Trump says Iran war could last weeks, US citizens in dozens of countries urged to leave

2026-03-03 - 04:33

As the war in the Middle East spirals further, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. has “the capability to go far longer ” than its projected four-to-five-week time frame for its military operations against Iran. The U.S. and Israel have continued to pound Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, while Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas. The intensity of the attacks and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Israel and the U.S. have given conflicting answers about what exactly the war’s objectives are or what the endgame might be. At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the U.S.-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, with 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities. The U.S. military announced Monday that two previously unaccounted for service members were confirmed dead, bringing the total American casualties during the operations against Iran up to six. Here is the latest: Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese capital Tuesday morning. The Israeli military said it was targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut.” Hezbollah also said it launched drones targeting an Israeli air base. The Israeli military said it downed two drones. President Donald Trump speaks during a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Japan tells its shipowners to steer clear of Persian Gulf Tokyo has told Japanese shipowners to have their ships stay away from the Persian Gulf to ensure the safety of their crewmembers. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters Tuesday that the Transport Ministry has notified the Japanese Shipowners’ Association to do the utmost to protect crews on board the ships in the region. Kihara said those already in the Gulf are urged to lie at anchor where it is safe to do so. On Monday, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with Iranian ambassador to Japan Peiman Seadat and conveyed Japan’s consistent stance that Iran must stop attacks on neighboring countries and other actions destabilizing the region. Motegi also noted the importance of ensuring safety in the Strait of Hormuz, which is key to Japan’s energy security. Netanyahu claims Iran was rebuilding to make ‘atomic bomb program immune’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending the decision to go to war with Iran alongside the United States. Netanyahu, speaking on Fox News Channel’s Hannity, contended that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” that would make “their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months.” He did not offer evidence to support his claim. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed limited activity at two nuclear sites in Iran before the war, with analysts saying it was likely Tehran was trying to assess damage from American strikes in June and possibly salvage what remained there. “We had to take the action now and we did,” Netanyahu said. “Otherwise the Iranian mass murder regime would have immunity from future action.” Echoing a Trump administration point, he repeated that the war would not be “endless” and that it would create the conditions for the Iranian people to form a democratic government. However, there’s been no sign of any mass uprising against Iran’s theocracy since the war started. Netanyahu said the conflict could be a “gateway for peace” between Israel and regional powers, including Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia alongside other Arab nations remain furious over the treatment of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Iranian foreign minister says US entered ‘war of choice on behalf of Israel’ Iran’s top diplomat early Tuesday sought to turn the tables on the United States, describing it as entering “a war of choice on behalf of Israel.” After Trump urged Iranians to take over their government, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the same call to Americans. “Shedding of both American and Iranian blood is thus on Israel Firsters,” Araghchi wrote on X. “American people deserve better and should take back their country.” Sirens sound in Bahrain Sirens have sounded in Bahrain early Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said. The ministry has called for people to head to the nearest safe place. Cairo-based Sunni institution calls for war’s halt Al-Azhar al-Sharif, the Sunni Muslim world’s foremost seat of religious learning, has called for an immediate halt of the war in the Middle East. The Cairo-based institution also denounced attacks on Arab countries, saying that “these aggressions are rejected ... whatever the justifications, pretexts or explanations.” Conflict escalates beyond regional confrontation, think tank says “Iran’s deliberate targeting of the energy sector introduces a new and dangerous dimension to this war,” warned the New York-based think tank The Soufan Center. “The conflict has escalated beyond merely a regional confrontation. By striking the energy arteries of the world, Tehran is signaling its capacity to impose global economic consequences and demonstrating to Israel and the United States that it is beyond their respective capabilities to keep the war contained.” World heritage site in Tehran damaged after strike, UNESCO says UNESCO has voiced concerns about the Golestan Palace, a world heritage site in the Iranian capital, which was reportedly damaged due to an airstrike in its vicinity. Monday’s strike hit Tehran’s Arag Square in the buffer zone of the palace, the U.N. agency reported. The palace was damaged by debris and shock waves from the strike, it said. Fire at the US Embassy in Riyadh after attack Saudi Arabia said early Tuesday that the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh came under attack from two drones, which caused a “limited fire” and minor damage. Further details weren’t immediately available. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry made the announcement via the kingdom’s state television. In the early hours of Tuesday, in a post on X, the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia asked American citizens in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran to immediately shelter in place. A diplomatic quarter resident in the neighborhood of the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the security situation said there was light smoke coming from the embassy. The attack comes after the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait was targeted Monday in an attack. Australia says Iranian drones struck military facility in UAE Iranian drones struck an Australian military facility in the United Arab Emirates but there were no injuries, Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said. The drones struck on the first night of the Iran war the Al Minhad Air Base, which is a logistics hub for Australia’s Middle East operations near Dubai, Marles said on Tuesday. “We have a number of Australians who operate from a headquarters that we’ve had at Al Minhad now for many, many years,” Marles told Seven Network television. “They are all accounted for, they are all safe. We’ve got north of 100 serving personnel actually across the Middle East in a range of countries, but most are in the UAE and that base is very important for us,” he added. Associated Press journalists have heard multiple explosions near Al Minhad during the war, as well as many aerial interceptions. Iran state TV airs aftermath of strikes on its premises Iran-run state TV aired the aftermath of two explosions around the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting premises following US-Israeli strikes. The head of the IRIB told Iranian media that no one was injured in the early Tuesday strikes. The state broadcast aired smoke from around what broadcasters called the “glass tower of IRIB” near the Evin area of Tehran. IRIB offices and infrastructure have been hit before since the start of the US-Israeli strikes on Saturday. The strikes followed an evacuation warning from the Israeli army to residents of the Evin district of Tehran, asking them to avoid the area around IRIB buildings. Shortly after, the Israeli Air Force said it struck what it described as a communication center used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. Israeli strike hits Hezbollah-aligned media building in Beirut’s southern suburbs Israeli military struck a building housing Al-Manar channel studios in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an evacuation warning, the channel said. Israeli military said it targeted “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut.” Plumes of smoke were seen billowing over the skyline. No immediate details on casualties were available. The strike followed Hezbollah missile and drone attacks on northern Israel shortly after midnight Sunday, prompting waves of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, which killed at least 52 people and wounded 154, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. In a statement early Tuesday, Hezbollah said “confrontation is a legitimate right,” describing its firing of rockets toward Israel as “a reaction to the aggression, and adding that it had repeatedly warned that Israeli attacks “could not continue without a response.” A poster of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the ongoing joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign, and the late Iranian Revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, right, lays on a motorcycle amid debris left by a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) US House Speaker says Israel’s determination to act left Trump with a ‘very difficult’ decision A classified briefing at the Capitol left lawmakers with little clarity about the purpose, cost and next steps in the U.S. operation against Iran. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson described the U.S. attack as a “defensive operation” because he said Israel was determined to act on their own against Iran, “with or without American support.” Johnson said Trump had a “very difficult decision” to make, and determined that Iran would immediately retaliate against U.S. personnel and assets. But Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said “there was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel.” Rubio, Hegseth and others briefed the lawmakers, but Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he found their answers “completely and totally insufficient.” The Trump administration will likely seek supplemental funds from Congress to pay for the operation, they said. Number of wounded troops in Iran grows The conflict has left 18 American service members seriously wounded, Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command said Monday. The number has grown from the five troops initially reported as seriously wounded on Sunday morning. Six service members also have been killed in Kuwait. All six were Army soldiers and part of the same logistics unit, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. When asked about the deaths Monday, Hegseth said an Iranian weapon made it past allied air defenses “and, in that particular case, happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified.” — By Konstantin Toropin Bahrain ambassador criticizes Iran for targeting his country, Gulf nations at UN meeting chaired by US first lady Bahrain’s U.N. Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei told the U.N. Security Council “the Iranian aggression is resulting in significant material and psychological damages that threaten the safety and security of residents and citizens.” Alrowaiei, the Arab representative on the 15-member council, said the ongoing Iranian attacks on civilian facilities and residential areas in Bahrain, which hosts a major U.S. naval base, have forced schools to close temporarily to protect students and children. In the broader region, he told the council Monday that according to the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, 30 million children in the Middle East and North Africa are out of school or not receiving formal education — “equivalent to one in every three children being deprived of education.” State Department urges Americans to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries The State Department urged Monday that all U.S. citizens leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to safety risks with the ongoing escalations that have slipped the region into significant chaos. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on the social media site X that Americans in countries, including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel, should “DEPART NOW” using any available commercial transportation. The guidance comes as some major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region as the war that began when U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday. It has since grown into a wider regional conflict, touching nearly every country nearby. Voters in Texas wonder why US attacked Iran Several voters from Houston casting ballots in a Texas primary election said they’re worried about what will come next in Iran. “I think that this could go on for years to come if they don’t have a clear exit strategy,” said Charles Padmore, a 45-year-old independent contractor. “I don’t even think they have a strategy. I think they just went in blind.” He posits that Trump acted “by the whims of Israel.” Nineteen-year-old college student Sophia Morales and her mother, Dina Morales, don’t feel like they’re getting a clear explanation from Trump about why he attacked Iran. “I feel like Iran was in a war with Israel, but then all of a sudden, we’re in war too,” said Sophia Morales. She especially wants an explanation following reports that a girls school was bombed. Added her mother: “I don’t think I’ve heard of any clearer plans of what’s next after the bombing, just like what’s next in Venezuela.” If Iran was a legitimate threat to the United States, Trump should have “gone the right way” and convinced Congress to authorize military action, said Alex Diaz, 31, a high school teacher. “I’m just like, ‘Are you trying to kill us? Are you trying to cause a World War III?’” Diaz said. Two Trump voters trust the president on Iran Two Trump supporters in Texas say they’re confident the president is doing the right thing in Iran and don’t see a conflict with his campaign promises to pursue peace. “I just expected him to do what needs to be done to protect America,” said Connie Stamps of Waco. “He wants to protect America first, and that’s what he’s doing. And he cares about the whole world. So he’s the peace president.” Stamps said she’s thankful to have a president “who is brave enough to do what he says he’s going to do.” Mollie Leutwyler Smith, who also lives near Waco in McLennan County, said she didn’t have war with Iran in mind when she cast her ballot for Trump, but she appreciates that he’s taking decisive action. She prefers his approach to the deal former President Barack Obama brokered with the Iranians. “Did I vote for that in particular? I won’t say I voted for that, but, yes, I think as the president, he can make decisions,” she said. Israel says it will reopen a Gaza border crossing closed since Iran war began COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing civilian affairs in Gaza, announced one crossing into the territory would reopen on Tuesday “for the gradual entry of humanitarian aid.” At the start of the war with Iran, Israel had said it couldn’t safely operate the Gaza crossings under fire. However, the U.N.’s humanitarian office monitoring Gaza warned Monday that a total closure would stretch stocks of food, water and fuel, as well as further inflate the price of basic goods in the devastated Palestinian territory. In its announcement late Monday, COGAT said it would work in coordination with the American Civil Military Coordination Center and under some security restrictions to reopen the Kerem Shalom Crossing. US Embassy in Jordan temporarily evacuates staff Diplomatic staff at the U.S. Embassy in Jordan have left the embassy compound in Amman “due to a threat.” The U.S. diplomatic mission did not disclose additional details, but the announcement comes not long after Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah threatened to attack American military bases in Jordan. The announcement that embassy personnel had left the compound in Amman appeared to be a prelude to a potentially larger departure of diplomatic staff from Jordan. Jordanian police meanwhile urged residents living near the embassy to stay indoors, close windows and take other “precautionary measures.” Rubio warns ‘hardest hits’ are still to come on Iran Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before his scheduled House and Senate Intelligence Committees briefing about Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo) Pressed on how long the U.S. military would remain focused on Iran, Rubio said as long as it takes. “The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military. The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now,” he told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. “How long will it take? I don’t know how long it will take,” he said. “We have objectives. We will do this as long as it takes to achieve those objectives.” Rubio says regime change is not the objective in Iran “We would love for there to be an Iran that’s not governed by radical Shia clerics,” he said heading into a classified briefing on Capitol Hill. “That’s not the objective.” The initial joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Ayatollah Khamenei, along with many other top leaders. “The objectives of this operation are to destroy their ballistic missile capability and make sure they can’t rebuild it, and make sure that they can’t hide behind that to have a nuclear program,” he said. “That’s the objective of the mission.” Rubio, Hegseth and others are briefing the congressional leaders and the top lawmakers on the national security committees in Congress about the Iran operation. US death toll rises to 6 troops The U.S. military on Monday announced the deaths of two more American service members during the operations against Iran, bringing the total death toll to six people. U.S. Central Command stated in a post on X that U.S. forces “recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region.”