US Iran News LIVE updates: This screen grab obtained from undated and unlocated video released by the US Central Command on their X account @CENTCOM on March 3, 2026 shows a strike on Iranian drones as part of “Operation Epic Fury”.
US Iran News LIVE updates: The United States has struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran as part of what it describes as the largest military buildup in the Middle East in a generation, the top American commander in the region said. “We’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,” Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said in a video message.
“The first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale” of the first day of shock-and-awe strikes on Iraq in 2003, “and we continue with 24/7 strikes into Iran,” he added.
Middle East conflict intensified
The conflict intensified on Tuesday, with explosions reported in Tehran and in Lebanon, where Israel said it had retaliated against Hezbollah militants.
The American embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks. Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, though most were intercepted.
Eleven people in Israel have been killed since the conflict began.
The Pentagon identified four US Army Reserve soldiers killed in a drone strike on Sunday at a command centre in Kuwait.
Two other service members were also killed in the attack.
‘Broad wave of attacks’ have started: Israeli military
Israel’s military said it had begun a “broad wave of attacks” across Iran, targeting missile launch sites, air defence systems and other infrastructure linked to what it described as the Iranian “terror regime”.
Days after joint US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the conflict shows no signs of easing, pushing West Asia closer to an all-out war.
Tehran has responded with retaliatory attacks on US-linked installations in Gulf countries.
Khamenei’s son selected as successor
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly selected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s next Supreme Leader.
Trump on future of Iran: A leader ‘as bad as’ Khamenei
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the “worst case” would be a new Iranian leader “as bad as” the late Supreme Leader. “I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?” he told reporters.
Trump also alleged that Iran was “hitting civilian areas” and said Tehran was targeting “countries which have nothing to do with what’s going on.” He claimed he believed Iran would strike first and revealed that he “might have forced Israel’s hand” on launching strikes.
Explosion in Tehran, Mehrabad and retaliation in Tel Aviv
Fresh explosions were reported in Tehran, as well as in the northwestern cities of Tabriz and Urmia, according to Iranian news agencies cited by Reuters.
Israel struck Tehran’s Mehrabad airport after issuing evacuation warnings in parts of the capital. An Iranian air carrier was destroyed on the ground in an Israeli strike on Bushehr airport.
Iran, in turn, launched strikes in the Tel Aviv area, Israel’s military said. First responders reported treating 12 people for injuries, while police confirmed multiple impact sites.
Iran’s foreign ministry rejected talks with the US and Israel, saying it was “standing against evil.” Earlier, Iran targeted the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia with drones. The attack by two drones caused a “limited fire” and minor damage at the US Embassy in Riyadh, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry.
Too late for talks now: Trump
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said it was “too late” for talks. “Their air defence, air force, navy, and leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said: ‘Too late!’” he wrote. The US President had earlier said operations in Iran could last another four to five weeks and that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
Briefing members of Congress on ‘Operation Epic Fury,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio was quoted as saying that the “hardest hits are yet to come from the US military”.
Not an endless war: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes would continue but insisted it would not be an “endless war”.
India is closely monitoring the evolving airspace situation across parts of West Asia and its impact on flight operations. So far, 1,221 flights operated by Indian carriers and 388 by foreign carriers have been cancelled due to the conflict.
Indian carriers operated 24 flights
On Tuesday, Indian carriers operated 24 flights, while Emirates and Etihad operated nine flights from the Gulf.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said Indian carriers are planning 58 flights on March 4, including 30 by IndiGo and 23 by Air India and Air India Express. Foreign carriers operating between India and the Gulf are also conducting limited services, subject to operational and airspace considerations.
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“The first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale” of the first day of shock-and-awe strikes on Iraq in 2003, “and we continue with 24/7 strikes into Iran,” he added.
Middle East conflict intensified
The conflict intensified on Tuesday, with explosions reported in Tehran and in Lebanon, where Israel said it had retaliated against Hezbollah militants.
The American embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks. Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, though most were intercepted.
Eleven people in Israel have been killed since the conflict began.
The Pentagon identified four US Army Reserve soldiers killed in a drone strike on Sunday at a command centre in Kuwait.
Two other service members were also killed in the attack.
‘Broad wave of attacks’ have started: Israeli military
Israel’s military said it had begun a “broad wave of attacks” across Iran, targeting missile launch sites, air defence systems and other infrastructure linked to what it described as the Iranian “terror regime”.
Days after joint US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the conflict shows no signs of easing, pushing West Asia closer to an all-out war.
Tehran has responded with retaliatory attacks on US-linked installations in Gulf countries.
Khamenei’s son selected as successor
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly selected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s next Supreme Leader.
Trump on future of Iran: A leader ‘as bad as’ Khamenei
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the “worst case” would be a new Iranian leader “as bad as” the late Supreme Leader. “I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?” he told reporters.
Trump also alleged that Iran was “hitting civilian areas” and said Tehran was targeting “countries which have nothing to do with what’s going on.” He claimed he believed Iran would strike first and revealed that he “might have forced Israel’s hand” on launching strikes.
Explosion in Tehran, Mehrabad and retaliation in Tel Aviv
Fresh explosions were reported in Tehran, as well as in the northwestern cities of Tabriz and Urmia, according to Iranian news agencies cited by Reuters.
Israel struck Tehran’s Mehrabad airport after issuing evacuation warnings in parts of the capital. An Iranian air carrier was destroyed on the ground in an Israeli strike on Bushehr airport.
Iran, in turn, launched strikes in the Tel Aviv area, Israel’s military said. First responders reported treating 12 people for injuries, while police confirmed multiple impact sites.
Iran’s foreign ministry rejected talks with the US and Israel, saying it was “standing against evil.” Earlier, Iran targeted the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia with drones. The attack by two drones caused a “limited fire” and minor damage at the US Embassy in Riyadh, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry.
Too late for talks now: Trump
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said it was “too late” for talks. “Their air defence, air force, navy, and leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said: ‘Too late!’” he wrote. The US President had earlier said operations in Iran could last another four to five weeks and that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
Briefing members of Congress on ‘Operation Epic Fury,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio was quoted as saying that the “hardest hits are yet to come from the US military”.
Not an endless war: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes would continue but insisted it would not be an “endless war”.
India is closely monitoring the evolving airspace situation across parts of West Asia and its impact on flight operations. So far, 1,221 flights operated by Indian carriers and 388 by foreign carriers have been cancelled due to the conflict.
Indian carriers operated 24 flights
On Tuesday, Indian carriers operated 24 flights, while Emirates and Etihad operated nine flights from the Gulf.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said Indian carriers are planning 58 flights on March 4, including 30 by IndiGo and 23 by Air India and Air India Express. Foreign carriers operating between India and the Gulf are also conducting limited services, subject to operational and airspace considerations.
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Mar 04, 2026 7:37:02 AM IST
US Iran News LIVE updates: Operation Epic Fury disrupted Iran’s nuclear missile plans, says Israeli envoy to US
US Iran News LIVE updates: Joint US-Israel strikes under Operation Epic Fury have disrupted Iran’s nuclear missile programme by destroying key command centres, missile launchers and radar sites, Israel’s ambassador to the United States said on Tuesday.
Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter said in a video posted on X, “Together with the United States and Epic Fury, we have eliminated most of the radar stations in western Iran, the missile launchers, both surface-to-surface and surface-to-air. Today in Tehran, we took out the fourth of the four command centers, three we took out yesterday, creating chaos within the ranks of the Ayatollah regime. This creates a chink in the chain of command where they’re not able to send messages down the system onto the field, and that’s part of the reason we’re seeing the chaos of the Iranians firing ballistic missiles into all its neighbors all at once”.
He added that a key site targeted on Tuesday was one where Iran allegedly intended to integrate enriched uranium with a missile delivery platform.
“The most important site we took out today was a site where they intended to pair nuclear enriched uranium with a missile delivery system. See, that’s the issue”.
Leiter also referred to remarks by US special envoy Steve Witkoff regarding Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
“Remember what special envoy Steve Witkoff said just last night in his first meeting with the Iranians. They admitted they have 642 kilograms of enriched uranium at 60%. To go from 60% to 90% would take one week, and that would give them 11 bombs. Then all they’d have to do is pair it with the missile delivery systems, and what they’re doing now would be something we couldn’t prevent,” Leiter said.
Mar 04, 2026 7:32:56 AM IST
US Iran News LIVE updates: Israel strikes Qom building during clerics’ meeting to choose Khamenei successor
US Iran News LIVE updates: Israel struck a building in the Iranian city of Qom where senior clerics had gathered to appoint a successor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an Israeli security official said.
Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989, was assassinated on Saturday, prompting the rare convening of the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member constitutional body responsible for selecting the country’s supreme leader.
The council had not met for such a purpose since 1989, when it appointed Khamenei as supreme leader.
Mar 04, 2026 7:23:24 AM IST
US Iran News LIVE updates: US identifies four Army Reserve soldiers killed in Kuwait drone strike
US Iran News LIVE updates: The United States identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran, as the Trump administration warned that the escalating conflict could result in further US casualties.
The four soldiers were part of an Iowa-based unit of the US Army Reserve and were among six American service members killed so far in the conflict. They died on Sunday when a drone struck a US military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, according to the US military.
The Pentagon said the soldiers, aged between 20 and 42, served in the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa. The unit is part of the Army’s global logistics and supply network.
Mar 04, 2026 6:51:46 AM IST
US Iran News LIVE updates: Nearly 2,000 targets hit in Iran, first 24 hours ‘double’ Iraq 2003 scale, says US commander
US Iran News LIVE updates: “We’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,” Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command said in a video message.
“The first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale” of the first day of shock-and-awe strikes on Iraq in 2003, “and we continue with 24/7 strikes into Iran,” he added.
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