Dylan Stableford, Kate Murphy, Andrew Romano, Mike Bebernes
The United States shuttered its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as Iran has stepped up retaliatory strikes across the Middle East in a widening military conflict that is threatening to plunge the region into a prolonged war.
Iran struck the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia with two drones overnight, causing part of its roof to collapse and prompting its closure. The embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday warned of “imminent” missile and drone attacks and urged people in the area to “take cover immediately.” The U.S. State Department also urged Americans across the Middle East to leave the region.
Israel launched strikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories, and carried out attacks on Hezbollah militants in Tehran and Lebanon.
At least 800 people have been killed in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli weekend assault on Tehran, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Six U.S. service members have died in retaliatory strikes, according to the U.S. Central Command. And at least 11 people have been killed in Israel so far.
At the White House on Monday, President Trump defended ordering the U.S. strikes without congressional approval, saying Iran's refusal to halt its pursuit of nuclear weapons, combined with a growing ballistic missile program, posed “an intolerable threat.”
Trump said that he expects the U.S. military campaign — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — will last four to five weeks, but also said that the U.S. has the capability to go “far longer than that.”
Writing on Truth Social Monday night, Trump added that wars “can be fought ‘forever.’”
Debris from intercepted drone sparks large fire at UAE oil facility
A large fire erupted Tuesday in what's known as the “Oil Industry Zone” in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Officials said the fire was caused by debris from a drone that was intercepted by air defenses.
Photos from Fujairah showed a large plume of smoke rising from the area. According to local reports, the fire was contained, and no injuries were immediately reported.
