No End in Sight: Iran War Updates

Four days in, the Iran War is raging on and spiraling out, and though President Donald Trump has said the U.S. operation may only last weeks, there’s no way of knowing how long the widening conflict will last, or how far the political and economic fallout will reach. Our coverage of the first three days of the war is here. Here’s the latest on the war, along with collected commentary and analysis.

Fire at U.S. Consulate in Dubai has been contained

CBS News reports that a fire at the U.S. Consulate in Dubai has been contained, citing a report from Dubai’s media office. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Rubio told reporters that all personnel at the consulate have been accounted for.

State Department facilitating charter flights from UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan

In a statement, the State Department said that over 9,000 Americans have returned safely from the Middle East over the past few days. “The Department is facilitating charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan for American citizens, and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow,” the press release read.

Commercial aviation options remain available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Egypt, and the Department is actively helping American citizens book those tickets. For those in countries lacking commercial aviation availability, the Department is facilitating travel to third countries as conditions allow. That includes increasing ground transportation options for American citizens wishing to leave Israel.

Rubio said at least 1,500 Americans have requested assistance leaving Middle East

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was back on Capitol Hill as he was set to brief senators on the ongoing Iran conflict. In a gaggle with reporters, Rubio was asked if there was a plan in place to evacuate Americans in the region.

“That’s the plan we’re trying to carry out. The problem is or the challenge we are facing are airspace closures,” Rubio said, citing how the airport in Kuwait was hit by airstrikes. “So, if an airport’s been attacked or the airspace is closed, then we can have the planes lined up to go, but we can’t get them to land because we don’t have the permissions to land there.”

Rubio said that around 1,500 to 1,600 Americans have requested assistance leaving the region. “Rest assured, we are confident that we’re going to be able to assist every American,” he said.

‘I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he doesn’t believe Congress would need to authorize any further military action against Iran beyond a 60 day or 90 day window.

“No. I think the president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently underway there,” Thune told reporters Tuesday.

He continued, “As you know, there’s a lot of controversy around, questions around the War Powers Act. But I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interest by ensuring he’s protecting Americans and American bases and installations in that region as well as those of our allies.”

“Donald Trump has just gotten America into an endless war”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the Trump administration’s involvement in Iran, saying that the president promised that he would prevent the country from entering any more foreign wars.

“And yet Donald Trump has just gotten America into an endless war that he acknowledges and plans to be endless as was the case earlier today,” Jeffries said.

He continued, “And we have already tragically lost the lives of six American servicemembers because Donald Trump, without justification and without coming to Congress, has gotten America into a Middle Eastern war that we know will not end well based on what we’ve already seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, and, for that matter, in Vietnam as well.”

Jeffries appears to be honing in on the median Democratic response, critiquing the president’s exclusion of Congress and justification for the conflict. But as my colleague Ed Kilgore noted yesterday, reactions to the United States’s involvement in Iran vary across the party:

There is, however, a real division emerging among Democrats about the righteousness of the war itself, legality aside, and about the administration’s stated war aims of eliminating Iran’s nuclear-weapons program for good and toppling its theocratic regime.

Trump says U.S. will offer insurance to ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz

So he says in his new Truth Social post:

Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH — More actions to come.

The U.S. consulate in Dubai is on fire

The American consulate in Dubai is on fire after a reported Iranian drone attack. pic.twitter.com/ww8bJ6FrFA— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 3, 2026

The American consulate in Dubai is on fire after a reported Iranian drone attack. pic.twitter.com/ww8bJ6FrFA

The moment an Iranian Shahed hit the U.S. Consulate compound in Dubai. No casualties reported. https://t.co/PWJRRSkG9q— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 3, 2026

The moment an Iranian Shahed hit the U.S. Consulate compound in Dubai. No casualties reported. https://t.co/PWJRRSkG9q

Trump admin mulling military support for oil tankers traveling Strait of Hormuz

Politico reports that the Trump administration might soon provide military protection for gas and oil tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route to Iran’s south that has seen traffic plunge since the conflict began over the weekend:

“Military support for oil and gas supplies,” a person familiar with the discussion who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations said when asked about the potential for U.S. naval vessels to escort ships traveling through the strait. “It’s becoming a growing concern that the energy markets could face pressures in the coming days as the military campaign intensifies and expands in geographic scope. Access to the Straits of Hormuz is obviously vital for both natural gas and crude oil shipments, especially from Qatar and Saudi.”

Reuters reported Monday that a senior official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned that Iran would fire upon any ship passing through the strait.

Supreme leader selection is reportedly proceeding

Iran’s Assembly of Experts is holding a final vote to select a new Supreme Leader following the US-Israeli assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Fars News Agency says meetings are taking place remotely under a revised voting mechanism, with the constitutional process “fully…— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@Alihashem) March 3, 2026

Lining up behind Trump’s walk-back

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth cosigned Trump’s assertion during a morning press conference that he likely forced Israel’s hand in striking Iran and not the other way around.

“This is 100% correct,” Hegseth wrote, sharing a clip of the moment posted by the White House’s rapid response account.

Hegseth’s comment comes as the White House has attempted to correct the record after excerpts of Rubio’s remarks at a press conference on Iran suggesting the U.S. was following Israel’s lead when it struck the region made the rounds online. In one example, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a National Review piece with a blunt headline: “No, Marco Rubio Didn’t Claim That Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran.”

On X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote that the State Department is “actively working on plans to help Americans in the Middle East return home.”

She advised Americans abroad to register for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program or STEP at step.state.gov.

Assistant secretary of state Dylan Johnson confirmed Leavitt’s statement, saying that the department is securing charter flights and military aircraft for American citizens wishing to leave the region.

Again, it’s not clear why these plans weren’t made until now.

Defne Arslan, the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Turkey Program, notes the numerous stressors the Iran War has created for the Turkish government, including:

Refugee influx: Turkey’s primary fear is a mass migration wave. With over 3.5 million Syrian refugees already in the country, the prospect of hundreds of thousands of Iranians (and Afghans currently residing in Iran) fleeing toward the Turkish border is viewed as an existential threat to social stability. The Kurdish factor: Ankara is deeply concerned that a power vacuum in Tehran could embolden Kurdish separatist groups. Specifically, Turkish officials worry that the Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK (the Iranian wing of the terrorist-designated Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK) could gain autonomy in northwestern Iran, creating a new security vacuum similar to that in northern Syria. …Energy security: Iran currently provides approximately 15 percent of Turkey’s natural gas. Any damage to the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline or a halt in exports would cause immediate energy shortages, and spike heating and electricity prices during the remaining winter weeks.

The Kurdish factor: Ankara is deeply concerned that a power vacuum in Tehran could embolden Kurdish separatist groups. Specifically, Turkish officials worry that the Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK (the Iranian wing of the terrorist-designated Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK) could gain autonomy in northwestern Iran, creating a new security vacuum similar to that in northern Syria. …

Energy security: Iran currently provides approximately 15 percent of Turkey’s natural gas. Any damage to the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline or a halt in exports would cause immediate energy shortages, and spike heating and electricity prices during the remaining winter weeks.

Trump says he has prevented a nuclear war

That was the message he closed with:

Trump on Iran: If we don't stop them or if we didn't stop them or if we didn't start, you would have had a nuclear war and they would have taken out many countries because you know what? They're sick people. They're angry, they're sick. pic.twitter.com/n03WZMBSiQ— Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2026

Trump on Tuesday once again dismissed the idea that Iran’s exiled former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, was a feasible option for leading Iran. Pahlavi and his allies have repeatedly lobbied Trump and his administration to take him more seriously, to no avail. The president also seemed to acknowledge that Pahlavi isn’t as popular as he purports himself to be:

Reporter: Reza Pahlavi, is he an option at all in your mind?Trump: It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate. I've said that he looks like a very nice person, but it would seem to me that somebody that's there, that's currently popular if… pic.twitter.com/vRYgQXuDU7— Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2026

Trump says U.S. will cut off Spain

The president expressed his anger over Spain’s refusal to let U.S. forces use their jointly-operated bases for the Iran operations, telling reporters he directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to end dealings with the country over the dispute.

“Spain has been terrible. In fact, I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain,” Trump said.

He continued, “Spain actually said we can’t use their bases and that’s alright. We could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody’s gonna tell us not to use it. But we don’t have to.”

Trump on his war: ‘I have never had more compliments,’ says gas prices will go down after they go up

Trump told reporters that while the country might have high oil prices “for a little while,” he said those prices will drop “even lower than before” once the conflict in Iran ends.

Trump on going to war with Iran: "I have never had more compliments on something I did. So if we have a high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends these prices are gonna drop I believe even lower than before." pic.twitter.com/1wsSTOQvdV— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026

The Associated Press reported Tuesday morning that the average price for a gallon of gasoline went up 11 cents to $3.11, according to data from AAA.

Trump: War happened too fast to have an evacuation plan for stranded Americans

Q: Commercial air travel is severely restricted in the Middle East. Thousands of Americans are stranded. Why wasn't there an evacuation plan?TRUMP: Because it happened all very quickly pic.twitter.com/0Ylpel2wF4— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026

To be clear, the U.S. and Israel have been planning this war for at least several weeks.

Trump: ‘Pretty soon, we’re not going to know anybody’ who’s still alive in Iran’s regime

It’s not clear if Trump understands how any of this is going to work.

Reporter: Do you have someone in mind right now because you said all the people you did have in mind have been taken out?Trump: We had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports. So I guess you have a third… pic.twitter.com/u6vjPGqXWQ— Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2026

When all you do is win, there is no worst-case scenario

Reporter: What's the worst case scenario that you have planned for in Iran?Trump: I don’t know if there’s a worst case… I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who's as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. pic.twitter.com/qAddWMiiWH— Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2026

Trump says Israel didn’t force his hand, he forced theirs

Trump is hosting a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, and took questions from reporters for the first time since the war began. And he clearly doesn’t like anyone suggesting the war was Israel’s idea:

Q: "Did Israel force your hand to launch these strikes against Iran? Did Netanyahu pull the United States into this war?"President Trump: "No. I might have forced their hand." pic.twitter.com/YrlwL8ZhCi— CSPAN (@cspan) March 3, 2026

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is now closed, too

In a statement shared to social media, the embassy said it would be closed until further notice, citing “ongoing regional tensions.”

“All other regular and emergency consular appointments have been cancelled,” the statement read.

The State Department ordered embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia closed on Tuesday

In other words, Bibi made us do it

Cotton: "Israel faced an existential risk and they were prepared to strike Iran alone. If that happened, Iran was very likely to target our troops. That may address the question of 'why now.'" pic.twitter.com/nQKX7iCaVd— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026

And to be clear, Netanyahu has been calling Iran an immediate-term existential threat to Israel for something like two decades.

Trump claims Iran is “running out of launchers”

In an interview with Politico on Tuesday, President Trump alleged that Iran is running low on key weaponry as the conflict continues. “They’re running out and they’re running out of areas to shoot them, because they’re being decimated,” he said. “They’re running out of launchers.”

Trump was asked if it was too late for the administration to consider working with a new Iranian government. He told the outlet it wasn’t. “Nope, not too late. 49 [senior Iranian leaders] were killed, don’t forget, so that goes pretty deep, right?,” Trump said. “New ones are emerging. A lot of people want the job. Some of them would be very good.”

Earlier today, Trump posted on Truth Social that it was “too late” for talks.

Pentagon official emphasizes that Israel, not U.S., killed Khamenei

Per the New York Times, even though Trump has clearly claimed a share of credit for killing Iran’s supreme leader, the Pentagon seems to be sort of walking that back:

During a hearing on Capitol Hill, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, faced pointed questions from senators about whether the United States supported the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Colby distanced the administration from the death, saying, “those are Israeli operations.” He added that the United States was focused instead on curbing “the ability of the Islamic Republic to project military power against U.S. bases, our forces, etc., as well as our allies and partners in the region and beyond.”

ABC’s @jonkarl asked President Trump tonight in a phone call about the Iranian plot to kill him in 2024."I got him before he got me,” Trump said. "They tried twice. Well I got him first."— Anne Flaherty (@AnneKFlaherty) March 2, 2026

ABC’s @jonkarl asked President Trump tonight in a phone call about the Iranian plot to kill him in 2024."I got him before he got me,” Trump said. "They tried twice. Well I got him first."

Trump is now willing to arm Iranians?

Reports the Wall Street Journal’s Alex Ward:

President Trump is open to supporting groups in Iran willing to take up arms to dislodge the regime, U.S. officials said, an idea that could turn Iranian factions into ground forces at least rhetorically backed by Washington.Trump spoke Sunday with Kurdish leaders, officials said, and is continuing to engage other local leaders who might leverage Tehran’s weakness to make gains. The Kurds have a sizable force along the Iraq-Iran border, and Israel has bombed positions in western Iran, leading to speculation that it is paving a path for a Kurdish advance. …Officials said Trump hasn’t made a final decision on the matter, including whether he would provide arms, training or intelligence support to antiregime groups.

Trump spoke Sunday with Kurdish leaders, officials said, and is continuing to engage other local leaders who might leverage Tehran’s weakness to make gains. The Kurds have a sizable force along the Iraq-Iran border, and Israel has bombed positions in western Iran, leading to speculation that it is paving a path for a Kurdish advance. …

Officials said Trump hasn’t made a final decision on the matter, including whether he would provide arms, training or intelligence support to antiregime groups.

Ward also notes that Trump’s Truth Social has twice reshared a Marc Thiessen column which argues that U.S. troops don’t need to invade Iran because “The Iranian people are the boots on the ground.”

What the law says about the killing Khamenei

Vox’s Joshua Keating examined the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the legality of such acts:

International law prohibits the killing of military or government personnel by means of “treachery” — a breach of trust like feigning surrender or impersonating UN officials — but given President Donald Trump’s many warnings about impending airstrikes, that would be a tough claim for Iran to make in this case. (Whether the war itself is legal, given that it arguably violates international prohibitions on the use of force against other states except in cases of self-defense, is an important but separate question.)US law, codified in executive orders by both Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, also prohibits US government employees from engaging in assassination. This prohibition came in the wake of congressional investigations that revealed the CIA’s role in the killings of leaders like the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba, South Vietnam’s Ngo Dinh Diem, and Chile’s Salvador Allende, as well as plots against Cuba’s Fidel Castro.But in those cases, the US was not at war with these leaders’ countries at the time it helped kill them. (How “war” is defined in cases like US drone strikes against al-Qaida leaders outside of declared war zones or the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq is a more controversial issue.)

US law, codified in executive orders by both Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, also prohibits US government employees from engaging in assassination. This prohibition came in the wake of congressional investigations that revealed the CIA’s role in the killings of leaders like the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba, South Vietnam’s Ngo Dinh Diem, and Chile’s Salvador Allende, as well as plots against Cuba’s Fidel Castro.

But in those cases, the US was not at war with these leaders’ countries at the time it helped kill them. (How “war” is defined in cases like US drone strikes against al-Qaida leaders outside of declared war zones or the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq is a more controversial issue.)

Qatar denies it has entered the war

Qatar has not been part of the campaign targeting Iran. We are exercising our right in self defense and deterring Iranian attacks against our country. We urge media outlets to use credible Qataris sources when reporting on Qatar.— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) March 3, 2026

Israeli media had reported that it had conducted strikes inside Iran, per the Times of Israel:

Qatar carried out strikes in Iran over the past day in response to Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf, Israel’s Channel 12 reports, citing unnamed Western sources familiar with the matter.A senior Israeli official tells the Kan public broadcaster that Israel assesses that Saudi Arabia will also strike Iran soon, after it was attacked yesterday by the country.The Gulf states have yet to publicly take any offensive measures in the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign, though some have intercepted Iranian attacks.

A senior Israeli official tells the Kan public broadcaster that Israel assesses that Saudi Arabia will also strike Iran soon, after it was attacked yesterday by the country.

The Gulf states have yet to publicly take any offensive measures in the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign, though some have intercepted Iranian attacks.

Dow is now down more than 1,200 points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1,235 points, or 2.5%, to 47,670 in early trading, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.2% and 2.4%, respectively.

U.S. Embassy warns it can’t help evacuate Americans in Israel

As the State Department is advising Americans to leave the Middle East amid the expanding conflict in the region, it’s also indicating that those choosing to leave may need to do so on their own.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an alert warning Americans that it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” The embassy advised that the Israeli Ministry of Tourism is running shuttles to the Taba Border Crossing, but said that the embassy “cannot make any recommendation (for or against)” taking the shuttle and that the U.S. government “cannot guarantee your safety.”

In a video shared to social media Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Americans overseas to sign up for safety and security updates from the department and provided a 24/7 phone number that citizens can use to contact the State Department.

“At the Department of State, our number one priority is the safety and security of Americans everywhere in the world,” Rubio said.

The effectiveness of Iran’s missiles and drones

Footage of American airstrikes targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers today. pic.twitter.com/B4iaYJIK1t— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 3, 2026

Footage of American airstrikes targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers today. pic.twitter.com/B4iaYJIK1t

The New York Times’s John Ismay reports on how difficult it will probably be to target Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal:

Finding and destroying Iran’s entire arsenal of ballistic missiles as well as their production sites could be particularly challenging for the U.S. and Israeli militaries, which jointly began attacking Iran on Saturday.Airstrikes alone cannot destroy the plans and know-how for building those weapons, and Iran has proved adept at acquiring the necessary equipment to restart production lines, placing at least some of them underground in fortified facilities. The Iranians have also shown that they can break their ballistic missiles apart into smaller pieces that are more easily smuggled to proxy forces and reassembled for use — potentially making the task of finding them all much more difficult.

Airstrikes alone cannot destroy the plans and know-how for building those weapons, and Iran has proved adept at acquiring the necessary equipment to restart production lines, placing at least some of them underground in fortified facilities. The Iranians have also shown that they can break their ballistic missiles apart into smaller pieces that are more easily smuggled to proxy forces and reassembled for use — potentially making the task of finding them all much more difficult.

Bloomberg notes how the U.S. and Gulf countries are now getting their own first-hand lesson about how effective Iran’s ultra-cheap kamikaze drones can be:

US-made Patriot air-defense missiles have been largely successful in stopping the Iranian Shaheds and other ballistic missiles, with interception rates over 90%, according to the UAE. But using $4 million missiles to destroy $20,000 drones illustrates a problem that has haunted Western military planners since early in the Ukraine war: The cheap weapons can chew up resources meant for much more complex threats.The result is that both Iran and the US may run low on weapons in a matter of days or weeks. Whoever can last longer will gain a serious advantage. …Iran was estimated to have about 2,000 ballistic missiles after last year’s conflict with Israel. It’s likely to have a much larger number of Shaheds, which Russia, the other main manufacturer, has been able to produce at a rate of several hundred per day, according to analysis by Becca Wasser, defense lead at Bloomberg Economics.Tehran has fired more than 1,200 projectiles since the start of this year’s conflict, with many — perhaps most — of them being Shaheds. That suggests they could be saving more damaging ballistic missiles for sustained attacks, Wasser added.

The result is that both Iran and the US may run low on weapons in a matter of days or weeks. Whoever can last longer will gain a serious advantage. …

Iran was estimated to have about 2,000 ballistic missiles after last year’s conflict with Israel. It’s likely to have a much larger number of Shaheds, which Russia, the other main manufacturer, has been able to produce at a rate of several hundred per day, according to analysis by Becca Wasser, defense lead at Bloomberg Economics.

Tehran has fired more than 1,200 projectiles since the start of this year’s conflict, with many — perhaps most — of them being Shaheds. That suggests they could be saving more damaging ballistic missiles for sustained attacks, Wasser added.

Trump says ‘it’s too late’ to talk

His new Truth Social post suggests there may not be anyone alive to talk to:

Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said “Too Late!”

Dow drops more than 1,000 points

U.S. equities tumbled on Tuesday, undoing a Monday equity comeback, as oil prices spiked again and traders began to worry the U.S.-Iran conflict could drag on longer than anticipated.The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,066 points, or 2.2%. If that holds, it would mark the blue-chip index’s first 1,000-point decline since April 10, 2025. The S&P 500 slipped 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.1%.Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, topped $84 a barrel, up 8% Tuesday following a 6% spike Monday. WTI crude jumped 8% to above $77 a barrel after a 6% jump as well on Monday.

U.S. equities tumbled on Tuesday, undoing a Monday equity comeback, as oil prices spiked again and traders began to worry the U.S.-Iran conflict could drag on longer than anticipated.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,066 points, or 2.2%. If that holds, it would mark the blue-chip index’s first 1,000-point decline since April 10, 2025. The S&P 500 slipped 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.1%.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, topped $84 a barrel, up 8% Tuesday following a 6% spike Monday. WTI crude jumped 8% to above $77 a barrel after a 6% jump as well on Monday.

U.S. is closing embassy after embassy, urging Americans to leave Middle East

The State Department, which earlier ordered evacuations of diplomatic missions in several countries in the Middle East, said it was adding Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq to the list. The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia Tuesday urged Americans to avoid the compound after the Saudi defense ministry said the diplomatic post had been attacked by two drones. The drone strikes caused “limited fire and minor damage” to the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, according to the Saudi defense ministry. This comes after an Iranian attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait on Monday. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait said in a social media post Tuesday that it was closing until further notice.In Jordan, the State Department said Tuesday it had evacuated its huge embassy in Amman after threats against it.

In Jordan, the State Department said Tuesday it had evacuated its huge embassy in Amman after threats against it.

On Monday, the State Department told Americans in 14 countries to depart the region.

Targeting the officials trying to select the new supreme leader?

US/Israeli airstrikes on the building of the Assembly of Experts Secretariat in Qom pic.twitter.com/1hXtODwAoB— Farzad Seifikaran (@FSeifikaran) March 3, 2026

US/Israeli airstrikes on the building of the Assembly of Experts Secretariat in Qom pic.twitter.com/1hXtODwAoB

Adds the New York Times:

An office of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that is supposed to appoint Iran’s next supreme leader, was bombed in the city of Qom, the semiofficial Iranian news agency Tasnim reported on Tuesday. The strike occurred a day after the group’s compound in Tehran was bombed. The Assembly of Experts will select a new head of the Islamic Republic after Israel assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s longtime leader. It was not immediately clear whether any members of the body were killed in either attack.

Why weren’t those U.S. soldiers better protected in Kuwait?

CBS News reports on the questions around the fortifications at the makeshift base in Kuwait where an Iranian drone strike killed multiple U.S. servicemembers:

[T]hree U.S. military officials questioned the assertion that the building was adequately fortified. They told CBS News the operations center was a triple-wide trailer made into an office space — a common setup at U.S. bases abroad.The trailer’s only fortifications were T-walls, which are 12-foot-tall, steel-reinforced concrete barriers used to protect military personnel from explosions, rocket attacks and shrapnel, the military officials said.But T-walls could not protect the facility from an overhead strike. Two officials told CBS News that the strike appeared to hit dead-center on top of the building.Three officials also told CBS News, speaking under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets, that prior to the attack, there were discussions on the ground about whether the tactical operations center in question should not have been used, as it concentrated too many U.S. troops in a location that wasn’t defendable.

The trailer’s only fortifications were T-walls, which are 12-foot-tall, steel-reinforced concrete barriers used to protect military personnel from explosions, rocket attacks and shrapnel, the military officials said.

But T-walls could not protect the facility from an overhead strike. Two officials told CBS News that the strike appeared to hit dead-center on top of the building.

Three officials also told CBS News, speaking under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets, that prior to the attack, there were discussions on the ground about whether the tactical operations center in question should not have been used, as it concentrated too many U.S. troops in a location that wasn’t defendable.

How bad the energy market disruption gets depends on time

Updated: 50 cents/gallon since Friday. Note retail prices are starting to ramp up faster than the typical two-week lag would imply - probably due to stockpiling by consumers which pulls forward retail prices towards wholesale prices.— George Pearkes (@peark.es) 2026-03-03T14:02:00.512Z

According to AAA, U.S. gas prices went up by an average of 10 cents on Tuesday. On Monday, I interviewed Commidity Context’s Rory Johnston about the potential impact of the Iran War on oil markets, and he told me that “the question right now is duration”:

We don’t see tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. For how long? So far, the strait has not been formally closed. The Revolutionary Guard Corps declared it closed, and then Iran’s foreign minister said Iran had no intention of closing it. So it’s a bit of a gray zone right now. And there have been some tankers that have made it through — only a handful so far, but people are still risking the journey.Many market observers, myself included, have expected this to be a relatively short and sharp kind of crisis. What we’ve seen from Trump in the past has been a willingness to go way bigger and way bolder than anyone would’ve assumed, compared to the normal behavior of an American president. He has not shown a willingness for longer, drawn-out, messier engagements. He wants to throw the entire might of the U.S. military at something and declare victory in a couple days. That’s what we saw in Venezuela. After he took out Maduro, he basically declared regime change, even though it was literally Maduro’s VP that became president. This past June, during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, you had a spectacular bombing campaign in terms of its scale and size — 14 bunker-busters on three nuclear sites. That’s a big deal, and markets jumped at the open — and then ended the day $10 down because Trump then took that moment to declare victory and broached a cease-fire. That kind of thing is still my general expectation here, but we’re already slipping outside of that base-case scenario. Obviously, the war has not ended. In fact, things just keep getting hotter, if you will.

Many market observers, myself included, have expected this to be a relatively short and sharp kind of crisis. What we’ve seen from Trump in the past has been a willingness to go way bigger and way bolder than anyone would’ve assumed, compared to the normal behavior of an American president. He has not shown a willingness for longer, drawn-out, messier engagements. He wants to throw the entire might of the U.S. military at something and declare victory in a couple days. That’s what we saw in Venezuela. After he took out Maduro, he basically declared regime change, even though it was literally Maduro’s VP that became president. This past June, during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, you had a spectacular bombing campaign in terms of its scale and size — 14 bunker-busters on three nuclear sites. That’s a big deal, and markets jumped at the open — and then ended the day $10 down because Trump then took that moment to declare victory and broached a cease-fire. That kind of thing is still my general expectation here, but we’re already slipping outside of that base-case scenario. Obviously, the war has not ended. In fact, things just keep getting hotter, if you will.

Trump boasts about America’s ‘forever’ war ammo supply

Amid concern that the U.S. may not have enough interceptor missiles for a prolonged war against Iran, the president wrote in a late-night Truth Social post that U.S. had a virtually unlimited supply of most of its munitions (and blamed Joe Biden for what it didn’t have as much of):

The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better - As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought “forever,” and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!). At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries. Sleepy Joe Biden spent all of his time, and our Country’s money, GIVING everything to P.T. Barnum (Zelenskyy!) of Ukraine - Hundreds of Billions of Dollars worth - And, while he gave so much of the super high end away (FREE!), he didn’t bother to replace it. Fortunately, I rebuilt the military in my first term, and continue to do so. The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!!

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