3 months ago
2
The U.S. and Israel pounded targets crossed Iran connected Sunday (March 1, 2026), dropping monolithic bombs connected the country's ballistic rocket sites and wiping retired warships arsenic portion of an intensifying subject run pursuing the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Blasts rattled windows crossed the state and sent plumes of fume precocious into the entity supra Tehran. More than 200 radical person been killed since the commencement of the strikes, according to Iranian leaders.
Iran-Israel struggle LIVE updates
As the bombardment went on, the struggle threatened to widen beyond the U.S., Israel and Iran. The Lebanese militant radical Hezbollah claimed strikes connected Israel, which fired back, and Gulf states warned that they could retaliate against Iran aft strikes that deed cardinal sites and killed astatine slightest 5 civilians. Meanwhile, European powers offered to assistance American forces successful their effort to halt Iran from attacking different countries.
Iran vowed revenge, firing missiles astatine Israel and Arab states successful a counteroffensive that killed 3 U.S. work members — the archetypal known American casualties from the conflict. Israeli rescue services said strikes deed respective locations, including Jerusalem and a synagogue successful Beit Shemesh, wherever 9 radical were killed and 28 injured, bringing the wide decease toll successful the state to 11.
The attacks connected Iran showed nary signs of relenting arsenic the U.S. and Israel took purpose astatine warships and ballistic rocket sites. It was a startling amusement of subject mightiness for an American president who swept into bureau connected an “America First” level and pledged to support retired of “forever wars."
Trump vows vengeance for U.S. deaths
The 3 who were killed were Army soldiers deployed to Kuwait arsenic portion of a supplies and logistics unit, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the concern who was not authorized to remark publically and spoke connected information of anonymity.
Israel announced respective waves of combatant pitchy attacks targeting Tehran, including buildings belonging to Iran's aerial force, its rocket bid and its interior information force, which violently quashed anti-government protests successful January.
The U.S. subject said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran's ballistic rocket facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Mr. Trump said connected societal media that 9 Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy's office had been “largely destroyed.”
Others person mostly stayed retired of the warfare and pressed for diplomacy. But successful an denotation that the struggle could gully successful different nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were acceptable to enactment with the U.S. to assistance halt Iran's attacks, and a radical of Gulf Arab countries said it reserved the close to respond to Iranian strikes.
The play attacks were the 2nd clip successful 8 months that the U.S. and Israel had combined against Iran. In the 12-day warfare past June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran's aerial defenses, subject enactment and atomic program. But the sidesplitting of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for much than 3 decades, creates a enactment vacuum, expanding the hazard of determination instability.
Mr. Trump, who a time earlier had encouraged Iranians to “take over” their government, signaled Sunday that helium was unfastened to dialog with Iran's caller leadership.
“They privation to talk, and I person agreed to talk, truthful I volition beryllium talking to them,” helium told The Atlantic.
War expands beyond US bases, Iran and Israel
In the Gulf, Iran's retaliatory strikes pushed the struggle into cities that person agelong marketed themselves arsenic determination harmless havens. Three were reported killed successful the United Arab Emirates and 1 each successful Kuwait and Bahrain.
In the United Arab Emirates, authorities said astir Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted. But immoderate either got done oregon fell arsenic debris, causing the deaths and important damage. Bahrain and Kuwait said Iranian strikes successful some countries deed civilian targets extracurricular the U.S. bases wherever Iran had pledged to retaliate.
In Lebanon and Iraq, Iranian-supported militant groups besides entered the conflict.
The Iraqi Shia militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed a drone onslaught connected Monday (March 2, 2026) targeting U.S. troops astatine the airdrome successful Iraq's capital, Baghdad, further widening the retaliation implicit the sidesplitting of Khamenei.
The radical is 1 of a fig of Shia militias operating successful Iraq. The U.S. and Iraq did not instantly remark connected the claim. A information official, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon quality information, confirmed that the the onslaught occurred.
In Lebanon, Israel launched strikes connected Beirut, aft Hezbollah fired missiles crossed the borderline aboriginal Monday.
It was the archetypal clip successful much than a twelvemonth that the Lebanese militant radical has claimed a onslaught against Israel. The Israeli subject said Hezbollah had “joined the campaign” alongside Iran.
Hezbollah said successful a connection that its strikes were carried retired successful retaliation for the sidesplitting of Khamenei and for “repeated Israeli aggressions.” Associated Press journalists successful Beirut were jolted awake by a bid of large explosions that shook buildings and caused windows to shatter. Warplanes could beryllium heard flying debased overhead.
Lebanese authorities officials had urged Hezbollah not to participate the fray successful enactment of Iran, fearing different war. The state has not recovered from the past Israel-Hezbollah war, which nominally ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire successful November 2024. Since then, Israel has continued to motorboat near-daily strikes successful Lebanon aimed astatine stopping Hezbollah from regrouping.
Iran's proxies were a main interest for American and Israeli officials earlier they suspended negotiations and moved up with strikes connected Iran.
Streets of Tehran are mostly deserted
In Tehran, determination was small motion that Iranians had heeded Trump's telephone for an uprising against the government.
The streets were mostly deserted arsenic radical sheltered during airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fearfulness of retribution. The paramilitary Basij, which has played a cardinal relation successful crushing protests, acceptable up checkpoints crossed the city, they said.
An Iranian aesculapian nonrecreational successful bluish Iran said helium and colleagues spent the aboriginal hours of Sunday celebrating Khamenei's decease indoors due to the fact that equipped information forces are inactive heavy deployed successful his city.
There were forces stopping and interrogating radical celebrating successful their cars, but determination was nary gunfire, said the doctor, who spoke connected information of anonymity for fearfulness of reprisal.
“It was 1 of the champion nights, if not the champion nighttime of our lives,” the doc said successful a dependable connection from the metropolis of Rasht. "We didn't slumber astatine all. And we don't adjacent consciousness tired.” An eyewitness successful the metropolis told AP that the windows of their flat shook violently, and residents came retired onto the streets fearing it was excessively unsafe to enactment inside. The witnesser spoke connected information of anonymity for fearfulness of reprisals. Video footage from Tehran showed plumes of fume filling the skyline, and the state-run IRNA quality bureau reported that parts of the gathering of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) were struck Sunday.
In confederate Iran, astatine slightest 165 radical were killed connected Saturday (February 28) erstwhile a girls' schoolhouse was struck, and dozens much were wounded, IRNA reported. The Israeli subject said it was not alert of strikes successful the area. The U.S. subject said it was looking into the reports.
Iran promises revenge and moves to take caller leader
As ultimate leader, Khamenei had last say connected each large policies since 1989. He led Iran's clerical constitution and the Revolutionary Guard, the 2 main centers of powerfulness successful the governing theocracy.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said successful a prerecorded message that a caller enactment assembly had begun its work. The country's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said a caller ultimate person would beryllium chosen successful “one oregon 2 days.” Mr Araghchi blamed the U.S. and Israel for starting the war. He said helium had spoken to his counterparts successful the Gulf countries and urged them to unit the U.S. and Israel to extremity it.
“You person crossed our reddish enactment and indispensable wage the price,” Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said successful a televised address. “We volition present specified devastating blows that you yourselves volition beryllium driven to beg.” In a societal media post, Mr. Trump warned against immoderate retaliation, saying “IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!"
Chance to termination elder leaders was a aureate opportunity
An Israeli subject authoritative described Saturday's ngo against the Iranian enactment arsenic the effect of months of “extremely precocious coordination” with the U.S. The official, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon a covert operation, said a assortment of factors created a “golden opportunity." Those factors included weeks of grooming and monitoring the movements of elder figures, on with “real clip intelligence” that the targets were gathered together.
The results, the authoritative said, were near-simultaneous strikes, wrong 60 seconds of 1 another, successful 3 locations 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) from Israel that killed Khamenei and immoderate 40 elder figures, including the caput of the Revolutionary Guard and the country's defence minister.
