The Iran war spiraled on Tuesday as the US and Israel launched a fresh bombing raid on Tehran, amid growing disquiet over Donald Trump‘s shifting objectives.
Israel warned civilians to evacuate the Hakimiya Industrial Zone and the area around Payam Airport in Karaj, where they were striking military targets.
The announcement followed an overnight barrage that the Israelis said had destroyed key government and security compounds in Tehran.
Multiple US embassies across the region were on high alert after attacks on consulates in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE.
No senior member of the administration appeared publicly over the weekend as Trump addressed the nation on two separate occasions, outlining the mission to wipe out Iran’s leadership and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as he encouraged regime change.
The President initially stated that the war would last four to five weeks, but he has since warned it could go on ‘far longer’, striking a more maximalist position than before, saying that ‘the big wave hasn’t even happened’ and swatting away Iran’s requests for peace talks. ‘Too late,’ he posted on Truth Social.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an astonishing statement on Capitol Hill after briefing lawmakers, appeared to admit that Israel had forced America’s hand.
‘We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,’ he told reporters on Monday.
Smoke plumes rise following missile strikes in Tehran, Iran, on March 1
A F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on Monday
Smoke rises from an area in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force and foreign forces, including the US
An F-35C Lightning II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, gets ready on the flight deck of USS Abraham Lincoln on Monday
USS Thomas Hudner firing a Tomahawk missile amid American military action against Iran
Donald Trump speaks during a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Monday
JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News on Monday night that the aim was to ensure ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon’. He claimed that there is ‘just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective.’
Further clouding the picture, a White House official told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that there were three aims: Destroy the threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missiles, its missile industry and its Navy. Neither Iran’s nuclear facilities nor regime change were mentioned.
Trump is facing a growing backlash from top conservative pundits, including Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson.
‘There is nothing unpatriotic or unsupportive of one’s conservatism or general adherence to MAGA-type principles to say, “I would like to be better convinced that this is worth the sacrifice of American blood and treasure,”‘ Kelly said on her show.
Carlson said: ‘This is Israel’s war. This is not the United States’s war. This war is not being waged on behalf of American national security objectives, to make the United States safer or richer… This war is waged purely because Israel wanted it to be waged.’
Trump pushed back on claims Israel forced his hand, claiming ‘I might have forced their hand,’ as he was questioned by reporters at the White House. The President said that Iran was planning to attack first and that the US and Israel ‘were ready.’
America has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, but with much of the airspace closed, many remained stranded. A government source said more than a million Americans are believed to be in the region.
The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia sent out a security alert shortly after 8am EST, warning of ‘imminent’ missile and drone attacks over the city of Dhahran, a major center for the oil industry and the headquarters of Aramco.
‘Do not come to the US Consulate. Take cover immediately in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside,’ the warning said.
Iran has also launched drone attacks on America’s largest Middle East base and warned ‘the gates of hell will open.’
The Islamic regime’s army said Tuesday its forces were launching attacks on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts up to 10,000 troops and serves as the main forward headquarters for US Central Command. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage to the base.
The war has rapidly engulfed the region, with Iran launching hundreds of drones at Israel, US bases, and Arab allies Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.
Trump hit out at reports the US is running low on anti-drone missiles, insisting America has ‘unlimited mid to upper tier weaponry.’ The President declared Iran’s military and leadership ‘is gone’ and that Tehran was requesting talks. ‘Too late,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
But the Iranians are vowing to continue the fight. Ali Mohammad Naini, of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told Iranian state TV: ‘The gates of hell will open more and more, moment by moment, upon the United States and Israel .’
The warning came after the Riyadh embassy was closed following an overnight two-drone attack that sparked a ‘limited fire,’ Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said, with Americans urged to avoid the compound.
It followed an attack on the US Embassy in Kuwait, which announced it had been closed until further notice.
US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said. Iranian missiles struck several locations inside Israel, killing 11. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, has also launched attacks on Israel, drawing retaliatory strikes that killed 52 people in Lebanon.
The US military has confirmed six deaths of American troops in Kuwait. Three people were killed in the UAE, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Trump initially said the war would last four to five weeks but has since warned it could go on ‘far longer.’
The war has severely disrupted the world’s supply of oil and gas, international shipping, and air travel.
Oil surged after Iran ordered the Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of the world’s crude flows – closed. US regular gasoline prices hit $3.11 per gallon on Tuesday, up from just under $3 at the start of the week, the American Automobile Association said.
Israel deployed ground troops in Lebanon as the conflict broadened into its fourth day.
Trump’s objectives remain unclear. The President initially urged Iranians to overthrow their government after US-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
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An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, preparing to land on the flight deck of USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2
This US Navy handout photo released by US Central Command public affairs shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) firing a Tomahawk land attack missile in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1
Navy sailors looking over ordnance on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Monday
Across Iran’s capital, explosions rang out throughout the night into Tuesday
A B-1 bomber after having struck nuclear facilities in Iran overnight
A F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to launch from the USS Abraham Lincoln on Monday
The F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, is set to launch from the ship’s flight deck in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2
Since then, however, senior administration officials have said regime change was not the goal. Trump’s initial announcement of the strikes listed several grievances, from concerns about Iran’s nuclear and missile programs to its leadership.
Across Iran’s capital, explosions rang out throughout the night into Tuesday, with aircraft heard overhead. Strikes caused two explosions at a broadcasting facility in Tehran, Iranian state TV said, adding that no one was injured.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had sustained ‘some recent damage,’ though there was ‘no radiological consequence expected.’
The US hit Natanz during the 12-day war in June, when Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained, however, that Iran was rebuilding ‘new sites, new places’ underground for making atomic bombs. He offered no evidence to support his claim.
‘We had to take the action now and we did,’ Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Hannity.
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to and says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Satellite photos showed limited activity at two Iranian nuclear sites before the war began, with analysts saying Tehran was likely assessing damage from the 2025 strikes and salvaging what remained, the Associated Press reported.
The exposed interior of a damaged building is near Ferdowsi Square in Tehran on March 3
Iran has hit many countries deemed safe havens in the Mideast in retaliation to US action
A woman reacts on the street following an Israeli and US strike on a police station on Tuesday
Birds fly as smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone following a fire caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office
Security personnel conduct a search after a projectile hit the area of Petah Tikva in central Israel on March 3
Emergency personnel work at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 3. Israel’s military has been attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The breadth of Iranian retaliation across the Gulf, the ferocity of US-Israeli strikes, Khamenei’s killing and the absence of any exit plan all pointed to a prolonged conflict.
Iran has hit many countries deemed safe havens in the Mideast in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes. Recent targets included two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. The centers in the UAE were hit, while a drone struck near one in Bahrain, causing damage, the company said.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari vowed that Iranian attacks on the gas-rich country ‘will not go unanswered.’
The conflict has spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had moved additional troops into southern Lebanon and taken new positions on several strategic points close to the border.
Israel also hit Beirut with more airstrikes, saying it was targeting ‘Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities.’ Explosions could be heard and smoke seen in a southern suburb of Beirut.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its border positions. A senior Hezbollah official, Mohamoud Komati, said the group now had no option but to fight Israel.
