White House releases photos of Trump, Vance during Iran ops / Photo: © The White House/AFP
White House releases photos of Trump, Vance during Iran ops
The White House on Saturday released a photo of US President Donald Trump and a handful of his top advisors monitoring the progress of joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran.
Trump has announced that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attacks, but there is no confirmation from Tehran.
The picture shows Trump, in a suit jacket, white shirt and a white "USA" baseball cap, seated with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles at a table, with a partially obscured map marked "Operation Epic Fury" behind them.
All of their faces are solemn.
They are in a building with wooden ceiling beams, in an area that appears to be partitioned off with black curtains, with at least one security agent on the perimeter.
It was not immediately clear where the area was located, and the post on the White House's X account only says: "President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026."
Trump is currently in Florida. Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was monitoring events from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In another photo, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, appears to be speaking to those in attendance.
A separate image shows Vice President JD Vance in the White House Situation Room in Washington, with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other "Cabinet secretaries" at his side.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright appears to have his back to the camera.
The vice presidential seal adorns the wall behind the meeting table. Vance is wearing a suit and white shirt, without a tie.
It has become customary for presidents to release pictures of themselves in the Situation Room at momentous times during their White House terms.
Former president Barack Obama released a Situation Room view when Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan in 2011.
But Trump prefers to spend time at Mar-a-Lago, meaning he was not in the Situation Room on this occasion, or when US special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas in January this year.
(V.Sørensen--DTZ)
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