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Iran hit the US embassy in Saudi Arabia on Thursday as Washington began withdrawing many personnel from the Middle East amid an escalating war.
They beat the USA and Israel Iran with airstrikes in what President Donald Trump suggested was just the beginning of a war that has severely disrupted the world’s oil and gas supplies, international shipping and air traffic.
The conflict further escalated on its fourth day, with Israel sending new ground troops into Lebanon and explosions ringing out in the Iranian capital. Hundreds of people were killed, the vast majority in Iran.
The spiraling nature of the war has raised questions about when and how it will end.
Trump said it could take four to five weeks – but that the US was prepared to go longer. He appeared to leave open the possibility of more extensive US military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.
However, the management’s goals remain unclear. The initial US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Trump called on the Iranians to overthrow their government.
However, since then, senior administration officials have said that regime change is not the goal. Trump’s initial announcement of the attack drew several complaints, from concerns about Iran’s nuclear and missile programs to his leadership.
Iran hit the American embassy in Riyadh
The attack by two drones on the US embassy in Riyadh caused “limited fire”, according to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound.
It was followed by an attack on the American embassy in Kuwait, which announced on Tuesday that it was closed until further notice.
The US State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and families in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, the US has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, as well as many other countries, although much of the airspace is closed, many remain blocked.
At least 787 people were killed in the US-Israeli strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. In Israel, where Iranian rockets hit several locations, 11 people were killed. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah also attacked Israel, whose revenge strikes killed 52 people in Lebanon.
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The US military has confirmed six deaths of US soldiers. Three people died in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Israel and the US are targeting nuclear facilities in Iran
Explosions rang out across the Iranian capital throughout the night on Tuesday, and aircraft were heard overhead. The strikes caused two explosions at a broadcast facility in Tehran, Iranian state TV said, adding that no one was injured.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran’s Natanz nuclear weapons enrichment site had suffered “some recent damage”, although “no radiological consequences are expected”.
The US struck Natanz during the 12-day war in June, when Israeli and US strikes greatly weakened Iran’s nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed, however, that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” underground to build atomic bombs. He offered no evidence to support his claim.
“We had to take action now and we did,” Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Hannity.
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, although it maintains its right to maintain its nuclear program and says it is peaceful.
Satellite photos analyzed by the Associated Press showed limited activity at two of Iran’s nuclear facilities before the war. Analysts say Tehran is likely assessing the damage from the 2025 attack and may be salvaging what is left.
It is not clear how long the war will last
The spread of Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the intensity of Israeli and US attacks, Khamenei’s assassination and the lack of any apparent exit plan suggested the conflict could be prolonged.
Trump said Monday that the operations would likely last four to five weeks, but that he was prepared to “go a lot longer than that.” He later added that the US has an “almost unlimited supply” of ammunition.
“Wars can be fought ‘forever’, and very successfully, using only these supplies,” he wrote on social media.
The conflict is stirring up business interests in the Middle East
Iran has hit many countries considered safe havens in the Middle East in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. Recent targets included two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. Hubs in the United Arab Emirates were hit, while the drone crashed near Bahrain, causing damage, the company said.
Iran also attacked energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and attacked several ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entrance to the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil trade passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed,” the Iranian brigade announced. Gene. Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guard paramilitary, promises that any ship that passes through will be set on fire.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari vowed that Iranian attacks on the gas-rich country “will not go unanswered.”
Israel sends troops to Lebanon
The conflict spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had moved additional troops into southern Lebanon and taken up new positions at several strategic points near the border.
Israel has also hit Beirut with multiple airstrikes, saying it was targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons depots”. Explosions were heard and smoke was seen in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency announced that the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its border positions. A senior Hezbollah official, Mohamoud Komati, said the group now has no choice but to fight Israel.
