DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes on Tehran late Monday as it and the United States pressed a widening campaign against Iran’s leadership and military sites. President Donald Trump said the operation was expected to run four to five weeks but could stretch longer as Washington argues it is trying to cripple Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities, March 3, 2026.
Tehran airstrikes widen the campaign into Iran’s capital
The Israeli military said the fresh strikes began after it issued an evacuation warning for residents of Tehran, particularly people living near the headquarters of state broadcaster IRIB, Iran’s national television network. Reuters reported the announcement late Monday as Iran’s capital braced for more attacks for a third day.
Iranian officials confirmed over the weekend that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening hours of the U.S.-Israeli assault — a strike that has scrambled Iran’s chain of command and deepened fears of a prolonged regional war. In its broader account of the opening salvos, Reuters reported that Israel followed the initial attack with waves of strikes across Tehran while Iran responded with missile barrages that shook cities across the region.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a leadership council had temporarily assumed the duties of the Supreme Leader, Reuters said, underscoring how the strike has left Tehran’s power structure in flux.
The reverberations have been economic as well as military. Reuters reported that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a key corridor for global oil shipments — has largely stalled and that airlines have been forced to reroute or cancel flights as airspace across parts of the Middle East turned into an active combat zone.
Trump says weeks — and longer if needed
Trump has repeatedly framed the strikes as a campaign aimed at Iran’s ability to field long-range missiles and pursue nuclear capabilities, which Tehran denies seeking for weapons. In an Associated Press report, Trump said the operation was projected to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that message ahead of congressional briefings, telling reporters that “the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” according to the AP.
In public statements since the operation began, Trump has also urged Iranian security forces to stand down and has called on Iranians to challenge their rulers — rhetoric that critics say blurs the line between military aims and regime change.
U.S. casualties rise as Congress demands clarity
In a public casualty update, U.S. Central Command said six U.S. service members had been killed in action as of 4 p.m. ET Monday, with major combat operations continuing and additional forces flowing into the region.
The AP reported that three U.S. fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire during an Iranian air assault, highlighting the risks as the conflict expands across multiple countries and air-defense networks.
At home, the conflict has ignited a sharp constitutional debate over presidential war powers. Reuters reported Tuesday that Democrats are pushing for a vote aimed at limiting Trump’s ability to continue attacking Iran without congressional authorization, while Republicans argue the commander in chief has authority to act in response to what the administration calls an imminent threat.
Administration officials have told lawmakers that U.S. intelligence anticipated Israeli action against Iran and expected Tehran to retaliate against U.S. forces — an argument Democrats say still falls short of the constitutional threshold for a sustained campaign.
A spiral years in the making
This week’s attacks did not emerge from a vacuum. In April 2024, suspected Israeli warplanes struck the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, Syria, killing senior commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Reuters reported at the time.
Less than two weeks later, Iran launched its first direct military attack on Israeli territory with hundreds of drones and missiles — a move that helped set the precedent for more direct state-on-state exchanges, according to Reuters’ April 2024 coverage.
Then, in June 2025, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said an Israeli strike directly hit Natanz’s underground uranium enrichment halls, a development that put the nuclear file at the center of military escalation, Reuters reported.
What to watch next
With Tehran under sustained attack and Iran’s leadership structure in flux, regional governments and businesses are bracing for a conflict that could last weeks — or longer — and that could continue to disrupt energy markets and travel. U.S. officials have urged Americans across parts of the Middle East to leave while commercial routes remain available, and allies have pledged help intercepting missiles and drones.
Diplomatically, the biggest question is whether any channel can halt the escalation before the war spreads further. For now, both Washington and Tehran are signaling resolve — leaving civilians across the region to absorb the consequences of a rapidly widening conflict.
