Israel exchanged further strikes with Iran in a single day into Tuesday whereas it continues its assault on Lebanon, intensifying a battle which has already killed a whole lot, triggered Washington to warn Americans to go away a lot of the area and threatens to spark a world vitality disaster.
Tehran has retaliated with a marketing campaign aimed at US bases and embassies in a number of Middle Eastern international locations, in addition to oil refineries and vacationer infrastructure like airports and motels.
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As the US-Israeli war on Iran intensifies, right here’s what to know.
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Continuing Israeli strikes: Israel launched simultaneous strikes on Tehran and Beirut on Tuesday morning, focusing on each Iranian navy websites and Hezbollah. Israeli forces have additionally seized extra areas in southern Lebanon, finishing up strikes in opposition to what it says are Hezbollah’s websites in the nation.
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US closes two embassies amid Iran strikes: The US Embassy in Riyadh was hit by two suspected Iranian drones, prompting it to shut Tuesday. The US Embassy in Kuwait additionally introduced it was closing till additional discover. Elsewhere throughout the area, the US State Department ordered non-emergency US authorities personnel and their households to depart from Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as a consequence of safety considerations.
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Iran’s response: NCS groups in Qatar heard loud booms and noticed objects falling from the sky in a single day. Kuwait’s armed forces responded to “missiles and drones” detected in its airspace, warning sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Iranian missiles had been detected in Israeli airspace, in keeping with officers in every nation.
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Americans urged to go away Middle East: The US State Department urged American citizens to depart from international locations throughout the Middle East utilizing out there business journey, at the same time as a lot of the area’s airspace stays closed and most flights are cancelled.
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Iran dying toll climbs: More than 700 people have been killed in Iran since the war started, in keeping with the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. One Tehran resident described enduring a “heavy bombardment” on Monday night time. “It feels like an onslaught,” mentioned the 36-year-old man, whom NCS just isn’t naming.
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Coming “big wave” of US strikes in opposition to Iran: US President Donald Trump warned Monday that the US hasn’t “even started hitting them hard,” whereas a senior US official informed NCS on Monday night time that Washington was making ready for a “major uptick” in assaults over the subsequent 24 hours.
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Damage to Iranian nuclear facility: The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog confirmed injury Tuesday to a gas enrichment plant at one in all Iran’s most delicate nuclear installations following US-Israeli strikes.
Why did the US and Israel assault?
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White House provides competing, shifting rationales for war: Three days after the US and Israel first launched their offensive in opposition to Iran, the Trump administration continues to be offering different explanations for doing so – at instances exaggerated or at odds with US intelligence – as senior officers scramble to justify what has been characterised as a preemptive strike.
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What was the risk posed by Iran? In quick, the Trump administration nonetheless hasn’t clearly outlined that. After the first wave of strikes, Trump cited an “imminent threat” to the US – claims contradicted in Pentagon briefings to Capitol Hill that said Iran was not planning to assault until struck first.
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What about the nuclear risk? Before putting Iran, Trump and his prime officers overstated simply how shut Tehran was to growing a nuclear weapon, sources informed NCS. Trump repeatedly said that Tehran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” following US strikes on Iranian nuclear amenities final summer season – however in latest weeks, administration officers have advised with out providing proof that Iran posed an imminent nuclear risk. Iran has at all times insisted its nuclear program is peaceable.
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What about regime change? That’s not a transparent objective both. One finish consequence Trump has floated is “freedom for the people” in Iran and for Iranians “to take back your country.” At the similar time, he has mentioned {that a} related consequence to Venezuela – the place US forces seized President Nicolás Maduro however left a lot of the administration in place – can be “a perfect scenario.” And US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth insisted Monday “this is not a so-called regime change war.”
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s dying: Iran’s supreme chief was killed Saturday, alongside a number of different senior navy officers, leaving the Islamic regime battered, however nonetheless capable of launch assaults throughout the area.
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A 3-person management council now holds energy till a brand new supreme chief is called. It consists of the nation’s average president, Masoud Pezeshkian; the hardline head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei; and a senior cleric, Alireza Arafi.
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When will a brand new supreme chief be named? That’s nonetheless unclear, although Iranian officers have indicated the course of might be fairly fast. The nation’s overseas minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned a brand new supreme chief might be chosen inside days.
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Oil costs proceed to climb Tuesday to their highest level since June 2025. Brent futures, the international oil benchmark, jumped one other 6% to $82 a barrel, per FactSet knowledge. Natural gasoline futures, the European benchmark, climbed one other 34% to round €59 ($68) per megawatt hour, as Qatar’s greatest gasoline producer stopped manufacturing after Iran focused one in all its vitality amenities.
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Iran wields its energy over Strait of Hormuz: An adviser to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Monday that vessels passing by the strategically vital waterway can be focused.
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About one fifth of the world’s international commerce in LNG and each day oil manufacturing passes by the slender stretch of water off Iran’s southern coast, and there are few different choices for transporting these cargoes to international markets.
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Stocks slid in Europe and Asia on Tuesday, reflecting the rising anxiousness of markets.
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Thousands of vacationers have been left stranded by the aviation chaos in the Middle East, with giant elements of the area’s airspace closed, forcing airways to cancel flights.
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Some airways resumed a restricted service on Monday night time. Emirates and Fly Dubai resumed some flights however all of Etihad’s business flights to and from Abu Dhabi stay suspended till at least Tuesday afternoon, as do Qatar Airways’ flights till at least Wednesday morning.
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Other Western international locations are advising residents to keep away from the area too. Canada informed vacationers to go away the UAE as soon as they will get on a flight and suggested avoiding all journey to a lot of the Gulf. The United Kingdom informed British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE to register their presence to obtain direct updates from its overseas ministry.