Iran struck the US embassy in Saudi Arabia on Thursday as Washington began pulling out many personnel from the Middle East amid an escalating war.
The US and Israel hit Iran with airstrikes, the start of a war signaled by President Donald Trump that has severely disrupted the world’s supply of oil and gas, international shipping and aviation.
The conflict further escalated into its fourth day, with Israel sending new ground troops into Lebanon and explosions ringing in Iran’s capital. Hundreds were killed, most in Iran.
The spiraling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end.
Trump said it could last four to five weeks — but the US is ready to go further. He seemed open to the possibility of more extensive US military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.
Yet the administration’s intentions remain unclear. Initial US-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and forced Iranians to overthrow Trump’s government.
However, senior administration officials have said that regime change is not the goal. Trump’s initial announcement of strikes listed a range of grievances, from concerns about Iran’s nuclear and missile programs to its leadership.
Iran attacked the US embassy in Riyadh
According to Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry, two drone strikes on the US embassy in Riyadh caused “limited fire” and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound.
Following the attack on the US embassy in Kuwait, it announced on Tuesday that it was closed until further notice.
The US State Department has ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, the US, like many others, has urged its citizens to leave a dozen Middle Eastern countries, even though most of its airspace has been closed, leaving many stranded.
The US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. In Israel, Iranian missiles hit several locations, killing 11 people. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel, its revenge attacks killing 52 people in Lebanon.
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The US military has confirmed six deaths of American service members. Three died in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Israel and the US have targeted nuclear facilities in Iran
Across Iran’s capital, explosions rang out overnight into Tuesday, with planes heard overhead. Iranian state TV said the strikes caused two explosions at a broadcast facility in Tehran, injuring no one.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had suffered “some recent damage”, although “no radiological consequences are expected”.
The US struck Natanz during the 12-day war in June, Israeli and American strikes that greatly crippled Iran’s nuclear program.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new locations” underground to make nuclear bombs. He did not provide any evidence to support his claim.
“We had to take action now and we did,” Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Hannity.
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it maintains its claim and insists its nuclear program is peaceful.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed limited activity at two Iranian nuclear sites before the war. Analysts said Tehran was estimating the damage from the 2025 strikes and would probably save what was left.
It is not clear how long the war will last
The expansion of Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the intensification of Israeli and American attacks, Khamenei’s assassination, and the lack of any clear exit plan suggested that the conflict could be prolonged.
Trump said Monday that the operations would last four to five weeks but he was prepared to “go longer than that.” He later said the US had a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions.
“Wars can be fought ‘forever’ and very successfully using these supplies,” he wrote on social media.
The conflict is roiling business interests in the Middle East
Iran has hit many countries considered safe havens in the Middle East in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. Recent targets include two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. Centers in the UAE were hit, while one near Bahrain was hit by a drone and caused damage, the company said.
Iran has also hit energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and attacked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of all oil trade passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed,” announced Iranian Brig. General Ibrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, vowed that any ships passing through would be set on fire.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majeed Al Ansari vowed that Iranian attacks on the gas-rich country “will not be answered.”
Israel sends troops to Lebanon
The conflict spread to Lebanon, where on Monday Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel, prompting Israeli retaliation.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had moved additional troops into southern Lebanon and taken up new positions at several strategic locations near the border.
Israel has hit Beirut with more airstrikes that it says have targeted “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities.” Explosions were heard and smoke billowed 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, Mahmoud Komati, said the group now had no choice but to fight Israel.
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