US Iran war highlights: Israel launches ‘broad wave of attacks’ across Iran; Khamenei's son ‘elected’ Supreme Leader

The live updates to the blog are closed.

US Iran war LIVE: Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in retaliatory attacks so far, Brad Cooper, the commander of the US central command said.

He also said that the US military has destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including a submarine, and struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran.

US Iran war LIVE: The United States military has destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including a submarine, and struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran, the commander of the US central command said on Tuesday.

US central command's Brad Cooper added that “today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman”.

US Iran war LIVE: The four US service members who were killed by an Iranian drone strike during Operation Epic Fury have been identified.

On Tuesday, March 3, the Pentagon identified those who died in the attack on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait on Sunday as Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. More details here.

US Iran war LIVE: The Central Intelligence Agency’s station at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia was struck on Monday by a suspected Iranian drone, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The source said there was no indication that the station had been the intended target.

The incident took place amid continued strikes in the Middle East after Saturday’s US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

US Iran war LIVE: Israel's Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has begun a broad wave of strikes across Iran, hitting missile launch sites, air defence systems and other key infrastructure linked to the Iranian “terror regime".

US Iran war LIVE: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called on Wednesday for the "rapid de-escalation" of the Middle East war unleashed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

"Resolution of this crisis will require commitment to a broader political solution, and diplomatic engagement is essential to avoid a wider and deeper conflict," Carney told reporters in Sydney.

He called the war with Iran “another example of the failure of the international order”.

"Innocent civilians must be protected, and all parties must commit to finding enduring agreements to end both nuclear proliferation and terrorist extremism," he said.

US Iran war LIVE: The US state department has said it will assist Americans who wish to leave the Middle East during the conflict with Iran, after mixed messages about the level of danger caused uncertainty among thousands of US citizens in the region.

In a statement, the department said it would arrange charter flights for Americans planning to depart from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. It is also providing ground transport for those trying to leave countries where airspace has been shut.

US Iran war LIVE: The 56-year-old, who is also Khamenei’s eldest son, was chosen to take charge of the country by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, Iranian International reported on Tuesday.

Mojtaba is not a high-ranking cleric. He has never held office and has no formal position in the regime. However, he is believed to hold considerable influence behind the scenes.

Notably, he also has close ties to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Read more about Mojtaba here.

US Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he did not care whether Iran participated in this summer's soccer World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"I really don't care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They're running on fumes," Trump told Politico.

Iran was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held this week in Atlanta.

US Iran war LIVE: Iran fired another salvo of missiles at Israel, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by the Fars news agency.

"The sixteenth wave of 'Operation True Promise 4' has begun with a large number of missiles and drones launched by the aerospace forces of the Revolutionary Guards against the heart of the occupied territories," the statement said, referring to Israel.

US Iran war LIVE: Iran’s system of clerical rule began after the 1979 revolution that removed the Shah from power. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the revolution, set up a new model of governance known as vilayat-e faqih, or guardianship of the Islamic jurist.

The theory holds that until the return of the Shi'ite Muslim 12th Imam, who vanished in the ninth century, authority on earth should rest with a respected cleric.

This means that whoever becomes supreme leader, a role defined in the constitution as the highest authority overseeing the elected president and parliament, must be a senior cleric.

Under Khomeini, who died in 1989, and Khamenei, who has led since then, the supreme leader has held the final say on all state matters.

US Iran war LIVE: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday cast doubt on whether US and Israeli military strikes would spark political change in Iran, saying the plan was not without risk.

"This plan is not without risk, and we would also have to bear the consequences," he told reporters after meeting US President Donald Trump in Washington.

Neither Israel or the United States have asked Germany to get involved in the conflict, he said, adding he had explained to Trump that any such action would require formal German parliamentary approval.

US Iran war LIVE: Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly chosen Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, to be the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards, sources told Iran International.

This has not been officially confirmed yet.

US Iran war LIVE: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that all personnel were accounted for after a drone struck a parking lot adjacent to the American consulate in Dubai.

US Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump said America would provide insurance guarantees and naval escorts to ensure safe passage for oil tankers and other vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, measures meant to head off a potential energy crisis caused by the war with Iran.

Trump said Tuesday that the US Development Finance Corporation would offer insurance “at a very reasonable price” to help ensure the flow of energy and other commercial trade in the Gulf. In addition, he said “if necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible.”

“No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD,” the president posted on social media.

US Iran war LIVE: A drone attack caused a fire near the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday, a government statement said, a day after the US embassy in Riyadh was hit by an Iranian strike.

"Dubai authorities have confirmed that a fire resulting from a drone-related incident near the US Consulate has been successfully contained," the official Dubai Media Office posted on X.

US Iran war LIVE: The unfolding war in the Middle East has ricocheted across the region, with nearly every country sustaining damage from missile hits or shrapnel, many reporting casualties, and key embassies, economic engines and passageways closing down.

Three people were killed in the UAE — foreign workers from Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The city of Dubai, with a global reputation as the safest place in the Middle East and a hub for global investment, has sustained damage to its international airport and, according to CENTCOM, hotels along its coastline. Read full story here.

US Iran war LIVE: The Israeli military said it struck a compound in Iran that it claimed was focused on developing the “necessary capabilities” for nuclear weapons.

US Iran war LIVE: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets during the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Macron said the Charles de Gaulle will be escorted by its air wing, and its escorting frigates.

In a pre-recorded speech on French TV, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air-defense systems, and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the past few hours in the Middle East.

US Iran war LIVE: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it has launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks against Israel, Iranian state media reported.

US Iran war LIVE: The body of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be buried in the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran following a funeral, Iranian state media reported, citing the IRGC-linked Fars News.

Officials organising the ceremony said they plan to hold a public memorial in the capital before the burial, but no date or time has been announced.

US Iran war LIVE: Israeli transportation minister Miri Regev said Ben Gurion Airport will reopen on Thursday for limited incoming flights to bring back citizens stranded abroad.

Earlier in the day, Jordan announced that it would reopen its airspace.

US Iran war LIVE: Daoud Alizadeh, the acting commander of the Lebanon Corps in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran earlier today, the IDF claimed.

Alizadeh had taken over the IRGC Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps after Mohammad Reza Zahedi was killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus in April 2024. The military described him as “the highest-ranking Iranian commander responsible for Lebanon.”

The IDF said the Lebanon Corps “connects the Hezbollah terror organization and the Iranian terror regime, supports Hezbollah force buildup, and functions as the connection between senior IRGC personnel and Hezbollah leadership.”

US Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at Britain and Spain for not fully backing his attack on Iran, as he threatened to end "all trade" with Spain.

"I'm not happy with the UK," Trump said, as he said of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with."

"Spain has been terrible," Trump said, adding that he has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all dealings with Spain."