The United States joined Israel in bombing Iran Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The strikes targeted key missile, military and government sites, according to the BBC. Iran responded with retaliatory attacks on U.S. and ally facilities in nearby countries, including Israel, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
President Donald Trump said in a statement released Feb. 28 that the goal of the attacks are to eliminate “eminent threats from the Iranian regime.” He said Iran’s attempt to rebuild a nuclear program after its destruction by U.S. forces in Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025 threatened national security.
“It’s a very simple message,” Trump said in the video. “They will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Nigel Smith, a 37-year-old communications major, said he believes the attacks are unjustified since Iran’s nuclear program has been closely monitored by American and international agencies.
A 2025 Defense Intelligence Agency report concluded that Iran does not currently have the capabilities to produce an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the U.S.
“I don’t see much positive coming out of it,” Smith said. “The reason for the attacks being that they fear them as a threat due to potentials for weapons—I think that it’s a farce in the same way that the Iraq war happened with weapons of mass destruction.”
Ahmyiah Bell, a 20-year-old history and ethnic studies major, said our foreign relations mirror the conflict within the U.S. itself.
“There’s a lot of instability within our country in general, and of course, at its worst, it extends beyond our borders,” Bell said. “So I just feel that if we’re not stable at our core, our relationships with other countries are not stable.”
While exact numbers are unclear, more than 1,200 deaths have been reported in Iran, according to the National Public Radio.
Aiyanna May, a 21-year-old nursing major, said the attacks have only resulted in loss and damage.
“A lot of people have lost their homes and their lives, so I think it’s just cruel and very unnecessary,” May said.
Raquel Abina, a 20-year-old psychology major, said she is also concerned about the war’s impact on the economy.
“With the state that our economy was already in, it’s going to force our gas prices and food prices to go up,” Abina said. “So not only is it unnecessary, it’s also taxing us as well.”
Military strikes in the region have disrupted oil and gas infrastructure, increasing domestic fuel prices, according to The Associated Press. AAA reported an average gas price of $3.48 as of Monday, a 16% increase from the previous week.
Mohammad Osmani, a 27-year-old nursing major, said he believed the conflict will eventually settle down.
“It’s just politics, you know?” Osmani said. “Everything should be okay after a while, as President Trump said.”
Trump said the conflict might last a few weeks or longer in an address at the White House March 2. Iran’s Assembly of Experts has since appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late supreme leader, to assume his father’s position on Sunday. Khamenei will now oversee Iranian military action, according to The Associated Press.