U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are planning to hold a press conference Monday morning about the military operation against Iran.

The Pentagon announced the 8 a.m. EST media briefing on social media Sunday night.

On Tuesday, Hegseth and Caine will join U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe in briefing the full membership of Congress on the strikes, the White House said.

Rubio also was slated to brief Hill leadership Monday.

In a statement Monday, President Joseph Aoun said Hezbollah’s rocket launches from Lebanon “target all the efforts and endeavors exerted by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the dangerous military confrontations taking place in the region.”

He added that while Israeli strikes on Lebanon are condemned, “persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for proxy wars in which we have no involvement will expose our country to risks once more.”

Cyprus’ government spokesperson said an “incident” that happened at a British air base on the island nation’s southern coastline involved an “unmanned drone which caused limited damage.”

Spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the incident at RAF Akrotiri occurred shortly after midnight Monday.

He said “information received through various channels” indicated a drone strike.

He didn’t specify what kind of drone, where it was launched from or the extent of damage.

Letymbiotis said Cypriot authorities have enacted security protocols and are monitoring the situation in coordination with the U.K. and its two military bases in Cyprus.

The suspected drone strike occurred after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister has suggested his country’s military units are acting independently from any central government control after being pressed about attacks on Gulf Arab nations that have served as intermediaries for Tehran in the past.

The comments came in an Al Jazeera interview on Sunday with Abbas Araghchi.

“What happened in Oman was not our choice. We have already told our, you know, army, armed forces to be careful about the targets that they choose,” Araghchi said.

“As a matter of fact, our, you know, military units are now in fact independent and somehow isolated and they are acting based on instructions — you know, general instructions — given to them in advance.”

Already, there have been attacks on Oman, which served as an intermediary in recent nuclear talks with the United States, and on Qatar, which also has negotiated with Tehran and shares a massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf with the Islamic Republic.

Militaries around the world do contingency planning for wars, including what to do if their central governments are affected.

But Iran is a special case given that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answered only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, controls its vast ballistic missile arsenal and much of its stockpile of bomb-carrying drones.

Araghchi’s comments also could serve as an excuse for the attacks as well as to try to ease tensions with Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbors, who have grown increasingly enraged by the constant fire targeting them despite efforts at easing tensions in recent years.

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.

The U.S. and Iraq did not immediately comment on the claim.

The attack comes as Iranian-supported militias, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah, have entered the war started by the U.S. and Israel in an airstrike campaign targeting Iran’s theocracy.

The island kingdom of Bahrain said Monday that one person was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted missile.

The death of a foreign worker at Salman Industrial City, working on a boat there, marks the kingdom’s first reported fatality in the war.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, said it intercepted 61 missiles and 34 attack drones launched against it.

Some fire has gotten through, striking buildings and the naval base.

The World Central Kitchen, one of the major groups providing food for Gaza’s people, is warning that it would run out of supplies this week if Israel kept the strip’s crossings closed.

Israel closed off the Gaza crossings over the weekend after it joined the U.S. in striking Iran.

“We need food deliveries every single day to feed hungry families who are not part of this war,” José Andrés, the celebrity chef who founded the organization, said in a social media post.

He said WCK provides 1 million meals a day in Gaza, and that the group and others working in the war-torn Gaza need food and other supplies every day.

“We cannot wait...let the humanitarian trucks go through today!” he said.

The Israeli military urged people in nearly 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of possible retaliatory strikes after Hezbollah fired into Israel.

The Hezbollah attack came in response to the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli military urged civilians to evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000 meters away from villages to open areas.

Roads in southern Lebanon and leading out of Beirut’s southern suburbs were gridlocked early Monday with people fleeing after Israel launched strikes in retaliation for missiles launched across the border by Hezbollah.

The scenes were reminiscent of September 2024, when a monthslong low-level conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated into a full-fledged war.

More than one million people were displaced in Lebanon at the time.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had carried out a “targeted attack” on senior members of Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said a suspected drone has hit its military base at Akrotiri, Cyprus.

It said there were no casualties from the suspected strike which occurred at midnight in Cyprus.

It did not provide further details.

RAF Akrotiri is Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East and is a British sovereign territory.

There was no immediate comment from the government of Cyprus.

On Sunday, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey had said ballistic missiles were fired toward Cyprus, something rejected by its government.

Bahrain’s miliary said it has intercepted 61 Iranian missiles and 34 drones since Iran started attacking the country following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran over the weekend.

Bahrain hosts the U.S 5th fleet and was hit by Iran as part of its response to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The Bahraini miliary said the Iranian missiles and drones targeted civilian facilities and private properties in attacks constituting a “flagrant violation of the principles of international and humanitarian law.”

“These indiscriminate and heinous attacks represent a direct threat to regional safety and security,” it said.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry has urged residents to remain indoors as the U.S.’ and Israel’s war on Iran enters its third day on Monday.

In a social media post, the ministry called for residents to go out only in “cases of absolute necessity,” and to stay away from windows and exposed areas.

Qatar, which hosts the largest American military base in the Mideast, is one of the Arab Gulf countries that Iran hit in response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes that triggered the war.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, said Monday that the military’s strikes on Lebanon would be both offensive and defensive, accusing Hezbollah of initiating hostilities and vowing that “any enemy that threatens our security will pay a heavy price.”

The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have sent a chill through world markets, with U.S. futures falling more than 1%.

Shares opened sharply lower in Tokyo early Monday and oil prices soared.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 2.3% shortly after the open and shares also fell in Australia.

Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt.

Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, are disrupting the region’s ability to export oil.

Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline.

Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake by a series of loud explosions that shook buildings and caused windows to shatter, while war planes could be heard low overhead as Israel launched a series of strikes in retaliation for missiles fired across the border by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanese government officials had urged Hezbollah not to enter the fray in support of Iran, fearing another damaging war.

The country has not recovered from the last Israel-Hezbollah war, which nominally ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.

Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes in Lebanon since then, which it said aim to stop Hezbollah from regrouping.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in a statement following the strikes said, “We will not allow the country to be dragged into new adventures, and we will take all necessary measures to apprehend those responsible and protect the Lebanese people.”

Israel launched a barrage of strikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, after the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border early Monday.

It was the first time in more than a year that Hezbollah has claimed a strike against Israel.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a projectile that crossed the border and that several others fell in open areas.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Hezbollah said in a statement that the strikes were carried out in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and for “repeated Israeli aggressions.”

The United States and its Gulf allies, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday issued a joint statement condemning retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks against targets in those countries in response to the U.S.-Israel military operation against Iran.

The statement called Iran’s strikes “indiscriminate and reckless” that “targeted sovereign territory, endangered civilian populations, and damaged civilian infrastructure.” It said Iran’s actions “represent a dangerous escalation that violates the sovereignty of multiple states and threatens regional stability.”

“We stand united in defense of our citizens, sovereignty, and territory, and reaffirm our right to self-defense in the face of these attacks,” the statement said. “We remain committed to regional security and commend the effective air and missile defense cooperation that has prevented far greater loss of life and destruction.”

Oil prices rose sharply when market trading began late Sunday, as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain.

A barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was trading at around $79 per barrel Sunday night, according to FactSet, up about 8% from Friday. Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the region could slow or grind to a halt.

Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, could restrict countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world.

Against that backdrop, countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced they would boost production of crude oil. Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.

A projectile crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory early Monday, the Israeli military said, triggering sirens in several areas of northern Israel.

The Israeli military added that it intercepted the projectile, saying that several others reportedly fell in open areas.

No injuries or damage were reported. The incident prompted residents in southern Lebanon to move northward, fearing Israeli retaliation.

There was no official comment from Lebanese authorities or from Hezbollah, the militant group that is a key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance and has previously fought wars with Israel.

While Hezbollah has condemned U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and vowed to “confront aggression,” it has not yet escalated militarily.

The three U.S. service members killed in the operation targeting Iran were Army soldiers who were deployed to Kuwait as part of a unit that oversees supplies and logistics, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The development was reported earlier by NBC News and The Washington Post.

U.S. Central Command on Sunday announced that three service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded. They are the first American casualties in a major offensive that Trump said could likely lead to more losses in the coming weeks.

After Marine One touched down on the White House lawn, Trump walked over to the Rose Garden to admire new statues of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin erected there while he was spending the weekend in Florida.

It was dark by the time he arrived, meaning he couldn’t see the new additions with much detail – but that didn’t damper his excitement.

“Unbelievable statues come and look at them,” Trump told a pack of reporters nearby. He didn’t answer any shouted questions about U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran or any other topic before heading into the presidential residence part of the building.

The statues are another new addition as Trump overhauls the Rose Garden, including replacing the lawn around it with an outdoor patio reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago.

The president is making his way back in the nation’s capital after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate while the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran.

Aides said Trump held calls with leaders around the Middle East and was briefed on the mass shooting in Austin over the weekend. He also attended a closed-door Republican fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night.

But the president didn’t hold a Mar-a-Lago press conference to talk about Iran, nor did he speak to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying back.So far, Trump has only talked about Iran in video messages he posted on social media, and in short spurts after taking phone calls from individual reporters. Those calls weren’t recorded for audio or video.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who had mediated nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, said after the second full day of hostilities that “the door to diplomacy remains open.”

“Although the hope was to avoid war, war should not mean that the hope of peace is extinguished,” he wrote on X. “The sooner talks are resumed the better it is for everyone.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a letter to the United Nations on Sunday that the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “constitutes a grave and unprecedented breach of the most fundamental norms governing relations among States.”

He once again called on the world body and the Security Council to take measures to ensure accountability from the U.S. and Israel for their role in the killing.

“Such conduct does not merely violate established principles of international law; it recklessly opens a dangerous Pandora’s box, eroding the bedrock of sovereign equality and the stability of the international system,” he added.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has ruled out Australia taking part in military strikes against Iran.

“We didn’t participate in these strikes and we wouldn’t anticipate participating in the future,” Wong told Nine Network television on Monday.

Australia is a close ally of the United States and sent troops to join U.S. and British forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Wong said Australia supported U.S. and Israeli military action aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear capability.

She said Iran had “sponsored terrorism, it has directed attacks on our soil.” Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador last year after accusing the Revolutionary Guard of directing antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Tehran denied the accusations

The evacuation of Ghandi hospital late Sunday came shortly after strikes shook the neighborhood in northern Tehran, striking a transmitter used for Iranian state television signals and parts of a state television building, according to witnesses. The building and transmitters are located near the hospital.

The semiofficial Tasnim news agency posted videos that showed broken glass littering parts of the hospital, as well as debris that covered the street, and damaged buildings.

Health Ministry official Hossein Kermanpour said on X that Ghandi hospital was targeted and evacuated. He didn’t elaborate but posted videos of emergency teams evacuated patients. The state-run IRNA news agency reported his post.

A few thousand demonstrators chanting “freedom for Iran” gathered Sunday in Los Angeles.

Many of the marchers waved the flag of Iran before the Islamic Revolution during the afternoon rally on the city’s west side.

Police said there were no arrests and the gathering was mostly peaceful.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine will brief Congress on the U.S. military operation against Iran next week, the White House said Sunday.

Spokesman Dylan Johnson said the four would speak to “the full membership of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, March 3.”

He added that Pentagon officials had briefed congressional staffers on the conflict for more than 90 minutes on Sunday

That’s according to Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman of U.S. Central Command.

Iranian missile debris lightly injured four people, including three children, in the town of Ain Terma in the Damascus countryside on Sunday evening , Syria’s state news agency SANA said.

The injured, a father and his three daughters, were transferred to a hospital, SANA said, citing the director of Ambulance and Emergency at the Health Ministry. It added that their injuries were minor and treated immediately.

Iraqi forces fired tear gas and sound grenades at dozens of demonstrators attempting to enter the heavily fortified Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy, one of Washington’s largest diplomatic missions worldwide, is located.

Iraq’s top military coordination body said a number of its security personnel came under gunfire from some demonstrators on the Suspension Bridge in central Baghdad but that they did not shoot back.

Top diplomats from six Gulf states called on Iran to immediately halt its attacks on their territories, which they said violated their sovereignty and threatened to undermine regional security and stability.

The foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain had a virtual emergency meeting Sunday following the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran. That triggered an Iranian barrage of missiles on U.S bases and other civilian infrastructure, including airports, hotels and in some cases, residential areas. The foreign ministers condemned the attacks they said targeted their territories and Jordan.

The Gulf top diplomats said their countries retain “their legal right to respond and the right to self-defense” according to international laws.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he granted a U.S. request to allow it to use British military bases to strike Iranian missile sites but said the U.K. will not join any offensive action in Iran.

“We all remember the mistakes of Iraq and we have learned those lessons,” Starmer said.
He said Iran had struck airports and hotels where British citizens were and had created a dangerous situation for its 200,000 citizens in the region.

The State Department is allowing non-essential U.S. diplomats and families of all government personnel to leave Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar as U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation continue.

In updated travel advisories issued on Sunday, the department said it had moved to reduce its diplomatic footprint in Doha, Kuwait City and Manama “due to security concerns.”

It added that private American citizens should reconsider travel to Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar because of the “threat of armed conflict” and significant disruptions to commercial air travel in the region.

An Israeli military official says a variety of factors created near-perfect conditions for Israel and the U.S. to kill much of Iran’s leadership in the opening strike of the war.

The official says that months of planning and close coordination with the U.S., combined with real-time intelligence that the targets were gathered together, allowed the two allies to strike in the joint operation on Saturday morning.

The official says the airstrikes targeted three locations, all within 60 seconds of one another, killing Iran’s supreme leader and some 40 senior officials, including the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. He said that striking in broad daylight added an additional element of surprise.

The official said Israel and the U.S. agreed that striking the leadership was the best way to open the operation. Otherwise, he said they would quickly disperse and go into hiding once the attacks began. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert operation.

“We had a great opportunity, great intel, great execution,” he said.

The president made the comments in a roughly six-minute video he posted on social media Sunday afternoon. He called the three service members “true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.”

The president went on and added: “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”

In the video he posted Sunday, Trump called the operation in Iran “one of the most complex, most overwhelming military offensives the world has ever seen.”

“Combat operations continue at this time in full-force and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved. We have very strong objectives,” Trump said.
But he didn’t spell out exactly what those objectives would be.

The president said an Iranian regime with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons “would be a dire threat” to every American and that the Iranian leaders had “waged war against civilization itself.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. will not join in strikes on Iran but has agreed to let the U.S. use British bases for attacks on Iran’s missiles and their launch sites.

Starmer said Sunday that Iran was striking at British and its allies’ interests, and “the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source.”
Britain had previously refused to allow the United States to use U.K. bases to attack Iran.

Starmer said Sunday he was authorizing their use because of the threat from Iran’s attacks on countries across the region, He said “we are not joining these strikes but we will continue with our defensive actions in the region.”

Starmer said Royal Air Force jets have had intercepted Iranian strikes as part of defensive operations in the region.
He said an Iranian strike on a military base in Bahrain on Saturday narrowly missed British personnel. (edited)

France will send two warships to the Red Sea in the coming days to join a European Union naval mission there because of security concerns over the war on Iran, an EU official said Sunday after emergency talks between the bloc’s foreign ministers.

“There’s been a steep increase in additional requests for protection” from civilian vessels in the area, the official said. “There are two additional ships which will now join the operations from France.”

The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to provide details about the meeting held via video link, said that the ministers agreed that it was important to “protect our maritime economic interests.”

Traffic through the strategic maritime trade route the Strait of Hormuz is not closed but remains “a little bit arbitrary for the moment,” with some vessels getting through, the official said.

Israel’s top general on Sunday praised his military’s early gains in fighting with Iran, while warning the public that “many more days of combat lie ahead.”

After a day marked by warning sirens, strikes and at least nine deaths from one Iranian attack, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir mourned fatalities in the town of Beit Shemesh and hailed “significant achievements” that he said Israel and the U.S. had made thus far. The two countries’ strikes on Iran took out high ranking security officials and Supreme Leader Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday.

“Patience and resilience are required now. We are operating in close cooperation with our ally. Coordination with the U.S. military is closer than ever. All of you are part of this and understand it well,” Zamir, the army’s chief of the general staff, said.

The streets of West Jerusalem were quiet Sunday after a line of missiles traveled slowly by, particularly visible against the dark night sky in the latest barrage fired at Israel by Iran.

Some Israelis disappeared into their bomb shelters. Others stayed outside to watch as missiles disappeared beyond the horizon. One scattered into pieces before falling from view.

Residents heard isolated booms. About a minute later came a low rumbling and vibrations felt through windows and walls. That sensation has become a grim relief for many Israelis – it means Israeli air defense intercepted the missiles.

About five minutes after the missiles passed, people began to slowly climb out of their shelters, many hoping for a calmer night than last.

Rescue crews said they were treating several injured people in Jerusalem after Sunday’s blasts.

The Daily Mail reports that Trump discussed a timeline for the fighting during a phone interview on Sunday.

“We figured it will be four weeks or so,” the president told the newspaper.

“It’s always been about a four-week process, so, as strong as it is — it’s a big country — it’ll take four weeks or less,” Trump said.

The U.S. military said three service members have been killed, the first known American casualties from the conflict. Trump called those killed “great people.”

“You know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately.” Trump told the Daily Mail. “Could happen continuous — it could happen again.”

Britain, France and Germany said they are ready to work with the U.S. and partners to help stop Iran’s retaliatory attacks.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a joint statement that they are “appalled” by Iran’s “reckless” strikes on their allies, which are threatening their service members and citizens in the region.

“We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source. We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter,” the statement said.

It did not provide further details.

The U.S. military has listed the jets, ships and missiles it has used against Iran, while listing their targets. The targets do not include nuclear sites in Iran, while some of the military’s capabilities were not shared publicly.

U.S. military assets:B-2 Stealth BombersLUCAS DronesPatriot Interceptor Missile SystemsTHAAD Anti-Ballistic Missile SystemsF-18 Fighter JetsF-16 Fighter JetsF-22 Fighter JetsA-10 Attack JetsF-35 Stealth FightersEA-18G Electronic Attack AircraftAirborne Early Warning & Control AircraftAirborne Communication RelayP-8 Maritime Patrol AircraftRC-135 Reconnaissance AircraftMQ-9 ReapersM-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket SystemsNuclear-Powered Aircraft CarriersGuided-Missile DestroyersCounter-Drone SystemsRefueling Tanker AircraftRefueling ShipsC-17 Globemaster Cargo Aircraft

C-130 Cargo Aircraft

Types of targets:Command and Control CentersIRGC Joint HeadquartersIRGC Aerospace Forces HeadquartersIntegrated Air Defense SystemsBallistic Missile SitesIranian Navy ShipsIranian Navy SubmarinesAnti-ship Missile Sites

Military Communication Capabilities