Here's the latest
• War with Iran: Israel said it is conducting “simultaneous strikes in Tehran and Beirut,” targeting Iranian military sites and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, as its troops intensify their push in Lebanon. The UN has also confirmed damage to a nuclear facility in Iran for the first time since the US and Israel launched a military attack on the country. Here’s what we know so far.
• Embassies closed: As Iran continues to strike US targets and US allies in the Middle East, the US has closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and warned Americans to leave more than a dozen countries in the region.
• Trump on Iran: President Donald Trump said Iran is seeking talks with the US as military operations continue, but indicated he believes the opportunity for negotiations has passed. His administration has been shifting the goalposts and contradicting itself since the start of the operation.
Hundreds have been killed since the US and Israel bombed Iran. Here’s what we know
Hundreds of people, including children and school teachers, have been killed in recent days, after the US and Israel launched a fierce bombing campaign on Iran – wiping out the country’s Supreme Leader and setting off a wave of violence in the region.
Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on US airbases in the region, while Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing projectiles from Lebanon into Israel.
Scenes have emerged of huge, grey smoke clouds tumbling over buildings, heavily damaged hospital rooms and entire homes hollowed out as communities struggle to reconcile the death and destruction.
Here’s what we know about the death toll in the region:
- Iran: At least 787 people have been killed by US and Israeli bombing across Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Tuesday, citing the Iranian Red Crescent. Among those killed were 168 children and 14 teachers following the US-Israeli attack on a girls’ elementary school on Saturday, according to state media.
- Lebanon: At least 52 people were killed and 154 were wounded in Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese government said.
- Israel: At least 10 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in Israel since it attacked Iran, according to Israel’s emergency services Magen David Adom.
- Iraq: At least four Popular Mobilization Force soldiers were killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on Diyala, Iraq, the militia’s media directorate said Sunday.
- Kuwait: At least nine people have been killed in Kuwait since Saturday, including six US service members, according to CENTCOM, and two Kuwaiti service members, the country’s army said on Tuesday. One person was killed in an attack Sunday, the country’s health ministry said.
- UAE: At least three people have been killed in the United Arab Emirates, according to the country’s Ministry of Defence.
- Bahrain: One person was killed after debris from an intercepted missile sparked a fire on a “foreign vessel” in Bahrain’s Salman Industrial City, Bahraini state media said Monday.
Trump says Iran wants to talk but it's "too late"
President Donald Trump said today that Tehran is seeking talks with the US as military operations against Iran continue but indicated he believes the opportunity for negotiations has passed.
“Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said, ‘Too Late!’” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The president suggested over the weekend, however, that he agreed to engage in talks with Iranian leaders following the start of US and Israeli strikes.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” Trump said Sunday. “They should have done it sooner.”
Ahead of the military operation, there were three rounds of talks between the US and Iran, with the latest round ending last week in Geneva.
Strikes continue in the Middle East, as US closes embassies in the region. Catch up here
It is now the fourth day of conflict across the Middle East after the US and Israel’s initial strikes on Iran on Saturday. Tehran has retaliated by launching strikes on its neighbors in the region.
Catch up on the latest updates below:
- The US has closed two embassies in the Middle East and reduced its diplomatic footprint in several other countries as strikes continue in the region.
- The US embassy in Saudi Arabia has warned of a “threat of imminent missile and UAV (drone) attacks” over the city of Dhahran.
- The US embassy in the Omani capital Muscat has issued a security alert asking embassy staff to shelter in place, citing “ongoing activity.”
- Israel’s military said it is intensifying its presence in southern Lebanon, seizing more positions on the ground as it escalates its offensive against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
- The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog confirmed damage to a fuel enrichment plant in Iran – in the first confirmation of damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities since the US-Israeli attacks on the country began.
- US President Donald Trump has said it is “not possible” at this time to know how long the US military operation in Iran will go on for.
- A fire broke out in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah Oil Industry Zone after debris fell following the interception of an Iranian drone, according to a statement from the Fujairah media office.
- The UAE has sufficient munitions to repel Iranian attacks for as long as they continue, a defense ministry spokesperson said.
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Eyad Kourdi, Eugenia Yosef, Oren Liebermann, Ross Levitt, Aleena Fayaz and Sana Noor Haq contributed to this reporting.
Kuwaiti locals approach pilot after US jet accidentally shot down
After the shooting down of three US F-15 jets in an “apparent friendly fire incident” in Kuwait on Monday, video from social media shows locals approaching one of the crew who ejected from the aircraft.
The pilot is asked if she is OK before being thanked for her help.
Watch here:
After the shooting down of three US F-15 jets in an apparent friendly fire incident, video from social media shows locals approaching one of the crew who ejected from the aircraft. Locals ask them if they are okay before thanking the pilot for their help
US embassy warns of threat of imminent missile and drone attacks in eastern Saudi city
There is a “threat of imminent missile and UAV (drone) attacks over Dhahran, (Saudi Arabia),” the US embassy warned in a stark social media post on X today.
“Do not come to the U.S. Consulate,” the post from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia said. “Take cover immediately.”
“Do not go outside. The U.S. Consulate in Dhahran urges U.S. citizens in Dhahran to shelter in place, review security plans in the event of an attack, and to stay alert in case of additional future attacks. U.S. Consulate personnel are sheltering in place,” it said.
The warning comes after the US embassy in Saudi Arabia was hit by two suspected Iranian drones and two additional drones hit “at or near” the embassy, which is in the capital city of Riyadh.
Dhahran is in the east of Saudi Arabia, closer to Iran.
US gas prices just had their largest one-day increase since 2005
The price of gasoline in the United States soared 11 cents to $3.11 a gallon, on average, in the latest reading from AAA. That marked the largest one-day increase since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the subsequent closing of the critical Strait of Hormuz passageway contributed to a massive surge in energy prices. Iran has also launched retaliatory attacks on the oil infrastructure of oil-rich US allies in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.
That has roiled world oil markets. In trading early Tuesday, the price of US oil was up 7% to $76, following a 6% rise in Monday trading.
Tuesday’s $3.11 average ended a three-month string of prices below $3 a gallon that began on December 1. It also means that prices are one cent higher than they were a year ago, and stand about where they were on Joe Biden’s last full-day in office in January of 2025.
UAE military official shows Iranian missiles and drones shot down by air defenses
During a briefing with United Arab Emirates military chiefs held in Abu Dhabi a short while ago, Maj. Gen. Abdul Nasser Al Humaidi broke away from the podium to demonstrate a selection of Iranian missiles and drones that he claimed were shot down by UAE air defenses.
Among those featured was a short-range ballistic missile, the Qiam-1, which Al Humaidi claimed was one of “hundreds” shot down. The UAE spokesperson also showed a damaged Shahed 136 drone, which he also said has been destroyed in huge volumes.
The UAE “reserves the right to take all measures and procedures to combat any attack or any aggression” from its adversaries, Al Humaidi said during the briefing.
Will the UK be dragged into the war in Iran?
The UK government appears to be becoming increasingly embroiled in US President Donald Trump and Israel’s war with Iran, as it is plans to deploy a British warship to its military base in Cyprus, UK media report.
CNN has reached out to the UK Ministry of Defense for comment.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has consistently stated that the UK will not join the US and Israel in any offensive action. However, concerns are rising that the UK could be drawn into another Iraq-style conflict as British interests are directly targeted.
On Monday, a drone was shot down on the runway at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a key hub for UK air operations in the Middle East, believed to be the first attack on the UK base since 1986.
Two more drones heading toward RAF Akrotri on Monday morning were intercepted, according a Cypriot government spokesperson.
Starmer has allowed the US to use British bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites, saying it is necessary for the “collective self-defense” of allies and to protect British lives.
Among the UK public, involvement in the conflict remains unpopular, with some Labour Party lawmakers warning that the government was repeating past mistakes. “I just think we’re being drawn in, just as we were in Iraq, following the US into an incredibly dangerous situation,” Labour MP John McDonnell told the BBC.
The Liberal Democrats party demanding a parliamentary vote on the matter, with its leader Ed Davey calling the move a “slippery slope.”
A Downing Street spokesperson on Tuesday advised against speculation on force movements or operations, telling reporters: “We keep our current capability in the region under constant review.”
This post has been updated with additional developments.
Why you don't need to panic-buy fuel
The widening conflict in the oil-rich Middle East has sparked concerns about potential petrol price spikes and fuel shortages – but how worried should consumers really be?
Prices at the pump could see limited pass-through from higher global oil prices, which have jumped this week on concerns about supply. A lot depends on how long the conflict, now entering its fourth day, lasts.
“The price of oil is actually a relatively small part of the price you pay at the pump,” David Oxley, chief commodities economist at Capital Economics, told CNN.
In the United Kingdom, for example, a $10 increase in the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, adds only about 7 pence to the petrol price, currently sitting at around 133 pence per liter, he noted.
Brent oil is trading at $83 a barrel, up from $72.9 on Friday, before the conflict broke out, according to FactSet data.
The palpable, albeit limited, effect on UK fuel prices will arrive with about a two-week lag, Oxley added.
Risks to the availability of crude, meanwhile, come at a time when oil supply continues to outpace demand, according to the International Energy Agency. Developed economies are are also well-stocked with crude.
That’s because IEA member countries – which include the United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK and more than two dozen others – must hold oil reserves equal to at least 90 days of net imports.
If supply is severely disrupted, oil can be released from these reserves, a step many countries took in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
US embassy in Oman tells Americans to shelter in place
The US embassy in the Omani capital Muscat has issued a security alert asking embassy staff to shelter in place, citing “ongoing activity,” and recommending that Americans in the country to do the same until further notice.
The embassy urged Americans to stay in a secure location, keep essential supplies including food, water and medication, and monitor local media for updates, and stay in touch with their families and friends.
Oman has largely been spared attacks in the current conflict, but its commercial port at Duqm on the eastern coast has been hit by Iranian drones more than once.
A fuel storage tank at the port was hit in a drone attack on Tuesday, an Omani security source was cited as saying by state-run Oman News Agency. Authorities said the resulting damage was brought under control, and no injuries were reported.
Later Tuesday, Oman News Agency said another two drones were shot down over Dhofar province in the south of the country, and a third fell in the port of Salalah, with also no casualties reported.
Duqm was also targeted on Sunday, when two drones struck the port area, injuring one worker. Oman condemned the attacks and said it is taking all necessary measures to deal with the incident.
Oman had been serving as the key mediator in US-Iran nuclear talks before the attacks on Iran.
UAE says it has sufficient munitions for prolonged conflict with Iran
The United Arab Emirates has sufficient munitions to repel Iranian attacks for as long as they continue, a defense ministry spokesperson said.
“We have strategic storage of ammunition which ensures continuity and sustainability of interception in all types of weapons for long time,” Defense ministry spokesperson Major General Abdel Nasseer Al Humaidi said at a briefing in Abu Dhabi.
He also said the UAE “reserves the right to take all measures and procedures to combat any attack or any aggression.”
Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy, who also spoke at the briefing, warned that any aggression against the UAE or its Gulf Arab neighbors “will be replied to,” stressing “the legitimate right of the UAE for self defense.”
Al Hashimy added that there is still room to return to dialogue “in order to contain the crisis and stop escalation.”
Trump tells senator "it is not possible to know" duration of military operation in Iran
President Donald Trump defended the US strikes on Iran in a letter yesterday to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, adding that it is “not possible” at this time to know how long the US military operation will go on for.
Trump also pointed to the US’ attempts to negotiate “a diplomatic solution” with Iran but argued that “the threat to the United States and its allies and partners became untenable.”
Trump has offered a shifting rationale for attacking the Iranian regime, ranging from protecting the demonstrators who protested in the streets of Iran in January to defending the US against the risk of Iran building nuclear and long-range weapons and eliminating a regime that’s backed terrorists killing Americans for decades.
The president has also called for the Iranian people to take control of their country even as top officials say the war is not about regime change.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood contributed to this post.
Trump says he's "sad to see" the US' relationship with the UK deteriorate over Iran — catch up here
In the past few days, US President Donald Trump has made clear that he is not happy with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his response to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Most recently, the president gave an interview to the right-wing British tabloid The Sun, where he said Starmer “has not been helpful” and that the US-UK relationship is “not like it used to be.”
Here’s how things have escalated in the last few days:
- Starmer announced on Sunday that he would allow the US to use British bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose” focused on Iran’s missile launch sites and storage facilities, and stressed the UK would not be directly involved in offensive operations against the Iranian regime.
- In an interview with The Telegraph yesterday, Trump said that Starmer “took far too long” to agree to this. He said he was “very disappointed” that the British leader initially blocked the US from using the bases, adding that “it sounds like he was worried about the legality.”
- In response, Starmer said that he stands by his decision not to get involved in the “initial” US-Israeli strikes on Iran. “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest,” he told the UK’s House of Commons.
- In his interview with The Sun published today, Trump said “it’s very sad to see” that the US-UK relationship has deteriorated. The US is a “very dominant power over and above everybody,” he told the outlet, adding: “it’s not going to matter, but [Starmer] should have helped.”
CNN’s Jonny Hallam, James Frater, Lauren Kent and Billy Stockwell contributed to this reporting.
Iranian regime "standing at the edge of a cliff" as war escalates, expert says
The fragility of Iran’s economy meant the regime was edging toward collapse “with or without war,” a former US treasury spokesperson for terrorism and financial intelligence has told CNN.
“With or without war or strikes, the Iranian regime was on its way to a very dire economic collapse,” Hagar Chemali told CNN’s Erica Hill. “That would have caused the demise of this regime itself.”
“Even if this war were to end tomorrow, this regime is collapsing on its own … it’s standing at the edge of a cliff and this war pushes it over the edge,” Chamali said.
The expert recalled the collapse late last year of one of Iran’s largest private banks, Ayandeh Bank, which triggered a further devaluation of the country’s currency that caused inflation to skyrocket.
That was the spark for widespread anti-government protests in Iran in January, she said.
China and Russia, the traditional allies of the regime, are “not going to come save it,” she said, predicting that it would eventually be unable to pay the salaries of its security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“You have to remember that a dictator is only as strong as a military is loyal,” Chemali said, “If they’re not paid, it’s going to cause more defections, more disgruntlement, and that also eventually crumbles a regime.”
Countries across the Middle East are being struck, as death tolls increase. Catch up here
The conflict in the Middle East is now in its fourth day, after the US and Israel attacked on Iran on Saturday, and Tehran retaliated by launching strikes on its neighbors.
Hundreds of people have now died in this time, including more than 160 Iranian school children, according to state media, as well as multiple US service members.
Catch up on the latest here:
- US embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been hit in strikes amid Iranian bombardment, sources told CNN. They have since closed.
- At least 787 people have been killed by US and Israeli bombing across Iran since Saturday, the Iranian Red Crescent said today.
- Israel has said it is conducting “simultaneous strikes in Tehran and Beirut,” claiming it has struck Hezbollah “centers of gravity” in Beirut.
- Funerals have begun for the dozens of young students killed in their classrooms on the first day of the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.
- Iran’s foreign ministry has accused the United States and Israel of war crimes, claiming that civilian infrastructure had been deliberately targeted.
- Non-emergency US government personnel in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have been ordered to depart due to security concerns.
- Six US service members have now died following a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday.
CNN’s Leila Gharagozlou, Eugenia Yosef, Oren Liebermann, Jennifer Hansler, Aleena Fayaz and Helen Regan contributed to this reporting.
US closes 2 embassies, reduces footprint in other countries in the region
The US has closed two embassies in the Middle East and reduced its diplomatic footprint in several other countries as strikes continue in the region.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia is closed today after the facility was struck by two suspected Iranian drones.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Kuwait has shut its doors “until further notice.” The US State Department has ordered the departure of non-emergency government personnel from Kuwait. On Monday, video obtained by Reuters and geolocated by CNN showed smoke rising from the area around the US embassy, and a source told CNN the embassy was struck on both Sunday and Monday.
The State Department has urged Americans to immediately leave the following 14 countries in the region due to “serious safety risks”:
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen
It has also asked non-emergency US government personnel and their families to leave the following countries:
- Jordan
- Bahrain
- Qatar
- Iraq
- United Arab Emirates
This post has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Aleena Fayaz and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this post.
End goal is to "cripple" Iran's Islamic regime, says former IDF soldier
The “end goal” of the Israeli government is to “cripple” the Islamic regime in Iran, a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier has told CNN.
“The end goal at this stage is to try to cripple,” Miri Eisin told CNN’s Elex Michaelson earlier. “That doesn’t mean demolish, but to cripple the capabilities the Islamic regime have in Iran.”
The Israeli population is largely supportive of its government’s collaborative operation with the United States across the Middle East, according to the retired colonel.
“The bulk of Israelis support this,” she said. “I would say even a change of government in Israel would not change the way that we feel about this Islamic regime’s threat.”
Eisin, who is currently sheltering with her sister in Tel Aviv, also described a national appreciation for US President Donald Trump, saying he is “overwhelmingly popular” in Israel.
Unlike Israel, US voters have largely expressed disapproval of the Trump administration’s military action in Iran, citing little desire to be engaged in conflict abroad.
But Eisin said Israeli voters find Trump’s foreign policy favorable.
In pictures: Israel strikes Tehran and Beirut
We can bring you some of the latest images now from on the ground in the Middle East, after Israel said it was conducting “simultaneous strikes’ in Tehran, Iran and Beirut in Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force said the strikes were targeting “military objectives” of the Iranian regime and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
UAE’s Fujairah oil zone hit by fire after drone intercept, authorities say
Authorities in the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates responded to a fire that broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) Tuesday morning after debris fell following the interception of an Iranian drone, according to a statement from the Fujairah media office.
No injuries were reported, the statement said, adding that the fire was brought under control and normal operations in the area have resumed.
Fujairah is a strategic energy hub for the UAE. Located on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz, it is home to key storage and export infrastructure, including facilities that allow crude exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil that Iran has threatened to close.
Hezbollah retains "launch capabilities," warns Israeli military as it intensifies strikes in Lebanon
The Israeli military said Hezbollah still has launch capabilities and stockpiles of missiles, as it increases strikes on the militant group’s sites in Lebanon.
The warning came as a Hezbollah projectile damaged a home in northern Israel on Tuesday morning, the country’s Fire and Rescue Authority said, amid a dramatic escalation of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
Photos from the scene showed some damage to an outside wall of the building and debris scattered around the area. Four people were lightly injured, the officials said.
“Hezbollah still has launch capabilities into Israel,” said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin in a briefing on Tuesday morning. “It retains missile stockpiles, although they have been significantly damaged – both missiles and UAVs (drones).”
Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its assault on Hezbollah, seizing more locations in southern Lebanon and carrying out strikes against what it says are the militant group’s sites in Lebanon. The IDF also issued evacuation warnings for villages in southern Lebanon ahead of anticipated strikes.
“We have struck them and we will continue to strike them,” Defrin said.
