Here's the latest
• US consulate in Dubai impacted: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said all personnel are accounted for after a drone hit the grounds of the US consulate in Dubai. A source told CNN it was suspected to be Iranian. The US earlier closed embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon and warned Americans to leave some countries in the region.
• New strikes: US President Donald Trump said most of Iran’s military installations have been “knocked out” and that new strikes today targeted Iranian leadership. Israel also struck a compound belonging to a group responsible for electing Iran’s next supreme leader, an Israeli source told CNN.
• Iran death toll: At least 780 people have been killed by US and Israeli bombing across Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing the Iranian Red Crescent.
• Oil markets roiled: The price of gasoline in the US just had its largest one-day increase since 2005, as vessels have effectively stopped going through the critical Strait of Hormuz. Oil continued to rise and stocks fell.
House Democrat, breaking with party, says he supports Iran strikes
The Trump administration on Tuesday found support for its military campaign in Iran in a surprising source: a House Democrat.
Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman told reporters that he supported the administration’s initial strikes in Iran and would oppose a bipartisan resolution to curb the president’s use of force in the country absent congressional approval. That resolution could come up for a vote in the House on Thursday.
“It would mean that everyone would have to leave and they wouldn’t be able to finish the job,” Landsman said of the resolution offered by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna. “The job is, very simply, to get rid of the missiles, the launchers, the military assets that this regime has, that could do and has done enormous damage.”
Asked by CNN about Democratic leaders urging their members to support it, Landsman explained that the Trump administration’s actions in Iran were a “no-brainer.”
“I’m more of a country-first guy, so whatever I think is best for the country and for my constituents, for the district, in this case, national security. To me, this was a no brainer. They had a window of opportunity to take out very specific military assets in order to defang the Iranian regime. We will be safer as a result,” he said.
The Democrat said if the Iranian conflict “goes beyond that,” however, the administration would need to seek congressional approval.
Asked again by CNN if he supports the Trump administration’s military campaign, Landsman reiterated, “Yeah, I support the targeted strikes.”
US military has destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including submarine, commander says
The US military has destroyed 17 Iranian ships in its campaign against Iran, which involves tens of thousands of US service members, the commander of US forces in the Middle East said in a video Tuesday.
“In simple terms, we’re focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said in the message posted to X, detailing “uncontested surgical strikes” by B-2 and B-1 bombers.
“We are also sinking the Iranian navy — the entire navy,” he added. “Thus far, we’ve destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine that now has a hole in its side.”
“For decades, the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping. Today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman,” Cooper said. “And we will not stop.”
Cooper’s comments come four days into the US military operation against Iran, called Operation Epic Fury. Defense Department officials have said destroying Iran’s navy is a primary target for the operation. There are more than 50,000 US troops and more than 200 fighter aircraft involved in the mission, Cooper said, and strikes are ongoing 24/7.
In retaliation to the US’ and Israel’s bombardment, Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones, Cooper said. Still, he said Tehran’s “ability to hit us is declining.”
Speaker Johnson says Iran campaign is not a war: "I think it’s an operation"
House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to call the US military action a war.
“I think it’s an operation,” he said when asked by CNN’s Manu Raju if he would call it a war.
“It’s a dangerous operation and an important one. We had to act because there was an imminent threat, but there’s not a declaration of war,” he added.
Congress hasn’t voted to authorize war with Iran, prompting sharp criticism from Democrats and some Republicans who compare the conflict to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars where lawmakers voted to authorize it. Republican defenders of Trump’s action say the Iran campaign is like President Obama’s intervention into Libya where he did not seek congressional approval.
The Senate will vote as soon as Wednesday on a resolution to require Trump get congressional approval to continue the military campaign. The House will vote on a similar measure on Thursday. Both are expected to fail.
Qatar arrests 10 people suspected of links to Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Qatar says it has arrested 10 people suspected of links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
State news agency QNA said authorities arrested two cells thought to be “operating on behalf” of the IRGC in Qatar.
Seven of the 10 suspects were tasked with spying on Qatar’s military installations, QNA said, while the other three were assigned to carry out “acts of sabotage” and were trained in the use of drones.
“Locations and coordinates of sensitive facilities and installations, communication devices, and technological equipment were also found in their possession,” QNA reported.
Iranian missile hits largest US military base in Middle East, Qatar says
Qatar says an Iranian ballistic missile has struck Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, but did not cause any casualties.
The Qatari Defense Ministry said it had successfully intercepted another ballistic missile launched toward the country from Iran.
CNN has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Democrats warn that Iran conflict may unleash a "math" problem on Iran munitions
Democrats are growing increasingly uneasy about the amount of munitions that have now been used in the conflict in Iran and what it could mean for US defense in the Middle East and beyond.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that “we do not have an unlimited supply.”
“The Iranians do have the ability to make a lot of Shahed drones, ballistic missiles, medium range, short range and they’ve got a huge stockpile. So at some point … this becomes a math problem and how can we resupply air defense munitions. Where are they going to come from?” Kelly said.
“The math on this currently seems to be an issue,” he added.
Democrats believe the ongoing conflict raises the stakes that sooner rather than later, the administration will need to come to Congress to ask for supplemental funding.
Kelly suggested he could back one but warned Democrats will need to examine any request closely given concerns about an open-ended conflict.
Sen. Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, specifically asked about depleted US stockpiles during the briefing.
“He is not raising alarms himself but from what I am hearing from others, this is something we have to be very careful about,” Kim said of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine.
“This is obviously weakening Iran but this is also very much weakening and drawing down our readiness around the world,” he said. “It always takes us a long time to resupply and restock after these kinds of operations. I don’t have a sense of what the timeline is for us to get to rebuild this stock and this is what we should be hearing, These are kinds of the details that I think the Congress deserves to know.”
Israel begins "broad wave" of strikes in Iran
The Israeli military says it has launched what it described as a new “broad wave” of strikes against Iran.
It is targeting launch sites, aerial defense systems and other infrastructure.
The announcement comes after Iran carried out a new wave of attacks against Israel overnight.
Pentagon identifies four US soldiers killed in Iranian drone strike
The Pentagon has identified four of the six US service members who were killed in an Iranian drone strike on Sunday.
The soldiers are Capt. Cody Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20. All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve sustainment unit out of Iowa.
The two other soldiers who were killed in the strike on Sunday have not yet been identified.
CNN first reported that the suspected drone strike hit a temporary tactical operations center at the port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on Sunday. At the time of their deaths the soldiers were serving with 1st Theater Sustainment Command.
A source familiar with the situation described the operation center as a triple wide trailer with office space inside; the building was surrounded by concrete barriers that are typically used to protect military structures overseas from things like car bombs and improvised explosive devices. There was nothing overhead that could shield the building from drones or missiles.
There was no siren or warning ahead of the strike to give the troops time to take cover in a bunker, the source familiar said.
1st Theater Sustainment Command is a stand-alone group based out of Fort Knox, Kentucky, composed of troops from units around the country who are assigned to support roles overseas in nine-month rotations.
The command oversees the resupply and support of US forces around the Middle East, bringing in ammunition, water, fuel, food, repair parts and more. It also manages ports and flights, according to the command’s website.
Syria reinforces borders with Lebanon and Iraq to avoid conflict spillover
Syria has reinforced its borders with Iraq and Lebanon to avoid the conflict in the Middle East spilling over into its territory.
The Syrian army said it boosted deployments along the borders to “protect and secure” them.
“The deployed units belong to the Border Guard forces and reconnaissance battalions, tasked with monitoring border activity and combating smuggling,” the army said.
The Israeli military has been striking Hezbollah in Lebanon since Monday, after the Iran-back militant group sent a “swarm of drones” toward an Israeli military base in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes killing Iran’s supreme leader.
Iraq has also become involved in the conflict, with Iran striking its northern region of Kurdistan.
Multiple senators fear endless war after classified briefing on Iran
Senators emerged from a closed-door briefing with White House officials on Iran with vastly different expectations for just how long the conflict could drag on.
GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said the administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, presented a timeline for US involvement in the conflict to be wrapped up in three to five weeks — echoing some of the president’s own public comments.
But multiple other senators, including fellow GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, said they believed the White House did not communicate a possible end date.
“It sounded very open-ended to me,” Hawley said, a remark that offered a hint of hesitation from the anti-interventionist senator. He said he would be unlikely to support boots on the ground and will be closely monitoring what he called a “rapidly changing” operation.
“The military has accomplished a lot. So I think given the successes that they’ve had and the amount that they’ve accomplished, I would hope for a swift conclusion,” Hawley said.
Multiple Democrats were furious by what they saw as the White House’s refusal to outline a timeline for the conflict.
“I think I’m more convinced now that this is going to be open-ended and forever,” a fiery Sen. Chris Murphy told reporters.
Sen. Tim Kaine summed it up another way. Asked how long before the operation could end, he said: “Not quick.”
“A number of different objectives were discussed so but in terms of like, one clear objective, I think it’s still pretty murky,” Kaine said.
Rubio: Failing US-Iran negotiations, not impending Israeli action, led Trump to green-light strikes
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump made the decision to strike Iran when he determined negotiations were not going to work, backing away from his claim yesterday that the operation was “defensive” because Israel had planned to strike Iran.
“Once the president made a decision that negotiations were not going to work, that they were playing us on the negotiations, and that this was a threat that wasn’t tenable, the decision was made to strike,” Rubio told reporters Tuesday. “That’s what I said yesterday. And you guys need to play it.”
Rubio did not cite the perception of failing US-Iran nuclear negotiations during his remarks to reporters Monday.
Instead, he said that “ultimately this operation needed to happen.” But he also cited US knowledge of forthcoming Israeli action as a reason for the strikes, giving the impression that the US was being dragged into the strikes by Israel.
“The president made the very wise decision,” Rubio said Monday. “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed, and then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn’t act.”
Rubio claimed Tuesday that answer had more to do with the timing of the action than the intent of the strikes but steered clear of reiterating that Israel’s plans impacted the US decision.
Rubio’s defensive posture came before he briefed lawmakers on the US strikes on Iran, and just hours after Trump contradicted the secretary of state’s Monday remarks.
“It was my opinion that they were going to attack first,” Trump said of Iran in the Oval Office. “If anything I might have forced Israel’s hand.”
War with Iran a "failure of the international order," Canada's Carney says
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has cast the US and Israeli war with Iran as “another example of the failure of the international order” and criticized the two countries for not consulting with allies.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Carney emphasized that while Canada considered Iran’s nuclear program a “grave global threat,” it was also calling for a “rapid de-escalation of hostilities” and was “prepared to assist in achieving this goal.”
“And now the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the United Nations or consulting with allies, including Canada.”
“Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents. We condemn the strikes carried out by Iran on civilians and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East,” Carney continued. “We implore all parties, including the United States and Israel, to respect the rules of international engagement.”
The prime minister’s remarks chime with a high-profile speech he delivered at the World Economic Forum in January, when he warned that the global order was experiencing a “rupture” after decades of US hegemony.
CIA working to provide weapons to Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say
The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.
The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said.
Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been striking Kurdish groups and said on Tuesday that it targeted Kurdish forces with dozens of drones.
Also on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump spoke with the president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), Mustafa Hijri, according to a senior Iranian Kurdish official. KDPI was one of the groups targeted by the IRGC.
Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to take part in a ground operation in Western Iran, in the coming days, the senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN.
“We believe we have a big chance now,” the source said, explaining the timing of the operation. The source added the militias expects US and Israeli support.
Iranian officials meet to select a new Supreme Leader as war continues. Here's the latest
We’re learning more about Iran’s process of selecting a new Supreme Leader.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with choosing the country’s next Supreme Leader, has been meeting virtually, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.
Fars said the elected body of 88 senior clerics is in the “final stages” of selecting a new Supreme Leader — though it is unclear when exactly the new leader will be announced.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it had identified a new wave of missiles heading toward the country launched from Iran.
For those catching up, here are the latest headlines:
- The grounds of the US consulate in Dubai were struck by a suspected Iranian drone, a source said. Secretary of State Marco confirmed the drone hit and said all personnel were accounted for as many had left before the conflict began.
- The Israeli military said it struck a “covert” underground compound that it claimed Iranian scientists were using to develop “necessary capabilities” for nuclear weapons.
- Israel’s military also claimed it killed a commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in charge of foreign operations, in a strike on Tehran.
- France is deploying its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort frigates to the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron announced.
- The Trump administration said it is working to secure military aircraft and charter flights to assist the many US citizens trapped in the Middle East. More than 1,500 Americans have requested assistance from the State Department to leave, Rubio said.
- Separately, the United Arab Emirates said it opened safe air corridors with its neighbors to facilitate the return of its citizens and help visitors leave the country.
- The US military has hit an additional roughly 700 targets in Iran since Sunday and has introduced new bombers and fighter aircraft to the operation, according to US Central Command.
- President Donald Trump said he has ordered the United States International Development Finance Corporation to provide “insurance and guarantees” for ships traveling through the Persian Gulf.
CNN’s Dana Karni, Hira Humayun, Haley Britzky, Michael Rios, Jennifer Hansler, Samantha Waldenberg, Chris Isidore, David Goldman, Pierre Bairin and Jonny Hallam contributed to this report.
Israel to gradually reopen its airspace to incoming flights on Wednesday
Israel will gradually reopen its airspace to incoming flights, Transport Minister Miri Regev said today.
Starting Wednesday night into Thursday local time, airspace would reopen to safely bring Israelis back to the country, subject to security developments, Israeli authorities said.
Israel closed its airspace on Saturday morning after the country carried out strikes on Iran.
During the first 24 hours of the gradual reopening, only one flight per hour, a single narrow-body aircraft, will be allowed to land at Israel’s main airport Ben Gurion (TLV), said Sharon Kedmi, Director General of the Israel Airports Authority.
If operations go smoothly, two narrow-body aircraft or one wide-body aircraft will be allowed per hour.
“If everything proceeds as planned, within a week to ten days it will be possible to bring all Israelis back to the country,” Kedmi said.
Ramon Airport and Haifa Airport will remain closed for now.
UN warns of "daunting" humanitarian fallout from war with Iran
The UN’s humanitarian chief has warned of an “increasingly daunting” fallout from the war with Iran.
While civilians are suffering as strikes hit homes, hospitals and schools across the region, the incessant violence is limiting the UN’s ability to respond, Tom Fletcher said in a statement.
Airspace closures have meant personnel cannot rotate in and out, Fletcher said, and while he has activated contingency plans, “the limited presence of international NGOs and operational space in Iran makes the challenge there greater.”
“If energy routes or maritime corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz continue to be disrupted, food prices will soar, health systems will be squeezed, and basic supplies will tighten in countries that rely on imports,” Fletcher said.
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow channel off Iran’s coast where nearly 20% of global oil consumption flows. Iran is vowing to attack any ship trying to pass through the passageway and oil prices have surged as the war has all but stopped the flow of oil through the channel.
In Lebanon, where the Israeli military said it has been targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the UN said Israeli strikes have killed dozens and caused large-scale displacement. More than 60,000 people are sheltered in 330 sites amid Israeli evacuation warnings for more than 100 towns and villages, the UN says.
House Democratic leader says his caucus will discuss war powers in meeting
House Democrats will discuss the upcoming vote on President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers in tomorrow’s caucus meeting, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
It’s unclear whether the resolution can get across the line in the House.
Jeffries criticized the administration, saying there was no “imminent” threat based on the briefings he has attended.
“Having been briefed now, not once, but twice. There is no evidence that has been presented to us that the United States was under threat of imminent attack from Iran. Zero evidence of that,” he said.
Jeffries called the action illegal as Congress did not authorize the attack.
“The Constitution of the United States is not a mere inconvenience,” he said.
Israel detects new wave of incoming missiles from Iran
Israel’s military says it has identified a new wave of missiles heading toward the country launched from Iran.
It said its defense systems are working to intercept them.
The public has been instructed to take shelter until further notice.
Rubio says the US is identifying ways to help Americans leave the Middle East
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department is actively working on efforts to assist Americans who want to leave the Middle East.
“We have identified and continue to identify charter flights, military flight options and expanded commercial flight options, meaning working with the airlines to send bigger airplanes with more seats,” Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill today.
Rubio said that in “a couple instances” planes were on their way to the region before the airspace was closed and they had to turn around.
More than 1,500 Americans have requested assistance from the State Department to depart the Middle East, Rubio said.
“We know that we’re going to be able to help them. It’s going to take a little time, because we don’t control the airspace,” he said.
Rubio asked Americans to register with the State Department so they can get updated information about evacuation opportunities.
“We need to know where you are. … They have to register with us, because as these options begin to open up … we have to be able to call you, we have to be able to reach you,” Rubio said.
Americans should register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at
step.state.gov.
The secretary of state’s comments come a day after the State Department’s top official for consular affairs called on US citizens to depart “using available commercial travel” from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Only a limited number of commercial flights are operating in the region.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the attacks against Iran will intensify in the coming hours and days.
Israel calls on Lebanese government to restrain Hezbollah, warning of "further escalation"
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations has called on Lebanon to “act now to prevent further escalation” in the country by restraining the Iranian-back militant group Hezbollah. His comments at the UN come as Israel has been carrying out near round-the-clock strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as it widened its campaign following its large-scale attacks on Iran.
“We expect the Lebanese Government to restrain Hezbollah. Take control, act now to prevent further escalation,” Ambassador Danny Danon said Tuesday in a news conference, arguing that the militant group has violated a UN resolution to disarm.
Danon also appeared to call on Iranian people to rise up against their government, echoing statements made by US officials, including US President Trump.
“I can tell you that there are a lot of brave people in Iran that live there. They deserve a better future. They were oppressed for generations, and now they have a chance. They have a chance, and should grab this chance,” Danon said.
What Lebanon has said: Salam said his government “will take all necessary measures to stop those responsible and protect the Lebanese people,” and already banned Hezbollah’s military activities.
