By Sophia Herndon 

University of Maryland professors and students are concerned and confused about the United States’ decision to launch a joint military attack with Israel on Iran.

In an operation titled Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran’s military sites and missile infrastructure on Feb. 28. The airstrikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that same day. 

Joshua Shifrinson, an associate professor in the School of Public Policy, said that while President Donald Trump’s administration built up military forces in the region, he was still surprised by the decision to attack.   

“I was very saddened by what’s going to be a very escalatory and very dangerous situation that’s going to linger for a period of time,” Shifrinson said.

Shifrinson explained that the reason for the attacks is unclear. He said his colleagues and students in the public policy school have shared similar confusion. The community feels in the dark about how Epic Fury will benefit Israel and the U.S., and why Trump felt this was necessary for the country’s development.

“This is a conflict that seems to have come out of the blue,” Shifrinson said. “The objectives were then and remained very unclear.”

Sophomore public policy and French literature and language major Sophia Conish said she expected conflict, but not a sudden attack on the supreme leader. 

“We were sending a lot of military and weapons to the Middle East, so I was expecting something to happen,” Conish said.

Conish said she thinks the outcome of this operation is unpredictable, as these attacks will influence foreign policy, as well as Iran’s leadership and the lives of residents. 

“I think this conflict has really detrimental consequences for American foreign policy because it’s going to distract the United States and antagonize other countries,” Shifrinson said.

Marketing major Alyssa Luizzi is part of the UMD Iranian Student Foundation and said she has seen UMD students sympathize with Iran.

“I was very distraught to hear this because I still have family that lives there,” Luizzi said. 

Luizzi is concerned for the Iranian nation, as she has family living in Tehran, the capital of Iran, which has been a target in the operation.

“Everyone’s trying to understand why,” Shifrinson said.

As the operation moves forward, UMD students and professors continue to try to make sense of what this means for U.S. foreign relations and the impact on Iran.

Featured Image: The Thomas V. Miller Jr. Administration Building on Feb. 24, 2026. Photo by Paige Trendell.