US Iran War News LIVE: Pete Hegseth says operation had ‘clear, decisive mission’ to ‘destroy missile threat’ from Tehran

US President Donald Trump mentioned Iran operations are expected to last 4 to 5 weeks but that he’s prepared “to go far longer than that.” Trump spoke Monday at a White House ceremony.

On Monday, President Donald Trump indicated that sending US forces into Iran remains a possibility, while warning of a new, “big wave” of attacks, as per AFP.

The 79-year-old Republican, who has historically opposed prolonged US military involvement in the Middle East, initiated a large-scale offensive against Iran starting Saturday.

Although the campaign has so far relied solely on missile and aerial strikes, Trump did not dismiss the prospect of deploying ground troops, a move widely seen as carrying significantly higher risks of casualties.

"I don't have the yips with respect to boots on the ground -- like every president says, 'There will be no boots on the ground.' I don't say it," Trump told the New York Post in one of many brief interviews he has given since beginning the Iran operation.

"I say 'probably don't need them,' [or] 'if they were necessary,'" he mentioned.

Lebanese civilians escaped from the south of Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, heading to schools turned into temporary shelters in the capital as fighting intensified between Israel and the Iran‑aligned militant group Hezbollah, with many seeking safety from heavy strikes.

Lebanon has approved an “immediate ban” on the military and security operations of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced Monday, marking an unprecedented step as Israel responded to rocket attacks, reported AFP.

Hezbollah, which holds seats in both the government and parliament, made the announcement hours after saying it had fired rockets and drones toward Israel early Monday in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, during US-Israeli strikes on Saturday.

Indian carriers scrapped more than 300 international services on Monday as disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict stretched into a third consecutive day.

Officials told PTI that upwards of 300 flights, including both arrivals and departures, were called off at the country’s four major airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Several airspaces across the Middle East remained shut as tensions intensified involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

Worldwide flight disruptions worsened on Monday as the United States and Israel continued strikes on Iran, which retaliated with attacks across the Middle East. The escalating violence forced airport closures and left passengers stranded, including those in distant locations who had planned to connect through the region, reported PTI.

After the conflict erupted on Saturday, governments moved quickly to assist citizens trying to return home as travel arrangements were thrown into disarray.

Holidaymakers, corporate travellers and religious pilgrims were left unexpectedly confined to hotels, airports and cruise ships, with little clarity on when many airports might reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would restart.

PM Modi on Monday held talks with Mark Carney on the escalating military situation in Iran and the Gulf following the joint US-Israeli strike on February 28, known as “Operation Roaring Lion", which led to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, reported ANI.

At a briefing by India’s Ministry of External Affairs during Carney’s official visit, Secretary (East) P. Kumaran said Modi stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to address the root causes of the crisis, while underscoring that civilians should not be targeted.

Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that meeting US military objectives in Iran would take time and that additional American casualties are anticipated, as US and Israel strikes entered their third consecutive day, reported Reuters.

The joint air campaign broadened on Monday with no clear conclusion in sight. The US military also said that Kuwait’s air defenses had accidentally brought down three American F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian assault. "This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work," Caine told reporters.

PM Modi took to X and said he had a productive phone call with Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, during which he conveyed that India condemns the attacks on Bahrain and stands in solidarity with its people during this challenging time. He also expressed appreciation for the continued support provided to the Indian community in Bahrain.

Pete Hegseth on Monday addressed growing worries that the US-Israeli strikes in Iran could expand into a prolonged regional war, stating, “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.”

Hegseth, joined by Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the Donald Trump administration’s first formal news briefing since Saturday’s strikes. While Trump has given a handful of phone interviews to individual journalists, he has not answered questions on camera and has released only two videos since the operation began, as per AP.

Hegseth said the operation had a “clear, devastating, decisive mission” to “destroy the missile threat” from Iran, destroy its navy and “no nukes.”

“This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it,” Hegseth mentioned.

Global markets fell while the US dollar strengthened as escalating military action across the Middle East drove oil prices to their largest jump in four years, fueling fears that accelerating inflation could pressure the world economy, according to Bloomberg.

Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 1.1%, and major indexes in Asia and Europe recorded comparable losses. Brent crude climbed 9% to near $80 a barrel after the conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage off Iran’s coast through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies move. In Europe, liquefied natural gas prices soared 50% after Qatar suspended production at the world’s largest export facility.

The United States Embassy in Baghdad said Monday that it had instructed American citizens and mission staff to shelter in place, citing threats from Iran-backed groups, according to AFP.

"The U.S. Mission in Iraq advises U.S. citizens to exercise increased caution, maintain a low profile, and shelter in place until further notice," the embassy said, noting that all personnel had been ordered to follow the same guidance.

The embassy also cautioned that "Iran-aligned terrorist militias continue to pose a significant threat to public safety".

Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s primary international airport near Tel Aviv, announced on its WhatsApp channel that it aims to reopen as early as Monday evening in an “extremely limited format” after the conflict with Iran led to the closure of Israeli airspace.

The airport added that from Tuesday onward, “flight operations will gradually expand depending on the security situation,” though only Israeli airlines are currently expected to restart services.

China’s foreign minister has voiced support for Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity amid ongoing tensions, as per Reuters.

Since the United States and Israel carried out weekend strikes on Iran, 15 US aircraft have departed from the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain, according to flight maps published Monday by Flightradar24, reported Reuters.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain would not permit its military bases, jointly operated with the US but under Spanish sovereignty, to be used for attacks against Iran, actions that Madrid has condemned.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has ignited discussion on X after asserting that Dubai is “statistically safer” than Europe, despite the city facing missile and drone attacks from Iran. In his post, Durov said he hopes to return to the United Arab Emirates after leaving for Europe a week earlier. He maintained that, because of crime levels in Europe, Dubai remains the safer option “even with missiles flying.”

On the third day of Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region, two Iranian drones struck a site in Ras Laffan Industrial City, the onshore gas processing hub of QatarEnergy, as well as a separate power plant, according to Qatar’s defence ministry, reported AFP.

One drone “targeted an energy facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City, belonging to QatarEnergy”, the ministry said in a statement, referring to the complex located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Doha.

The number of people killed in Pakistan following violent weekend protests over the death of Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes has climbed to at least 25, according to an AFP count released Monday.

The unrest, sparked by anger over Khamenei’s killing, broke out in several major cities across Pakistan, including Karachi. There, hundreds of demonstrators tried to breach American diplomatic premises and clashed with police, an AFP reporter witnessed.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday claimed their missile attacks have targeted the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the headquarters of the Israeli air force commander.

"The office of the criminal prime minister of the Zionist regime and the headquarters of the regime's air force commander were targeted," the Guards said in a statement carried by Fars news agency.

Debris from an intercepted Iranian drone triggered a “limited fire” at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura Refinery in Saudi Arabia, according to defense ministry spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki, as cited by Al Arabiya.

The complex is one of the largest oil export hubs globally and plays a vital role in the movement of crude supplies worldwide.

A Royal Air Force base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian one-way attack drone amid ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Tehran over the weekend, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides confirmed on Monday, as per PTI.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence said RAF Akrotiri suffered “minimal damage” late Sunday around midnight local time, adding that no casualties were reported.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday appealed for swift de-escalation to keep the US-Israeli confrontation with Iran from “spreading” throughout the Middle East, as per AFP.

Ursula criticised “reckless and indiscriminate attacks by Iran and its proxies against sovereign territories across the region,” after strikes targeted a British air base in Cyprus and a Saudi oil installation.

“We must work hard to de-escalate and stop the conflict spreading,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels, cautioning that “the stability of the region is of the utmost importance.”

A string of loud blasts was heard over Jerusalem on Monday, according to AFP journalists, after the Israel Defense Forces said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran toward its territory, with air-defence systems working to intercept the threat.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," AFP quoted the military as saying.

Iranian missiles aimed at an air base close to Riyadh were shot down on Monday, a Gulf source familiar with the situation told AFP, as Iran launched extensive barrages across the region.

"Iranian missiles targeting Prince Sultan Air Base were intercepted again on Monday morning," the source said.

Two witnesses also told AFP they heard blasts over Al-Kharj, southeast of Riyadh, on Monday.

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said Monday that certain activities at the vast Ras Tanura Refinery on the Gulf coast were temporarily stopped after an attack sparked a fire at the facility. "Some operational units at the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure, without any impact on the supply of petroleum products to local markets," an official source at the ministry said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency, reported AP.

Iran's ambassador to the UN nuclear agency claimed that US-Israeli airstrikes targeted the Natanz enrichment facility, as per AP.

On Monday, as the conflict with Iran entered its third day, several US fighter jets went down in the Persian Gulf area; all of the aircrew survived, said the Kuwaiti government, as per Bloomberg.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence posted on X that multiple American aircraft had crashed and that the crews are in stable condition, adding that it is working with the United States on an investigation to establish what caused the incidents.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the agency’s Board of Governors on Monday that there is no sign that strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran have affected any nuclear sites, but the agency has been unable to make contact with Iran’s nuclear officials, according to Reuters.

"We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations ... have been damaged or hit," he mentioned in a statement to the 35-nation board, adding: "Efforts to contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities ... continue, with no response so far."

The US Department of State mentioned, “Following the launch of US combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest US embassy or consulate.” It added, “The Department of State advises Americans worldwide to exercise increased caution.”

The US-Israeli airstrike campaign has killed 555 people so far in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, reported AP.

Several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning but their crew survived, Kuwait's defence ministry said, as per news agency AFP.

"Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived," a defence ministry spokesman was quoted as saying in a statement, adding that the cause was under investigation.

"Authorities immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. He noted that their condition is stable," the statement added.

"The most urgent task is an immediate cessation of military operations and preventing a spread and spillover of conflict," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference, urging "a resolution through dialogue and negotiation".

In its statement, Iran's IRGC issued an update on what the Iranians have dubbed Operation True Promise. According to the statement, "The tenth wave opened massive gates of fire upon the occupied territories with a maneuver of Khaibar missiles."

Saudi Arabia's Aramco, the state oil giant, shut down its Ras Tanura oil refinery on Monday following drone strikes in the facility, Reuters and Bloomberg report.

The reports of the closure sent Brent crude oil prices skyrocketing by 9.32%.

According to the Reuters report quoting an official, the Ras Tanura refinery of Aramco was shut as a precautionary measure. The situation was under control, the official said.

Ali Larijani said, “Trump's wishful thinking has dragged the whole region into an unnecessarily war and now he is rightly worried about more American casualties. It is indeed very sad that he is sacrificing American treasure and blood to advance Netanyahu's illegitimate expansionist ambitions.”

"I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well I got him first," President Donald Trump said regarding the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, apparently referring to a 2024 Iran-linked plot to assassinate him.

The Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Bridge in Bahrain is closed in both directions. “Motorists are requested to follow traffic instructions for everyone's safety,” the Ministry of Interior said.

China's foreign ministry said on Monday that one Chinese national was killed in Tehran. It said over 3000 Chinese nationals have evacuated from Iran, and said that China is willing to work with the international community to resolve issues through talks

Due to multiple regional airspace closures, Emirates has temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai, up until 1500hrs UAE time on Tuesday, 3 March.

“Iran has always been open to diplomacy. And I think we have a very good record of that. Contrary to Americans, their record is very bad and very negative,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said following US and Israeli air strikes

Qatar Airways flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace, the airline said on Monday.

Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace. A further update will be provided on March 03 by 09:00 Doha time (06:00 UTC). Passengers are advised to monitor the latest flight information via http://qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported “strong explosions” in the capital of the Kurdistan autonomous region of Iraq.

It was reported that Iraqi air defences are also confronting missiles and drones that tried to target the Erbil International Airport.

The US embassy in Kuwait said, “There is a continuing threat of missile and UAV attacks over Kuwait. Do not come to the Embassy. Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait urges U.S. citizens in Kuwait 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. Embassy personnel are sheltering in place.”

Actions to take:

- If you hear a loud explosion, or if sirens are activated, immediately seek cover.

- If in a home or building, go to the lowest level of the structure with the fewest exterior walls, windows, and openings; close any doors and sit near an interior wall, away from any windows or openings.

- If you are outdoors, immediately seek cover in a hardened structure; if that is not possible, lie down and cover your head with your hands.

- Be aware that even if the incoming missile or drone is intercepted, falling debris represents a significant risk.

- After the attack, stay away from any debris, and monitor major news outlets for official guidance.

The US Department of State advises all Americans worldwide to exercise increased caution due to potential security risks. “Stay informed by monitoring local news for updates, avoid areas of active conflict, and use extra care when near military or security forces,” the embassy said.

All US. citizens whether in the United States or abroad were “encouraged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at https://step.state.gov to receive the latest security alerts. You can also follow the “U.S. Department of State - Security Updates for U.S. Citizens” channel on WhatsApp for timely notifications.”

Iran’s top national security official has ruled out renewed negotiations with Washington, sharply escalating rhetoric as military confrontation between Iran, the United States and Israel widens across the Middle East. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on Monday, dismissed reports of backchannel diplomacy and accused US President Donald Trump of driving regional instability through what he described as “delusional actions”.

Iran state media reported, while sharing a puproted video, that US F-15 fighter jet downed in Kuwait. “According to local sources, a US F-15 fighter jet was shot down in the skies above Kuwait earlier on Monday morning,” it reported.

At around 10:30 am (IST), the IDF said that a short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel.

The IDF said, “Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat. In the last few minutes, the Home Front Command issued a preliminary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas.”

“The public is requested to exercise responsibility and act in accordance with the guidelines - they save lives. One must enter protected spaces upon receiving the alert and remain in them until a new announcement. Exit from the protected space will be permitted only after receiving an explicit directive; continue to act in accordance with the Home Front Command's guidelines,” it added.

US President Donald Trump told CNBC on Sunday that US military operations against Iran are "ahead of schedule."