeks-long buildup of U.S. military assets around Iran. Nonetheless, the strikes took many observers by surprise since they came just hours after Oman Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi – the primary mediator of ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran – had stated “a peace agreement between the US and Iran is now within reach.”
Speaking Feb. 27 with Margaret Brennan of CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Albusaidi announced that “a peace deal is within our reach.”
“If the ultimate objective is to ensure forever that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, I think we have cracked that problem through these negotiations by agreeing a very important breakthrough that has never been achieved any time before,” Albusaidi said, reporting that the Iranians had already agreed “that Iran will never ever have a nuclear material that will create a bomb.”
“This is something that is not in the old deal that was negotiated during President Obama’s time,” he added. “It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling, and that is very, very important because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched then there is no way you can actually create a bomb, whether you enrich or don’t enrich.”
Good to sit down with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation to explain that a peace agreement between the US and Iran is now within reach. No nuclear weapons. Not ever. Zero stockpiling. Comprehensive verification. Peacefully and permanently. Let’s support the negotiators in… https://t.co/NslLAnhSjo
— Badr Albusaidi - بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) February 27, 2026
Neither the Trump administration nor Israeli officials acknowledged the mediator’s breakthrough statement, and when Trump announced that the U.S. had entered the war Saturday morning, he claimed Iran had “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions” and “attempted to rebuild their nuclear program….”
“Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message,” Trump warned. “For these reasons, the United States military has undertaken a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.”
“And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon,” he added later in the announcement. “It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.”
In response to the onset of war, CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt called on American Catholics to renew their prayers for their nation and for peace.
“We have already dedicated this year to prayer and penance for our nation through our America 250 Prayer Campaign, and this latest development should renew our commitment to praying and sacrificing for the future of the United States during the 250th anniversary of its founding,” Reinhardt stated. “Let us all rededicate our nation to the Prince of Peace, asking His Most Sacred Heart for mercy on us all, especially the vulnerable populations now under immediate threat during the outbreak of war.”
Reinhardt is also cofoundress of Zeale Media, which posted a prayer Feb. 28 in response to the news.
Readers can find that prayer below and can participate at Zeale’s interactive prayer wall here.
Pray for Peace in Iran and the World
Father in heaven, as bombs fall in Iran, we ask that you please protect the Iranian people who are suffering the consequences of war.
We ask also that you please send the Holy Spirit to inspire our leaders with wisdom and prudence to guide their decisions.
May that wisdom and prudence also touch the hearts and minds of any nations who might contemplate involvement in this conflict.
And finally, Father, we beg the protection of all American military personnel currently deployed in the Iran region, that none will be injured or lost.
Amen.