US-Iran War News Highlights: US urges citizens to leave 13 Mideast countries amid escalating Iran conflict, Trump predicts 4-5 week war

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has weighed in on his American counterpart’s justification for attacking Tehran.

“Mr. Rubio admitted what we all knew: US has entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel. There was never any so-called Iranian ‘threat’,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

“Shedding of both American and Iranian blood is thus on Israel Firsters. American people deserve better and should take back their country,” he added.

Rubio told reporters that the US was aware Israel was going to attack Iran and joined in because Washington felt that Tehran would retaliate against American assets in the region.

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Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting an Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

Trump told cable network NewsNation that the US would retaliate "soon" for the attack on the US embassy in Riyadh and the deaths of the US service members.

Six service members have been killed so far while 18 are injured, the US said on Monday night.

"Trump also told me he doesn’t think boots on the ground will be necessary," Kellie Meyer, a NewsNation political reporter, wrote on X.

The US Embassy in Islamabad and Consulates General in Lahore and Karachi have cancelled all visa appointments through Friday, March 6, citing security concerns amid escalating tensions in the region.

Oil prices rose for a third day on Tuesday as the widening US-Israeli conflict with Iran and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz heightened fears of supply disruptions from the key Middle East producing region.

Brent crude futures were at $78.83 a barrel, up $1.10, or 1.4%, by 0107 GMT. On Monday, the contract surged to as high as $82.37, its highest since January 2025, though it pared those gains to settle 6.7% higher.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 74 cents, or 1%, to $71.97 a barrel. In the previous ⁠session, ​the contract initially climbed to its highest since June 2025 before sliding back to still settle up 6.3%. (Reuters)

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Monday Iran’s UN ambassador may soon seek asylum, characterizing Tehran’s decades‑long hostility and saying President Trump’s response represents a decisive break with what he described as an “endless” conflict.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s asking for asylum soon — representing a regime that has terrorized the region and massacred tens of thousands of their own people," Waltz told Fox.

Tehran's historic Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been damaged in recent strikes on the capital, according to Iranian state media.

The palace, which served as the royal residence of Iranian monarchs during the Qajar dynasty and later became the official seat of the Pahlavi dynasty, reportedly suffered damage to its wooden doors, orsi (traditional Persian windows), and mirror work due to blast waves from the attack. UNESCO has expressed concern over the protection of heritage sites following the reports. (BBC)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox’s Sean Hannity on Monday that Iran’s “ballistic missile program and atomic bomb program” would soon have become “immune” to attack without Operation Epic Fury, and said “action had to be taken” by a “resolute President like Donald J. Trump.”

A devastating airstrike on a primary school in Minab, Iran, has resulted in the deaths of over 160 young girls, with their bodies severely injured. The attack, attributed to US-Israeli forces, has sparked outrage and condemnation. Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted on X about the incident, highlighting the human cost of the conflict. The international community is calling for an investigation into the incident, with some accusing the US and Israel of war crimes

Typical of an unconventional presidency, the Trump administration waited more than 48 hours to make any live, public communication to the American people about why it had decided to go to war with Iran.

President Donald Trump discussed why he launched the attack prior to a White House ceremony honouring military heroes on Monday but took no questions from reporters. Earlier in the day, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine briefed journalists at the Pentagon.

The two days previous, Trump delivered two pretaped statements that were released on Truth Social, the social media site owned by the president's media company, and granted telephone interviews to more than a dozen journalists - several of which produced fragmented responses that, to some, clouded as much as they cleared up.

Iran and its proxies could target the US with attacks in response to the Saturday killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by Israeli and US strikes, according to a US intelligence assessment reviewed by Reuters.

The February 28 threat assessment produced by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security said Iran and its proxies "probably" pose a threat of targeted attacks on the United States, although ⁠a ​large-scale physical attack was unlikely.

President Donald Trump took to social media to express his views on the Iran Nuclear Deal, stating, "If I didn’t terminate Obama’s horrendous Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), Iran would have had a Nuclear Weapon three years ago.

That was the most dangerous transaction we have ever entered into, and had it been allowed to stand, the World would be an entirely different place right now."

Trump blamed former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden for the deal, saying they should be held accountable. He thanked himself for taking action, saying "THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!"

As the war in the Middle East spirals further, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US has “the capability to go far longer ” than its projected four-to-five-week time frame for its military operations against Iran.

The US and Israel have continued to pound Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, while Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas.

US first lady Melania Trump presided over a UN Security Council meeting on Monday focusing on children in conflict, one of her signature issues, and acknowledged she was doing so in “challenging times” as the United States has joined Israel in attacking Iran.

“The US stands with all of the children throughout the world," she said, speaking generally and not specifically about the new war in the Middle East. "I hope soon peace will be yours.”

Hanging over Monday's meeting was what Iranian state media says was an airstrike that hit a girls' school in southern Iran, killing at least 165 people and wounding dozens more. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. (Reuters)

Israel has targeted the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) complex in Tehran, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF stated that the IRIB complex is "the beating heart of the IRGC's machine of lies and repression".

IRIB head Peyman Jebeli confirmed that parts of the internal premises were hit. This isn't the first time IRIB has been targeted, as it was also attacked during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June 2025.

State Department urges US citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to safety risks. (AP)

Three armed drones were shot down over Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where US forces are stationed, according to security sources. (AP)

Watch: A US fighter jet has crashed in Kuwait, the pilot safely being transported to a medical facility by local residents, who placed him in the trunk of a car.

Israel has launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah, following rocket attacks on Israel, with the Israeli army's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, announcing the move in a meeting. The strikes come after Lebanese authorities reported that Israeli air attacks have killed at least 31 people and wounded 149 others.

Kuwait intercepted hostile drones on Monday, the third consecutive day of Iranian retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states in response to ⁠US ​and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic.

A series of loud blasts was heard on Monday morning ​in ​Dubai and the Qatari capital ⁠of Doha, according to Reuters witnesses. Loud bangs and ‌sirens were heard earlier in Kuwait, according to Reuters witnesses.

No injuries were reported after Kuwait air defenses intercepted the majority of the drones near ⁠Rumaithiya and ⁠Salwa neighbourhoods, the state news agency cited the director-general of ⁠the ‌civil defense as saying.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior says it has activated air raid alerts and urged residents to head to the nearest safest place.

It said the Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Bridge linking Manama to nearby towns was closed and urged “residents to use main roads only when necessary”.(Aljazeera)

The Israeli military says Iran has launched more missiles at Israel and that air defences are operating to intercept the projectiles.

It called on residents who receive alerts to take shelter and remain in protected spaces until informed.

(With inputs from agencies)

Iran and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states and Israel and the United States pounded targets in Iran as the war expanded Monday with statements of defiance and warnings of more US casualties.

As the American and Israeli airstrikes continued, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani vowed defiantly on X that “we will not negotiate with the United States.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported dropping 2,000 bombs on Iran since Saturday morning, achieving air superiority over Tehran at an unprecedented pace. The Israel Air Force (IAF) stated that the bombing rate matches the intensity of Operation Rising Lion in June 2025, despite being a shorter operation. This urgency is partly driven by concerns that US President Donald Trump might withdraw support sooner than expected.

(With inputs from Jerusalem Post)

Trump administration officials acknowledged in closed-door briefings with congressional staff on Sunday that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran planned to attack US forces first, two people familiar with the matter said.

The United States and Israel launched their most ambitious attacks on Iran in decades on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sinking Iranian warships and hitting more than 1,000 targets so far, officials say.

But Sunday's ⁠remarks to ​Congress appeared to undercut one of the key arguments for the war made by senior administration officials.

They told reporters the day before that President Donald Trump decided to launch the attacks in part because of indicators that Iranians might strike US forces in the Middle East "perhaps preemptively."

Trump, one of the officials said, was not ​going ​to "sit back and allow American forces in the region to ⁠absorb attacks."

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has grown into a powerful force within the country's theocracy, answering only to its supreme leader.

Here's a step-by-step breakdown:

Loud bangs rang out over Kuwait early Monday local time as air defenses intercepted “hostile drones” approaching the country via “maritime routes,” state media reported.

Kuwaiti Air Defense forces shot down “the majority” of drones, the Director General of Civil Defense told state-run Kuwait News Agency.

However, there were no casualties reported from the interceptions, the news agency said.

Patients were evacuated from Tehran's Gandhi Hospital after it was badly damaged in strikes, with footage showing debris and glass strewn in the street.

The hospital, located in northern Tehran, was hit by Israeli strikes, prompting the evacuation of patients, including babies, according to Iranian state media and witnesses who spoke to Reuters.

Watch: "US forces are taking bold action to eliminate imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime. Strikes continue," US CENTCOM said Sunday night, releasing a video of the Iranian targets hit by the US military.

The US and Israel pounded targets across Iran, bombing the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above Tehran.

A Filipina woman was live streaming from her Dubai apartment when it was struck by an Iranian missile, causing massive destruction.

Donald Trump told ABC News's Jonathan Karl that the US had identified possible candidates to take over Iran, but they were killed in the initial attack. "The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates... It's not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead," Trump said, highlighting the unexpected challenge of finding a new leader for Iran.

An Iraqi Shiite militia claimed a drone attack Monday targeting U.S. troops at the airport in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, further widening the retaliation over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.The group, Saraya Awliya al-Dam, is one of a group of Shiite militias operating in Iraq following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country that toppled Saddam Hussein.

With inputs from AP

The UK’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed a suspected drone strike on its military base at Akrotiri in Cyprus, with no casualties reported. The incident occurred around midnight, causing minor damage to the facility.

This comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to a US request to use British bases for defensive strikes against Iranian missile threats .

(with inputs from agencies)

Israel has told residents of more than 50 towns and villages in Lebanon to evacuate, as it warned of attacks.

People in the identified areas must move at least 1,000 metres away to open areas.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move at least 1,000 metres away from the villages to open areas," the warning says.

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities or its military assets is putting their life at risk."