Iranian rockets headed toward Israel are seen crossing the sky over Gaza City on March 3, 2026, as they travel toward Israeli territory amid rising regional tensions.
Saeed Jarras/AFP via Getty Images
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Saeed Jarras/AFP via Getty Images
The United States moved diplomats across the Middle East and closed some embassies as the war with Iran intensified on Tuesday, but President Trump signaled the conflict could turn into an extended war.
Israel said it had sent ground troops across the border into southern Lebanon and bombed Beirut suburbs as fighting with Hezbollah resumed after more than a year.
US and Israel continue to attack Iran. Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital and other parts of the country.
Trump said on Monday that the war would last four to five weeks, then said the US was “capable of going much further” than that.
In a social media post, Trump said the US has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions.
“Wars can be fought ‘forever’ and very successfully using these supplies,” Trump wrote.
The war has killed six US service members so far, with US officials warning that more casualties are expected.
Here are more important updates NPR is reporting.
To go to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:
To go to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:
US Embassies | Travel Tips | Iran | Lebanon | Strait of Hormuz | Natural gas supply
The US has closed its embassy in Kuwait, ordered the evacuation of staff in several countries
The State Department, which previously ordered the evacuation of diplomatic missions in several countries in the Middle East, said it was adding Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq to the list.
The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia urged Americans to avoid the compound on Tuesday after the Saudi Defense Ministry said two drones attacked the diplomatic post.
According to the Saudi Defense Ministry, the drone strikes caused “limited fire and minor damage” to the US Embassy in Riyadh.
This comes after Iran attacked the US embassy in Kuwait on Monday.
The US Embassy in Kuwait said in a social media post on Tuesday that it would be closed until further notice.
In Jordan, the State Department said Tuesday it had moved its massive embassy in Amman after threats against it.
Iran has been hitting Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, which are generally considered safe, in retaliation for the US attack that began on Saturday.
Iran has hit commercial targets after warning it would attack American interests across the region.
Amazon said on Monday that two of its data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain were hit by drones, affecting their operations.
– Jane Aroff
Americans were forced to leave several countries
The State Department has urged Americans to leave more than a dozen countries and territories in the Middle East because of the conflict, even as options to leave have narrowed with flight cancellations and airport closures.
Americans “must leave the following countries now using available commercial transportation due to serious security risks.” Mora Namdar, State Department Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs said in a post on X.
Countries and territories include:
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- West Bank and Gaza
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen
–Ayana Archie
Israel resumes attacks targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon
The Israeli military said the soldiers were “operating in southern Lebanon” as they continued attacks against Hezbollah, including in the Lebanese capital.
Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire in November, 2024 but since then Israel has continued to carry out almost daily strikes. Iran-backed Hezbollah refrained from attacks until Sunday, when it launched attacks in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had targeted Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“Let me be clear: this is not a ground maneuver for Lebanon. This is a tactical step to create an additional layer of security for the residents of northern Israel,” Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said, describing the Israeli troop movements.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the suburb of Dahya, home to a political party and paramilitary group designated a terrorist organization by the US and some other Western countries.
They joined what the government says are at least 30,000 Lebanese fleeing Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut. Shelters were so overcrowded that some families resorted to laying out blankets on the sidewalks of Beirut’s sea-side Corniche.
The Lebanese government says 52 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Saturday.
– Jane Aroff
The US and Israel continue to attack Iran
In the Iranian capital, residents heard explosions at night. There were no immediate reports of what happened.
A mass funeral was held for 165 people – most of them young women – in the attack on a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab on Saturday. Many bodies were buried under the rubble. The US military said it was investigating reports that missiles had hit the school.
Some of the large crowd at the funeral chanted “Death to America,” “Death to Israel” and “No surrender.”
At least 787 people were killed in the attacks on 153 cities, Iran’s state media announced on Tuesday.
Iran says it has closed the Strait of Hormuz
Iran continued to threaten shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway important for Gulf oil exports.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Anyone who wants to pass through, our devout heroes of the IRGC Navy and Army will set fire to those ships,” security officer Brig. General Ibrahim Jabbari said on Monday. “Don’t come into this area.”
In a sign of the wider effects of the war, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told the Iranian ambassador that the Iranian waterway should be reopened.
Global natural gas supplies are greatly reduced
In addition to the effect of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on oil supplies, about 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is transported through the Strait. On land, Iranian strikes hit Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG export plant in Qatar. State-owned Qatar Energy said it had suspended LNG production.
Many countries are somewhat insulated from oil flow disruptions because they hold oil in strategic reserves. But natural gas is a different story, says Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a global research scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. Gas storage levels are particularly low due to the end of winter.
“It’s absolutely massive,” Carbaugh says. “This is going to affect everyone who imports LNG.”
Oil prices have risen since the opening of trading on Monday, as have natural gas prices in Asia and Europe. Energy experts say higher gas prices and reduced LNG flows from the Persian Gulf are more profitable for LNG exporters elsewhere, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the US. A new LNG terminal in Texas soon.
– Julia Simon
Contributed by Jane Araf Amman. Ayana Archie contributed from Washington. Julia Simon contributed from San Francisco.
