Israel strikes Iran; Iranian Supreme Leader's office attacked.

According to CCTV, on the 28th local time, the Israeli Defense Minister said that Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran and declared a state of emergency nationwide. An Israeli security official stated that the attack on Iran was the result of joint action by Israel and the United States. Iran's Fars News Agency reported that multiple missiles hit various targets in Tehran's city center. According to Xinhua News Agency, near the office of Iran's Supreme Leader was also attacked. Xinhua News Agency quoted the Israeli Defense Forces as saying that sirens were sounded throughout Israel, and warning instructions were directly sent to mobile devices, instructing people to stay near shelters. Bitcoin plummeted in the short term, dropping over $1000 in about 10 minutes, briefly falling below $64,000. "Let Israel take the first step" Observer Network quoted reports from American "Politico" saying that there is a strategic calculation circulating in Trump's inner circle: hoping that Israel will launch a strike against Iran first, then wait for Iran to retaliate, using the "being attacked" as a justification for US intervention. Two knowledgeable sources revealed that as negotiations between the US and Iran have stalled, Trump's core circle is seriously considering taking military action against Iran. One of them bluntly stated, "The US government generally believes that if Israel acts first and alone, and then Iran retaliates, it will be much better politically - giving us more reasons to take action." There is a clear public opinion logic behind this strategy. The latest polls show that the majority of Americans support "overthrowing the Iranian regime," but are unwilling to take risks of US military casualties. Once the US or its allies are attacked by Iran, public opinion will more easily lean towards supporting military action, thereby reducing the political risk for the Trump administration. However, sources also pointed out that whether Israel takes action first or not, the "most likely scenario is still a joint US-Israeli action." Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has openly called on the US to take "tough measures" to curb Iran's nuclear program, ballistic missile plan, and its proxy network in the region. In response to the above reports, White House spokesperson Anna Kelley responded, "The media can continue to speculate on the president's thoughts, but only the president himself knows what he might do or not do." The Israeli Embassy in the US refused to comment. Stalemate in nuclear negotiations, diplomatic process full of tension The indirect negotiations between the US and Iran on the Iranian nuclear issue have recently intensified. On the 6th and 17th of this month, the two sides completed the first two rounds of talks in Muscat, Oman, and Geneva, Switzerland. The third round of negotiations was held in Geneva on the 26th, without reaching any agreement. The two sides plan to continue technical-level negotiations in Vienna, Austria on March 2nd. The core disagreement in the negotiations lies in the issue of uranium enrichment. Trump has made it clear that he will not accept any agreement that allows Iran to enrich uranium, and has said that Iran has never said the critical words - committing to not developing nuclear weapons. The Iranian side has long insisted that under the condition of restricting but not stopping the nuclear program, they demand the US lift severe international sanctions. At the same time, Oman, the intermediary in the negotiations, has released relatively optimistic signals. On the 27th, Omani Foreign Minister Badr met with US Vice President Pence in Washington and stated that the negotiations have made "key, important and unprecedented progress" - Iran has agreed to never possess nuclear materials that can be used to make nuclear weapons, promised to achieve "zero accumulation, zero stockpiling," and accepts comprehensive nuclear checks by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Badr said that "peace is within reach" and believes that about three months is sufficient to implement all the key arrangements. However, on the same day, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report stating that since last June when Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran and bombed related nuclear facilities, Iran has not allowed inspectors to enter sensitive nuclear facilities, making it impossible to confirm the current status and scale of Iran's uranium enrichment activities, leading to a serious blind spot in the actual understanding of Iran's nuclear capability. Military escalation, war risk suddenly escalates As diplomatic negotiations have reached a stalemate, the US military's military deployment in the Middle East continues to strengthen, raising high alarm in the international community. Dual carrier deployment: The largest US aircraft carrier, the "Ford," set sail from Crete, Greece on the 27th and arrived in Israeli waters, expected to dock at the port of Haifa, forming a "dual aircraft carrier strike group" with the "Lincoln," which has been deployed in the Persian Gulf for nearly a year, re-establishing this high-intensity combat readiness posture. Large-scale tanker arrival in Israel: About 20 US military tanker aircraft arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel on the night of the 26th, widely interpreted as advance preparation for aerial strikes against Iran. Military options reported to the president: US Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper reported military action options against Iran to Trump on the 26th, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cain also present at the briefing. Secretary of State to visit Israel soon: US Secretary of State Pompeo announced that he will visit Israel on the 2nd and 3rd of March to discuss regional security issues with Israel on Iran and the situation in Lebanon. Analysts believe that this arrangement implies that there is still a window of opportunity for any potential military action. Facing the above military pressure, an Iranian Armed Forces General Staff spokesman warned on the 27th that any provocative actions by the US would be met with a "decisive and destructive" response, stating that "any reckless action will lead to a large-scale conflict in the region." Emergency evacuations by multiple countries, the anticipation of war spreading to the international community The military tension has sparked widespread diplomatic and public reactions: In terms of personnel evacuations, the US State Department on the 27th approved the non-emergency evacuation of the embassy staff and their families in Israel, with Ambassador Hecaby advising relevant personnel to "leave today" in an internal email, warning of uncertainty in flight supply in the coming days; the UK announced the temporary withdrawal of embassy staff from Iran, with the embassy operating remotely; a large number of American citizens have been evacuated from Iraq through Baghdad Airport in the past 24 hours. In terms of travel warnings, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded Chinese citizens not to travel to Iran temporarily, and those already in Iran should evacuate as soon as possible; Poland, Kazakhstan, Greece, Canada, and other countries have issued similar warnings, calling on their citizens to leave Iran or Israel immediately. In the aviation industry, Turkey has canceled multiple flights to Tehran and Shiraz, with airlines like Dutch KLM announcing the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv. UN Secretary-General Guterres on the 27th urged the US and Iran to "focus on the diplomatic track," and a UN spokesperson stated that the international community has seen both positive information from diplomatic channels and "extremely worrying military developments." Iraqi Foreign Minister also spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister, emphasizing that solving the issue through negotiations is the "most appropriate way." Source: Wall Street News; GMTEight Editor: Wang Qiujia.