Here's the latest
• Strikes target leadership: US President Donald Trump said most of Iran’s military installations have been “knocked out” and that new strikes 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.
• Embassies impacted: All personnel are accounted for after a drone hit the grounds of the US consulate in Dubai. The US has closed embassies in three countries and warned Americans to leave the region.
• Oil trade rocked: Trump ordered US “insurance and guarantees” for ships traveling through the Gulf and suggested the navy would escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “if necessary.” The price of gasoline in the US had its largest one-day increase since 2005 as the war threatens the global economy.
• Iran death toll: More than 1,000 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Israeli military says it intercepted rockets launched from Lebanon
The Israeli military said it detected several rockets crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory early Wednesday local time and intercepted most of them.
Sirens had sounded in northern Israel ahead of the fire, the military said.
“The majority of the projectiles were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, and an additional projectile fell in the area. No injuries were reported,” the military added.
Why China may benefit from Trump's call to safeguard Strait of Hormuz
As the conflict with Iran widens, global shipping costs are surging.
Supertanker costs in the Middle East have reached record highs, prompting both the US and China to call for the safeguarding of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait is the narrow channel off the coast of Iran that carries 20% of global oil consumption as well as massive quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Iran has vowed to attack any ship that tries to pass through the strait. Vessels in the area have also been hit by strikes.
Shipping through the strait has almost completely stopped. Ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform reveals a virtually empty Strait of Hormuz.
Fears of a prolonged closure have caused oil and natural gas prices to jump, and world powers want to stabilize the markets.
On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said: “China urges all parties to stop the military operations at once, avoid further escalation, keep the shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz safe, and prevent further impact on the global economy.”
US President Donald Trump went further, offering shipping insurance and guarantees. On Truth Social, he declared: “No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.”
Trump also said the US Navy would escort oil tankers in the Gulf.
The details are unclear, but China may have the most to gain. China is the world’s largest importer of crude and the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
It’s a point not lost on Trump’s political foes. On his X account, Democratic lawmaker Joaquin Castro points out: “This certainly looks like the United States will be subsidizing and protecting oil shipments to China.”
And it’s not just China. Asia sources a whopping 60% of its oil from the Middle East.
China and Japan are also the world’s largest importers of LNG.
Israel's military orders further evacuations in southern Lebanon
Israel’s military has published a new evacuation order for more than a dozen Lebanese villages and towns, warning strikes were imminent.
The latest list named 16 places mostly in southern Lebanon, where the military is targeting Hezbollah positions, and told residents to stay at least 1,000 meters away.
“Preserve your safety and that of your loved ones: evacuate immediately and do not return to the villages and towns at this stage,” the Israel Defense Forces said in the warning.
Israeli air defenses working to intercept Iranian missiles, IDF says
Iran has launched missiles towards Israel, where air defenses are “operating to intercept the threat,” the Israel Defense Forces said early Wednesday morning local time.
Israel’s Home Front Command has sent “a precautionary directive” directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas, it added.
Sirens were reported to have sounded around the same time in southern Israel.
50 killed in Lebanon as Israeli attacks continue, health ministry says
At least 50 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the past two days, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
At least 335 people have been wounded in that time, the ministry added in a statement.
Israeli bombardments in Lebanon continued Wednesday morning. An airstrike in Aramoun, south of the capital Beirut, killed at least six people and wounded eight in the early hours, the ministry reported.
Saudi intercepts and destroys nine drones, state media says
Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed nine drones that entered its airspace, state media reporrted early Wednesday local time.
The report from the Saudi Press Agency, which was attributed to the defense ministry spokesman, said the drones were destroyed “immediately” upon entering the kingdom’s airspace.
It did not say whether any casualties or damage to infrastructure had resulted.
Thailand tells residents not to panic buy gas amid long lines of vehicles at petrol stations
The ripple effects of the US-Israeli war with Iran are being felt across the world including in Thailand where authorities are urging its government offices to reduce energy consumption and urging residents not to indulge in panic buying and hoarding fuel.
Long snaking lines of vehicles were seen at gas stations on Tuesday amid worries that the widening conflict in the Middle East will disrupt shipping lines and further increase prices.
“Requesting public cooperation to refrain from hoarding fuel; confirming that supplies are sufficient to meet demand,” the Southeast Asian nation’s energy ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Thai minister of defense said: “Reduce the frequency of vehicle use for transportation or official missions by organizing shared trips (carpooling) or utilizing smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.”
Authorities are also encouraging government office employees to consider working from home to “reduce overall national fuel and energy consumption,” the statement said.
Long lines of cars were seen at gas stations on Tuesday in Bangkok, with the government encouraging residents to avoid panic buying and hoarding fuel.
WHO chief says 3 paramedics killed in Lebanon, warns conflict "increasingly impacting health services"
Three paramedics were killed in Lebanon Tuesday, the head of the World Health Organization said, adding that the widening conflict in the Middle East is “increasingly impacting health services throughout the region.”
“I am saddened by the developments in Lebanon today where three paramedics were killed and another six injured while recovering people injured by explosions in the southern Tyre district,” WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.
“The risk that more health workers will count among the casualties is high,” Tedros said, adding that paramedics, doctors and nurses must be allowed to carry out their “life-saving work.”
Girl killed in Kuwait after air defenses intercept "hostile aerial targets," state media reports
Kuwait intercepted “several hostile aerial targets” early Wednesday morning, with debris landing on a home and causing injuries, according to state-run Kuwait News Agency, citing the country’s defense ministry.
The aerial targets were “detected and intercepted within Kuwaiti airspace early this morning,” and destroyed, according to the news agency. Debris then fell on a residential building, causing injuries and property damage.
In a later post, the news agency cited the country’s health ministry as saying an 11-year-old girl had “died from injuries sustained when shrapnel fell on a residential area,” and that four of her family members were undergoing “medical evaluation.”
Kuwait has fended off hundreds of drones and missiles since the latest conflict began, with strikes targeting energy infrastructure and the US embasst. Three US F-15 fighter jets were accidentally shot down on Monday by Kuwaiti air defenses, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
CNN's Erin Burnett takes shelter as sirens sound in Tel Aviv
Air raid sirens were heard in Tel Aviv as Israel launched interceptors against incoming missiles. CNN’s Erin Burnett was forced to take cover.
Air raid sirens were heard in Tel Aviv as Israel launched interceptors against incoming missiles. Watch as CNN's Erin Burnett takes cover.
Just two oil and chemical tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday
The war in Iran has caused maritime traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz to crawl to a near halt. Just two oil and chemical tankers transited through the waterway on Monday, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data shared with CNN.
That’s down from five oil and chemical vessels that went through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, following the start of the war on Saturday.
Normally, about 60 oil and chemical vessels flow through the Strait of Hormuz, carrying about a fifth of the oil the world consumes each day.
Iranian forces have threatened to attack ships near the Strait of Hormuz and insurers have canceled war coverage for vessels in the waters near Iran.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has helped send world oil prices skyrocketing this week and analysts warn of further spikes if traffic does not resume soon.
Beyond oil and chemical vessels, S&P said seven other vessels went through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. That’s down from 20 on Sunday and about 75 on a normal day.
Israeli paramedics race to scene of Iranian strike
From an underground command center, Israel’s emergency medical services are prepared to respond to Iranian ballistic missile attacks. CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reports.
From an underground command center, Israel’s emergency medical services are prepared to respond to Iranian ballistic missile attacks. CNN’s Jeremy Diamond visited the Magen David Adom dispatch center as Iran fired more missiles at Israel.
CIA station in Saudi Arabia damaged in Monday’s suspected Iranian drone strike
The CIA station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was also hit in Monday’s suspected Iranian drone strike on the US Embassy there, according to a source familiar with the matter.
There were no casualties, though there was significant damage to the building, which is in the same complex as the embassy, the source said.
The Washington Post first reported that the station was impacted in the strike. The CIA declined to comment on the matter.
CNN previously reported that two suspected Iranian drones had struck the embassy, which the Saudi defense minister said caused “limited fire and minor material damages.” No injuries were initially reported, a source familiar with the matter told CNN at the time.
An additional two suspected Iranian drones struck “at or near” the embassy, another source familiar with the matter said Monday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later said it had begun efforts to destroy “American political centers” in the region.
“The explosion at the Washington embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is a move in this direction,” the IRGC posted on Telegram.
Jeffries says Trump administration gave "no explanation" for Iran war
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said top Trump administration officials offered “no explanation” for their strategy in Iran and indicated that the war could drag on for weeks.
He told reporters that officials in the administration indicated the US military action could go on in Iran for “several weeks” and didn’t rule out putting American troops on the ground.
“Well, the president has indicated that he hasn’t ruled that out unfortunately, the American people would strongly oppose it,” he said.
Jeffries sidestepped a question about if he’d back a request from the administration for supplemental defense funding, saying, “right now, what’s in front of us is the resolution to reassert congressional authority because of the failure of the administration to seek support from Congress for this endless war.”
Pressed by CNN on the argument by some Republicans that then-President Obama authorized US military intervention in Libya without the approval of Congress, Jeffries asked, “why are the Republicans always obsessed with trying to look back at prior Democratic administrations?”
He noted he was not in Congress at the time and told Raju “you should talk to them” when asked about the Democratic lawmakers who had qualms about Obama’s actions.
China's military says there are "five lessons" to learn from US-Israel strikes on Iran
The United States-Israeli strikes against Iran provide “five lessons”, the Chinese military said via a post on X Tueday.
In a simple and straightforward graphic, it laid out them out:
- 1. Deadliest Threat: The enemy within
- 2. Costliest Miscalculation: Blind faith in peace
- 3. Coldest Reality: The logic of superior firepower
- 4. Cruelest Paradox: The illusion of victory
- 5. Ultimate reliance: Self-reliance
The account by the Chinese military has been criticizing the US since the military operations over the weekend, using cartoons and videos. In one published just hours after the post about the “five lessons”, it portrayed a military man carrying a machete and chains with a broken United Nations emblem on the ground and children dying in the background. It came with this caption: “Destroyer of peace.”
More than 1,000 civilians killed in Iran since war began, rights group reports
More than 1,000 people, including children, have been killed in Iran since the war began on Saturday, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The rights group said as of Tuesday afternoon ET, at least 1,097 civilians had been killed, including 181 children.
More than 5,400 civilians, including 100 children, have been injured, HRANA reported.
The group said its report is preliminary and is verifying hundreds more reported deaths.
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.”
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.”
Ship struck by projectile off UAE, maritime authorities say
A ship was struck by an “unknown projectile” off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said.
The strike damaged the vessel’s steel plating but did not cause a fire or water intake, UKMTO said. All crew members were reported safe.
It’s the latest ship to be struck in or around the Persian Gulf since Saturday. Officials are urging ships operating in the region to exercise extreme caution and report any suspicious activity.
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.
