Gulf Arab nations faced more missile and drone fire Tuesday from Iran, which has been targeting regional oil infrastructure. Israel also launched new strikes on Iran and Lebanon. In Iraq, officials say drones hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, where an Associated Press journalist saw a massive fire.<\/p>\n
The U.S.-Israeli war has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, more than 900 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The U.S. military says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia reports shooting down missile in area of air base hosting American forces<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia\u2019s Defense Ministry reported early Wednesday it shot down a ballistic missile targeting the area around Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American forces and aircraft.<\/p>\n
Iran acknowledges launching multiple-warhead missiles at Israel<\/p>\n
Iran acknowledged launching multiple-warhead missiles at Israel early Wednesday, the latest use of a weapon designed to spread maximum damage and evade Israel\u2019s multiple layers of air defenses.<\/p>\n
A statement from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reported by Iranian state television said the force launched both Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles in the attack that targeted an area near Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
The Guard described the attack as revenge for Israel killing top security official Ali Larijani.<\/p>\n
Footage filmed by The Associated Press showed the release of the cluster munition from at least one missile over Israel.<\/p>\n
The attack early Wednesday killed at least two people in Israel.<\/p>\n
Betting on a regional settlement for Lebanon `would be a grave mistake,\u2019 UN envoy says<\/p>\n
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, said that while diplomatic efforts continue to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, \u201cLebanon must urgently focus on what can be done at the domestic level.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Iranian-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel, to avenge its assassination of Iran\u2019s supreme leader, she said, it spread \u201cthe embers\u201d now engulfing Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Hennis-Plasschaert said Lebanon must develop a road map to address the question of Hezbollah\u2019s future which needs to not only \u201cencompass the group\u2019s weapons, but also its financial networks and social infrastructure,\u201d and involve all parts of the Lebanese government.<\/p>\n
Highlights of her closed briefing to the U.N. Security Council were distributed by the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Hennis-Plasschaert said the Lebanese Armed Forces face \u201ca colossal mismatch between the resources at hand and the tasks ahead\u201d and must be strengthened if it is to fulfill demands to disarm Hezbollah and deploy throughout Lebanon.<\/p>\n
IAEA says it receives report from Iran about \u2018projectile\u2019 hitting Bushehr nuclear complex<\/p>\n
The International Atomic Energy Agency said early Wednesday it received a report from Iran that its Bushehr nuclear power plant complex had been hit by a projectile.<\/p>\n
The carefully worded statement from the United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog represented the first word outside of either Iran or Russia about the incident Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe IAEA has been informed by Iran that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr NPP on Tuesday evening,\u201d the IAEA said, using an acronym for nuclear power plant. \u201cNo damage to the plant or injuries to staff reported.\u201d<\/p>\n
It added the IAEA\u2019s leader, Rafael Mariano Grossi, reiterated his \u201ccall for maximum restraint during the conflict to prevent risk of a nuclear accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. military\u2019s Central Command, which is in charge of forces launching airstrikes across southern Iran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Intense Israeli strikes hit Beirut<\/p>\n
At least two strikes hit central Beirut early Wednesday, local media reported. AP journalists heard loud booms, low-flying jets, and ambulance sirens over the capital. Videos from one impact site showed two apartments stacked above one another hollowed out in a multistory building.<\/p>\n
Shortly after, two strikes hit Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, sending flames and smoke into the sky. No injuries were immediately reported from either strike.<\/p>\n
Russia and Iran allege strike near Bushehr nuclear power plant<\/p>\n
Iran and Russia have alleged a strike hit near the Bushehr nuclear power plant on the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, causing no release of atomic material or injury but again raising the specter of a radiological release in the war.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s state-run Tass news agency quoted Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev as claiming \u201ca strike hit the area adjacent to the metrology service building located at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site, in close proximity to the operating power unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were no casualties among Rosatom State Corporation personnel,\u201d Likhachev said. \u201cThe radiation situation at the site is normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran later issued a statement saying \u201cno financial, technical, or human damage occurred and no part of the plant was harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog, did not immediately acknowledge any attack affecting the plant. The U.S. military\u2019s Central Command, which is controlling the American airstrikes targeting southern Iran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Russia has made repeated claims about nuclear sites in its war on Ukraine that have turned out not to be true. Bushehr long has been a concern of Gulf Arab states, either due to earthquakes in Iran or the fear that nuclear material could be released in the case of any war in Iran.<\/p>\n
Bushehr, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Iran\u2019s capital, Tehran, is operated by Russian technicians.<\/p>\n
Construction on the plant began under Iran\u2019s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility.<\/p>\n
2 killed in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Magen David Adom medical service said two people were killed in Ramat Gan, a district east of Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw smoke rising from a building with extensive damage and shattered glass,\u201d MDA paramedic Inbar Green and MDA EMT Naftali Halberstadt said. \u201cFrom among the debris, we saw two unconscious casualties, with no pulse and not breathing, with severe injuries to their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said the medical service is continuing to search for additional casualties.<\/p>\n
Israeli strikes kill 3 in southern Lebanon, health ministry says<\/p>\n
The strike in the Nabatiyeh district killed three people and wounded another, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry said early Wednesday. Rescue teams are continuing to remove debris as they search for eight missing people, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
Israeli strikes have killed 912 people in Lebanon, including at least 111 children and 67 women, since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2 after Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets toward northern Israel, according to the health ministry.<\/p>\n
Explosions ring out in Dubai, followed by a missile alert<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s Dubai Media Office said \u201cthe sounds heard across parts of the city were the result of successful air defence interception operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democrats target Trump on war and energy affordability<\/p>\n
Senate Democrats say a surge in gas prices as a result of the Iran war is not the only way Trump is hurting Americans\u2019 pocketbooks. The national average of gas prices reached $3.79 gallon Tuesday, up 87 cents a gallon from a month ago, according to AAA.<\/p>\n
Democrats say in a report Tuesday that Americans are also paying higher prices for electricity, heating and air conditioning.<\/p>\n
Trump \u201cpromised to slash energy bills in the first year of his presidency. He has failed, breaking his promise to the American people,\u201d Democrats said, blaming Trump policies that target clean energy, electric vehicles and energy-saving home renovations.<\/p>\n
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called the report \u201crich coming from the same Democrats who spent years shutting down reliable, affordable energy sources to back Joe Biden\u2019s so-called \u2018green energy\u2019 policies that sent electricity prices soaring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior UAE officials says Iran\u2019s `counterproductive\u2019 Gulf attacks `will strengthen Israel\u2019s hold\u2019 on the Gulf<\/p>\n
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said counter to some analysts he also expects the U.S. relationship with Gulf countries \u201cto be much, much stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Gulf countries have become much more realistic and see that they are being attacked by Iran, not by Israel. He noted that the nearly 2,000 Iranian attacks on the UAE so far are more than the Islamic Republic\u2019s attacks on Israel.<\/p>\n
Iran says it is retaliating for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that have killed its supreme leader and other leading officials and commanders and claims it is targeting U.S. assets in the Gulf. Gargash and others insist Tehran is hitting civilian facilities.<\/p>\n
Gargash said relations between Gulf nations and the U.S. will be much stronger because \u201cwe see the United States as a major, major pillar in our defense strategy,\u201d though in the case of the UAE not as \u201cour sole defense shield.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gulf countries are responding to Iran\u2019s aggression with American equipment and the war \u201csolidifies that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing a relationship that is on an upward trajectory,\u201d he said in a video event at the Council on Foreign Relations.<\/p>\n
Iraq\u2019s Kurdish region to resume oil exports via pipeline after Baghdad-Irbil deal<\/p>\n
The government in northern Iraq\u2019s semiautonomous Kurdish region announced Tuesday its approval to resume oil exports through the pipeline to the Ceyhan port.<\/p>\n
Oil exports through Ceyhan had been halted since the outbreak of the Iran\u2013U.S.\u2013Israel war, after Iraqi militias targeted oil refineries in the region, prompting foreign companies to suspend operations.<\/p>\n
Masrour Barzani, the region\u2019s prime minister, said in a statement that the government\u2019s approval to restart the pipeline represents \u201can important step toward economic stability and ensuring the rights of all parties,\u201d stressing the region\u2019s commitment to coordinating with Baghdad on managing the oil file according to constitutional frameworks.<\/p>\n
Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, welcomed the move in a post on X, describing the resumption of oil flows as \u201ca positive development that strengthens economic cooperation and stability in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran confirms the death of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council<\/p>\n
According to a statement released by Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, Larijani was killed along with his son Morteza Larijani and the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, as well as several guards.<\/p>\n
Israel said Tuesday it had struck and killed Larijani and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard\u2019s all-volunteer Basij force.<\/p>\n
A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, he had advised the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January for his role \u201ccoordinating\u201d Iran\u2019s violent suppression of nationwide protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s fire on an aircraft carrier lasted hours and destroyed dozens of beds, AP sources say<\/p>\n The non-combat fire in the laundry room of the Navy\u2019s newest and largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, rendered more than 100 beds unusable and led to about 200 sailors being assessed for smoke inhalation, two military officials told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren\u2019t authorized to discuss the details with the media, said that the fire was extinguished in a few hours, while broader damage control took around 30 hours. Sailors spent the bulk of that time watching for flare-ups, draining water and clearing damage.<\/p>\n The officials said some sailors had to sleep in temporary accommodations, like cots. All crew have returned to duty except for one sailor who was evacuated Friday in stable condition, the Navy said. The New York Times was the first to report details of the fire.<\/p>\n \u2014 By Konstantin Toropin<\/p>\n Iran war impact has US drivers paying highest pump prices in years<\/p>\n According to the American Automobile Association, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped to $3.79 on Tuesday, up from $2.98 before the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran. That\u2019s the most expensive since October 2023.<\/p>\n State averages for regular gas now range from about $3.21 to more than $5.54 a gallon, per AAA data.<\/p>\n With diesel rising to about $5 a gallon around Philadelphia, bricklayer Jeff Jones is considering raising his prices. History shows Middle East conflicts often last longer than expected.<\/p>\n \u201cI fear for the young people in our military that could then have to spend more time there, then obviously that equates to casualties,\u201d said Jones. \u201cI don\u2019t particularly like the fact that we\u2019re there, but I think it\u2019s necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n World Health Organization warns of widening war\u2019s health impacts<\/p>\n The U.N. health agency said Tuesday that the widening war is disrupting health care inside Iran and across the Mideast, with facilities forced to close, ambulances struggling to reach the wounded and attacks on health care increasing.<\/p>\n \u201cThese attacks are not isolated incidents, but part of an concerning pattern of violence against health care,\u201d an agency statement said. \u201cInjured people, displaced families, patients with chronic diseases, pregnant women and older people must be able to reach life-saving health services.\u201d<\/p>\n The WHO cited a Monday attack on a hospital<\/a> in Kabul that Afghan authorities said killed more than 400 people, one of six such attacks in Afghanistan alone. It said health care workers have been attacked or killed in Sudan, Gaza and the occupied West Bank. WHO also said airstrikes on oil infrastructure have released pollutants<\/a> linked to illnesses, and strikes on desalination plants<\/a> stress life-sustaining systems.<\/p>\n A Republican senator says Witkoff gave an update on talks with \u2018different entities\u2019 on Iran<\/p>\n Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff provided an update on \u201chow discussions are going with different entities\u201d during a meeting with a small bipartisan group of senators. She said the session was intended to provide \u201can overall readout\u201d on the war and give lawmakers a chance to ask Witkoff questions.<\/p>\n The senator said Trump\u2019s envoy did not offer a timeline for ending the war, and the discussion was not focused on underlying causes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a separate meeting just to see where we are and how discussions are going with different entities,\u201d Ernst said. \u201cIt was, I thought, a good meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether those entities were in the United States or Iran, Ernst responded: \u201cMany different organizations and countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli military says it struck more than 10 Basij force posts<\/p>\n The Israeli military says it struck the posts across Tehran in recent hours as part of ongoing operations against Basij units. An increase in Israeli strikes on Basij security checkpoints in Iran is part of a push to undermine the state\u2019s ability to contain unrest, an independent monitoring group said last week.<\/p>\n Hezbollah fires another round of missiles as Israel says it\u2019s hitting back with airstrikes<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military said the rockets were fired toward several locations in the country\u2019s north and were being intercepted. Israeli warplanes immediately began striking Hezbollah launchers and other targets in Lebanon, the army said.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s emergency responders said there were no immediate reports of casualties Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began launching missiles into Israel on March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.<\/p>\n A few minutes before Tuesday\u2019s rocket salvo, Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the military \u201cis deepening operations in Lebanon to protect northern communities,\u201d with another army division joining the \u201climited ground operations.\u201d<\/p>\n More than a million people in Lebanon have been driven from their homes by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders during the war, and nearly 900 Lebanese killed. A dozen Israelis have also been killed.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s internet blackout silences voices at home as diaspora creators fill the void<\/p>\n Iranian American Ariana Afshar has tried to produce commentary about the war based on the perspectives of people in Iran. But the New York-based social media creator keeps running into an obstacle: An internet blackout imposed by the government in Tehran has stifled almost all communications from the country<\/a>. That makes it nearly impossible to reliably survey perspectives inside Iran, where Afshar lived as a teenager and still has family.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a huge problem among the Iranian diaspora, where they speak for Iranians a lot. I don\u2019t want to fall into that,\u201d said Afshar, who has roughly 350,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. Content creators \u201ccannot thoroughly access the people\u2019s opinions in Iran,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Trump team pushes media to tell Iran war story the White House\u2019s way<\/p>\n The president has complained on social media about stories he doesn\u2019t like and berated a reporter on Air Force One.<\/p>\n This week, Trump\u2019s top media regulator<\/a> said broadcasters risk losing their licenses if they don\u2019t stay away from \u201cfake news.\u201d Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have questioned the patriotism of some news outlets.<\/p>\n Antagonism between presidents and the press isn\u2019t unusual, but Trump\u2019s team has shown a hostility toward the very idea of being questioned.<\/p>\n Iran wants to move its World Cup matches from the US to Mexico. FIFA is sticking to its schedule<\/p>\n The wrangling between Iran, FIFA and Trump over the World Cup shifted Tuesday to Mexico.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s embassy in Mexico City said Iran is negotiating with FIFA to move its three group-stage matches from the United States to Mexico after Trump last week discouraged<\/a> the team from attending the 48-nation tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump cited safety concerns. Iran says the U.S. hasn\u2019t been cooperating on visas.<\/p>\n FIFA responded in a statement saying that planning continues and \u201cFIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on Dec. 6, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n US seeks international support in isolating Iran, even as Trump says no help is needed securing the Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n The State Department has reached out to numerous countries seeking their support in isolating Iran by designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations even though Trump says the U.S. doesn\u2019t need military help.<\/p>\n A cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions on Monday told American diplomats in countries that have not yet made such designations to urge them to act quickly to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch designations will intensify the pressure on the Iranian regime and limit its ability to sponsor terror activities across the globe that jeopardize the safety and security of your populations,\u201d the cable advised U.S. diplomats to tell their host governments.<\/p>\n \u201cWe assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral actions and that joint pressure is more likely to compel change by the regime than unilateral actions alone,\u201d said the cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.<\/p>\n Satellite images begin to show damage wrought by Iran war<\/p>\n The images give a glimpse into the toll, with ships ablaze in an Iranian port and destroyed buildings at an American base.<\/p>\n Such information has been scarce, particularly from inside closed military facilities. These images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets including The Associated Press. Planet Labs imposed a two-week delay to avoid having its imagery used by \u201cadversarial actors.\u201d<\/p>\n High-resolution images also have been published by competing firms, and providers including the U.S. Geological Survey have been publishing lower-resolution imagery.<\/p>\n The U.S. and Israel have been striking a wide variety of targets<\/a>, including leadership figures<\/a>, military bases, missile and air defense sites and positions of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer force, the Basij. Iran has responded with drone and missile fire targeting Israel and nearby Gulf Arab nations.<\/p>\n Drone crashes in US Embassy compound in Baghdad<\/p>\n Two drones were shot down by the defense system at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, while a third drone crashed inside the embassy compound, two Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.<\/p>\n An AP journalist in the area saw a massive fire that appeared to be engulfing a structure in the compound.<\/p>\n There was no immediate statement from the embassy.<\/p>\n U.S. facilities in Iraq have frequently come under attack by Iran or Iran-backed Iraqi militias since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, triggering the ongoing war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Turkey\u2019s top diplomat criticizes Israel\u2019s killing of Iranian officials<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described \u201cIsrael\u2019s political assassinations\u201d of top Iranian officials as unlawful and illegal, saying: \u201cThey must come to an end as soon as possible.\u201d He spoke hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killings were aimed at weakening Iran\u2019s government. Fidan said he would embark on a visit to regional countries to \u201cdiscuss steps that can be taken to stop the war.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran war pushes countries into energy triage as they conserve power and curb soaring prices<\/p>\n The escalating war with Iran is pushing parts of the world into energy triage, forcing governments to choose where to cut demand or absorb costs while prioritizing dwindling supplies.<\/p>\n Governments in the region are scrambling to adjust \u2014 tallying oil reserves, conserving energy, competing for supplies and trying to blunt prices. That brings difficult trade-offs: Saving power may slow business activity. Prioritizing cooking gas for households can hurt restaurants and other businesses.<\/p>\n Trump delays his trip to China as Iran war continues<\/p>\n The trip to China had been planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijing and other world powers to use military might to protect the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Trump said Tuesday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Miche\u00e1l Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks\u2019 time instead of at the end of the month. He said he would be \u201cresetting\u201d his visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, without elaborating.<\/p>\n Soon after pressing China and other nations to send warships to secure access to Middle Eastern oil over the weekend, Trump indicated his travel plans were up in the air, though he also indicated Tuesday that the U.S. didn\u2019t need any help after being rebuffed by other allies.<\/p>\n Trump says NATO is making a \u2018very foolish mistake\u2019 by not assisting US in Iran war<\/p>\n Trump complained about NATO\u2019s refusal to join the U.S. in the war, calling the decision \u201cdisappointing\u201d and bad for the \u201cpartnership.\u201d<\/p>\n He floated the idea of having the U.S. withdraw from the alliance as a result. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly something that we should think about. I don\u2019t need Congress for that decision,\u201d Trump said, adding: \u201cI have nothing currently in mind but I\u2019m not exactly thrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n NATO exists as a defensive alliance, not an offensive one, and has said it has no plans to get involved in the U.S.-led war with Iran. However, NATO troops did deploy for 18 years to Afghanistan and its 2011 air campaign helped topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.<\/p>\n Trump says Iran\u2019s leaders \u2018are gone\u2019 after apparent killing of top security officials<\/p>\n Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, the president said two top Iranian officials<\/a> were killed, including one he said was responsible for the deaths of 32,000 Iranian protesters in recent weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir leaders are gone,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019s an evil group.\u201d<\/p>\n He made the comments after Israel said its overnight strikes killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard\u2019s all-volunteer Basij force. Iran did not immediately confirm either death.<\/p>\n Trump says the resigning head of the National Counterterrorism Center is \u2018weak\u2019 on security<\/p>\n The president said Joe Kent was a \u201cnice guy\u201d but \u201cI always thought\u201d he was \u201cvery weak on security.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said that Kent leaving his post was \u201ca good thing\u201d since he disagreed with Kent\u2019s assessment on the threat from Iran. \u201cWe don\u2019t want those people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 15 vessels transited through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 3 days<\/p>\n The vessel-tracker MarineTraffic said Tuesday that the ships included eight bulk vessels, five tankers and two liquefied petroleum gas carriers.<\/p>\n Iran has nearly halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world\u2019s oil typically sails from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.<\/p>\n Top EU diplomat says nations won\u2019t be dragged into Iran war<\/p>\n The European Union\u2019s top diplomat says the 27-nation bloc rejects Trump\u2019s demand to send warships to the Straits of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not Europe\u2019s war. We didn\u2019t start the war. We were not consulted,\u201d EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told lawmakers on Tuesday, a day after chairing talks among the member countries about Trump\u2019s warship demand.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what are the objectives of this war,\u201d Kallas said. \u201cThe member states do not have the wish to be dragged into this.\u201d<\/p>\n White House rebuts counterterrorism official\u2019s reasons for resignation<\/p>\n In a lengthy statement on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt aggressively disputed Kent’s argument that Iran did not pose an imminent threat.<\/p>\n \u201cAs President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,\u201d Leavitt said. \u201cThis evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the allegation that Trump acted against Iran under the influence from Israel, Leavitt called it \u201cboth insulting and laughable.\u201d<\/p>\n Days after launching the war, Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a pre-emptive strike<\/a> against the U.S.<\/p>\n Smoke and booms in southern Lebanon as Israel ramps up operations<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military has ramped up operations near the Lebanon-Israel border since Hezbollah began firing rockets southward in the early days of the Iran war.<\/p>\n Although Israel has maintained a presence and carried out strikes in the area since a 2024 ceasefire, in recent weeks it has deployed tanks and intensified strikes it says are aimed at neutralizing the Iran\u2011backed Lebanese militant group, in what it has called a \u201climited and targeted operation\u201d<\/p>\n The fighting has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed at least 886, according to Lebanese authorities. In northern Israel, residents have endured a steady stream of Hezbollah rocket fire from Hezbollah, sowing destruction and closing businesses already crunched by years of conflict.<\/p>\n More than 900 killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes<\/p>\n The number of people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the outbreak of the new Israel-Hezbollah war two weeks ago has risen to 912, Lebanon\u2019s Health Ministry said Tuesday. That\u2019s up from 886 killed as of Monday.<\/p>\n The death toll includes 111 children and 67 women. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the conflict.<\/p>\n The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched missiles across the border into Israel on March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, triggering the widening war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n More details on the Iranian leaders Israel says it killed<\/p>\n 1. Ali Larijani, a top Iranian security official, was widely believed to be running the country as it reeled from the killing of its supreme leader and a widening war<\/a>. Israel said it killed him in an overnight strike.<\/p>\n 2. Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani led a powerful internal security force<\/a> that has crushed waves of mass protests<\/a> against the Shiite theocracy. Israel said it killed him while he was meeting in a tent with other Revolutionary Guard leaders. Iran did not immediately confirm either death.<\/p>\n 3. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a> and other top security officials were killed in the surprise U.S. and Israeli strikes that started the war.<\/p>\n 4. Khamenei\u2019s son, Mojtaba<\/a>, who was appointed to replace him, has not been seen in public and Israel suspects he was wounded.<\/p>\n Families displaced to Iran\u2019s north by the war will celebrate Persian New Year with \u2018no joy\u2019<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s northern resort towns host thousands of families each year for the holiday. But now, many who regularly vacation near the Caspian Sea are there seeking respite from heavy bombardment in Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year has been a terrible year for all Iranians,\u201d a 23-year-old university student who headed north with his family told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n Speaking on condition of anonymity out of security fears, the student described a national \u201ctrauma,\u201d with the war following the shootings of thousands of anti-government protesters in January. \u201cPrices are destroying us,\u201d the student added, calling the soaring inflation \u201cbackbreaking.\u201d Even before the war, Iran’s economy had been crippled by international sanctions.<\/p>\n The U.N. refugee agency says hundreds of thousands of Iranian households have been displaced during the war, with most fleeing north or into rural areas to escape intense strikes on major cities.<\/p>\n \u2014 By Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo.<\/p>\n Lindsey Graham got a war with Iran. What will it cost the country and his party?<\/p>\n More than three decades after Lindsey Graham<\/a> first arrived in Washington, he has everything he could ever want. The senator from South Carolina has Trump\u2019s<\/a> ear, a war in Iran<\/a> and a well-funded path to reelection.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s just a question of what those things will cost the Republican Party \u2014 and the rest of the United States \u2014 in this election year when control of Congress hangs in the balance. The conflict is already deeply unpopular with no clear endgame, as oil prices rise and fighting spreads throughout the Middle East.<\/p>\n But Graham, now running for a fifth term, defended pushing the U.S. toward war. \u201cWe haven\u2019t underestimated Iran at all,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re crushing them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gulf Arab nations faced more missile and drone fire Tuesday from Iran, which has been targeting regional oil…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[328,197,11579,196,37,81,463,782,771,1102,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-24303","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-general-news","10":"tag-iran-israel-us-latest-march-17-2026","11":"tag-iran-war","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-religion","15":"tag-u-s-news","16":"tag-washington-news","17":"tag-wire","18":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116247535451861389","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}