Live updates: Israel hits Beirut and Tehran as Trump warns Iran of escalated strikes | CNN

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. Iran, meanwhile, is continuing to strike US allies in the Middle East.

*• Americans warned: *The US State Department ordered the mandatory departure of non-emergency personnel in six Middle Eastern countries, after urging Americans to leave the region immediately. President Donald Trump told CNN “the biggest surprise” of the war has been Iran’s attacks against Arab countries in the region.

*• Trump on Iran: *Trump told CNN the “big wave” of the US attack on Iran is yet to come. He also laid out his war objectives, saying he wanted to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilate its navy, end its nuclear ambitions and stop it arming militant groups. But his administration has been shifting the goalposts and contradicting itself since the start of the operation.

Tehran residents describe life under bombardment to CNN

Residents of Iran’s capital tell CNN of how they are hunkering down through bombardments from US and Israeli strikes.

“Every moment I’m expecting to hear a sound of explosion. I don’t know where a new location will be hit,” Abas Aslani, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, told CNN’s Elex Michaelson.

Another Tehran resident described enduring a “heavy bombardment” on Monday night.

“It felt like an onslaught,” said the 36-year-old man, who CNN is not naming.

“Then it stopped and but just a little bit ago we heared explosions but that seems to have stopped as well. They are hitting everywhere, it’s much more intense this time around,” they said, referring to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran last year.

People are also worried about what is to come after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, said Aslani.

“Everybody is asking a question: What could be the future direction?” he said, adding that many fear Iran could plunge into the kind of** **civil conflict seen in places like Syria and Libya in the past.

“This instability is not welcome by the majority of the people even if they might be angry with the economic conditions or with the government,” Aslani said.

He added people will “not be willing to see a foreign intervention,” saying that “foreign aggression creates a rally around the flag.”

“So the assumption that Iran is that weak is not correct. And even the assumption that maybe the US is that strong might not be correct as well, so this has created a miscalculation that we’re seeing this escalation,” he said.

Why Iran's targeting of the Strait of Hormuz could antagonize China

Iran is threatening to attack any ships that attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, potentially disrupting global energy trade. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports.

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One of the world’s most important shipping lanes could be cut off.

Iran is vowing to attack any ship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

It’s also targeting energy sites across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery, a liquified natural gas facility in Qatar, and a major oil refinery in Kuwait.

All this is raising energy prices, sending the price of oil and liquified natural gas higher.

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow channel off Iran’s coast. This is where nearly 20% of global oil consumption flows.

On Monday, a senior official with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the strait is closed and if anyone tries to pass, Iran will, quote, “set those ships ablaze.”

Choking it off could antagonize China. China is the world’s largest importer of crude and the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.

At a regular press briefing on Tuesday a spokesperson for Beijing’s foreign ministry said: “China urges all parties to immediately cease military operations, prevent further escalation of tensions, safeguard the security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and avoid causing greater impact on the global economy.”

US orders departure of non-emergency government personnel in 6 countries across the region

The US State Department on Monday ordered the mandatory departure of non-emergency US government personnel and their family members in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns.

The State Department noted personnel in Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE face an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran, as well as significant disruptions to commercial flights. The department also warns of a risk of terrorist attacks in Jordan, Bahrain and the UAE, and it notes high risks of violence and kidnapping in Iraq.

The mandatory departure of non-emergency personnel from the six embassies is the first since the US and Israel launched military operations against Iran. They speak to the heightened level of security risks throughout the region as Iran retaliates – with a specific focus on US military and diplomatic facilities.

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia was struck with two suspected Iranian drones overnight Tuesday, and an** **additional two hit “at or near” the Riyadh compound. The US Embassy in Kuwait was also hit. Multiple US embassies throughout the region have issued shelter in place orders for personnel in the days since the war began – and have urged US citizens to do the same.

The ordered departures do not mean that the embassies are shuttering, although the US Embassy in Kuwait announced Tuesday it is closing until further notice.

The other embassies will leave only a group of key staff in place in each of the diplomatic compounds as the State Department urges US citizens throughout the Middle East to “depart now” via commercial means. It is unlikely that the majority will be able to depart quickly, as many airlines have suspended their flights in the region. The US government has not begun evacuation flights for American citizens.

Iran's foreign ministry accuses US and Israel of war crimes

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has accused the United States and Israel of war crimes, claiming civilian infrastructure had been deliberately targeted.

Iran has said more than 160 students were killed at a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab on the first day of the war. It also said a hospital in Tehran had been struck. The attacks “comes despite the aggressors’ claims of possessing the most advanced military hardware and precision-targeting systems,” ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on X.

The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said Monday they were working to verify the incident at Tehran’s Gandhi Hospital.

On the school strike, US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins said “we are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.”

Why Iran's targeting of civilian infrastructure was so surprising

Since beginning its strikes across the Gulf, Iran has strayed from targeting solely military site and launched attacks on civilian infrastructure.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilian infrastructure includes anything that isn’t a military target. Attacks on those places when they are not being used for military purposes is considered a breach of International Humanitarian Law.

But since Iran unleashed its retaliation against US and Israeli attacks on its regional neighbors, urban centers, energy infrastructure, airports and hotels across the gulf’s Arab states have been targeted.

In Bahrain, a high-rise residential building was hit by a drone on Saturday. In Dubai, the International Airport was damaged in a strike early Sunday. In Qatar, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN on Monday that civilian infrastructure was being targeted, urging residents to heed local advice and stay home.

These hits on civilian infrastructure shatter the Gulf’s reputation for safety and shocked many, with the region and its aviation hubs usually considered a safe and attractive destination for many tourists and expats. Even US President Donald Trump said Monday that the counterattacks on Gulf countries were “probably the biggest surprise” of the war so far.

"You’re not going to have an endless war," Netanyahu says

Speaking in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism that the latest conflict would spiral into an “endless war” in the Middle East, claiming instead that it would lead to peace and democracy in Iran.

Speaking in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism that the latest conflict would spiral into an “endless war” in the Middle East, claiming instead that it would lead to peace and democracy in Iran.

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Peaceful protests across the US denounce military operation against Iran

Across the United States, thousands of people gathered peacefully to denounce and protest the US-Israeli military operation in Iran throughout Monday.

Bostonians took to the streets amid low temperatures: One protester, speaking to the crowd, expressed his opposition for “these endless, stupid, immoral, dangerous wars,” according to CNN affiliate WCVB.

In New York City, a crowd of demonstrators gathered in Manhattan for a short rally before peacefully marching through the city streets while chanting “hands off Iran now” while holding banners and posters.

Elsewhere in the city, a smaller group struck a different tone. In Times Square, several dozen Iranian Americans gathered to welcome the killing of Iran’s supreme leader and to call for regime change.

“No one is ever happy their homeland is under attack,” Tina Rahvar, an Iranian American demonstrator, told CNN affiliate WABC. “When an entire country of people is begging to be bombed, you know that there’s something wrong.”

On the West Coast, demonstrators in Los Angeles rallied against the strikes, chanting “No war on Iran” and demanding an end to US military involvement.

Similar protests unfolded in Chicago, Portland, Oregon and Madison, Wisconsin.

The ANSWER Coalition, an organization against war and occupation, announced over the weekend on social media platforms Monday would be a national day of protest to “Stop the War in Iran.” Its website listed a number of demonstrations scheduled across the country for Monday.

Israel's military seizes more positions in southern Lebanon, vows not to evacuate villages near border

Israel has seized more positions in southern Lebanon, the country’s military said on Tuesday morning, as it vowed not to be forced to evacuate villages near the volatile border again.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has held five positions in southern Lebanon for months now, using them as a means of observing the border area between the two countries. Now, as Israel intsensifies its strikes against what it sees as Hezbollah targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon, the IDF has occupied more positions, calling it an “enhanced forward defense posture.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “authorized the IDF to advance and take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon in order to prevent attacks on Israeli border communities.”

In a press briefing Tuesday morning, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani stressed that the move is not the beginning of a major ground invasion into Lebanon.

He also vowed that Israel would not be forced, once again, to evacuate the residents who live along the border with Lebanon. When Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones into northern Israel in October 2023, Israel evacuated approximately 60,000 people from their homes.

Oman's Duqm port targeted by drones again, state media says

“Several” drones have targeted Oman’s Duqm Commercial Port, with one drone hitting a fuel tank, state media reported.

“The resulting damage has been contained without any human casualties recorded,” the Oman News Agency reported early Tuesday local time, citing a security source.

It added Oman “confirms its condemnation of the targeting” and was taking measures to address the incident.

Oman has long played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, and has largely stayed out of the line of fire. But its Duqm commercial port was targeted by two drones on Sunday, and an oil tanker was attacked about five nautical miles off the coast of Masandam.

Plumes of smoke billow over Iranian city as attacks continue

Video geolocated by CNN shows plumes of smoke in Pardis, a city east of Iran’s capital Tehran, Tuesday morning, as Israel said it was striking the capital and after US President Donald Trump warned Iran a “big wave” was coming.

In the footage, explosions can be heard and at least three plumes of smoke seen rising from the mountainous terrain.

Explosions were also heard in different parts of the Isfahan province in central Iran on Tuesday morning, said the semi-official Mehr agency. Attacks were reported in Kangavar, in the west, and in Shiraz, a city in south-central Iran, said Mehr.

Iran now lacks the “capability to fire in large quantities,” Shoshani said, adding that “this remains a key focus” for the Israelis in the coming days.

Earlier, Israel said it was targeting Iranian missile launchers and air defenses.

Israel launches more strikes as Iran targets US embassies. Here's the latest

Strikes across the Middle East continue on Tuesday, with the US and Israel warning their joint operation is far from over, while Iran retaliates by targeting neighboring Arab states, plunging the region into further upheaval.

Here are the latest developments:

- Israel continues attacks:Israel launchedsimultaneous strikes on Tehran and Beiruton Tuesday morning, targeting Iranian military sites and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. Plumes of dark smoke could be seeing rising from the southern suburbs of Beirut, and video shows multiple explosions heard. Israel earlier issued new evacuation warnings for parts of Lebanon. - Iran targets embassies:TheUS Embassy in Saudi Arabiawas struck with suspected Iranian drones overnight Tuesday, and announced it was canceling all consular appointments due to the attack. TheUS Embassy in Kuwaitwas also hit, and announced it was closing until further notice. The US has ordered the mandatory evacuation of non-emergency government personnel and their families inJordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. - Gulf nations under pressure:Many of Iran’s neighbors arebearing the brunt of its firepower, including Gulf nations hosting US military bases. Kuwaitand the United Arab Emirates have both reportedintercepting hundreds of drones and missilessince the latest conflict began; Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also reported high numbers of interceptions, raising questions about how long their air defenses can keep up. - Travel disruptions:Countries including the US and Canada have urged their citizens to leave the Middle East,though options are few. Thousands of international flights have been canceled in recent days, and some airports remain closed, stranding travelers. - Migrant workers:Many of the reported civilian deaths in the Gulf states are South Asian nationals,highlighting the region’s reliance on a migrant workforcethat can often operate in precarious conditions. Many of them are in low-income work, and rights groups have repeatedly warned that migrant workers in the tiny but hugely wealthy states face miserable conditions. - US protests:Across the US, thousands of people gathered peacefully to denounce andprotest the US-Israeli war with Iranthroughout Monday – from coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles to the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

Funerals underway in Iran for students killed in strike on girls' school

Funerals have begun for the dozens of young students killed in their classrooms on the first day of the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

Iranian officials say at least 168 students were killed when US-Israeli airstrikes hit the Shajaba Tayyiba Girls’ elementary school in the southern city of Minab on Saturday morning.

Large crowds could be seen packing the streets of central Minab and gathering in front of a stage in the main square Tuesday morning, according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB. People held up images of the girls who were killed and could be heard chanting.

A mother of one of the girls took aim at President Trump, calling his actions crazy, according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

In the wake of the strike, video from Iranian state media showed the decimated school, remnants of children’s school bags and books, and devastated parents.

The school sits about 200 feet (60 meters) from an Iranian military base. When asked about the strike, a US Central Command spokesperson previously said, “we are aware of reports… and are looking into them.”

"This is not an endless war," Netanyahu says. Here's what we know about the timeline

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism that the conflict flaring in the Middle East would spiral into an “endless war,” claiming instead that it would lead to peace and democracy in Iran.

Speaking in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News on Monday, Netanyahu said: “This is not an endless war. This is in fact something that will usher in an era of peace that we haven’t even dreamed of.”

He repeated claims that action had been necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear weapon, without providing any evidence that it was any closer to obtaining one.

Those claims, echoed by US President Trump, contradict US intelligence on the matter, which has assessed that Iran is nearly a decade away from developing a “militarily-viable” intercontinental ballistic missile.

Trump has been muddied in suggesting what comes next, both in the length of the US military campaign in Iran and who might take over the country. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, Trump said: “I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks. And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”

Trump told CNN the “big wave” of the US attack on Iran is yet to come. He laid out his war objectives for reporters, saying he wanted to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilate its navy, end its nuclear ambitions and stop it arming militant groups. He told the New York Post he has not ruled out boots on the ground.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump, saying “the hardest hits are yet to come,” but also said that the Trump administration believes that its objectives for its operation against Iran “can be achieved without ground forces.”

CNN’s Jeniffer Hansler and Jake Tapper contributed reporting.

The US is urging its citizens to leave the Middle East. But travel paralysis leaves them few options

The US State Department has urged US citizens to leave the Middle East “due to serious safety risks.”

It 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.

But the limited number of flights poses a challenge for those trying to leave.

More than 1,000 flights had already been canceled as of Tuesday morning, adding to the thousands of international flights canceled on Sunday and Monday, according to data from FlightAware.com.

Americans in Israel have “very limited options” to leave the country, said US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, warning that the US embassy was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans” in leaving the country.

Outside the region, other airlines continue to reroute or cancel flights that had been scheduled to fly near the conflict zone. The skies over the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan all remained nearly empty Tuesday morning, as shown on maps by flight tracking website Flightradar24.

A small number of flights left the United Arab Emirates late on Monday but at least one that attempted to fly from India to Dubai was forced to turn around.

Other governments, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, are also telling their citizens to avoid the region.

US Embassy in Kuwait closes until further notice

The US Embassy in Kuwait said today it is closing until further notice “due to ongoing regional tensions.”

“We have canceled all regular and emergency consular appointments. We will communicate when the embassy returns to normal operations,” the embassy posted on X.

CNN previously reported the US Embassy in Kuwait was hit with strikes on Sunday and Monday as Iran attacked the country.

The first US service members to die in the conflict between the US and Iran were killed at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday morning, CNN previously reported. US Central Command announced on Monday afternoon the death toll has risen to six.

The military has not identified the troops killed on Sunday, as families are still being notified.

China and Russia-backed security grouping decries attacks on Iran

A regional security grouping backed by Beijing and Moscow has condemned the ongoing US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

The members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization “express serious concern over the developments in the Middle East and the armed attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the group said in a statement published on Monday.

Moscow and Beijing founded the regional security club in 2001. The group now has 10 full members, with Iran joining in 2023.

Despite its ambitions to challenge the dominance of western-led global institutions, the SCO has often been hamstrung by deep rivalries between its members, notably India and Pakistan, which fought a brief conflict last year.

US embassy in Saudi Arabia closed after attack on facility

The US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said it is cancelling all consular appointments on Tuesday “due to an attack on the facility,” which was struck by suspected Iranian drones earlier that morning.

The Saudi defense ministry had previously confirmed the attack, saying it caused “limited fire and minor material damages.” A source familiar with the matter told CNN there were no initial reports of injuries.

“All routine and emergency American Citizen Services appointments are cancelled. The shelter in place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dhahran remains in place and we recommend American citizens in the Kingdom also continue to shelter in place,” the embassy wrote on X.

It added that all Americans should “maintain a personal safety plan” and avoid the embassy facility until further notice.

Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s military intercepted and destroyed eight drones near Riyadh and the central city of Al Kharj, according to the defense ministry. Its statement did not say whether any damage or casualties resulted.

US ambassador to Israel says Americans have "very limited options" to leave

Americans in Israel have “very limited options” to leave the country, said US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

Writing in a post on X, Huckabee warned that the US embassy was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.”

People wanting to leave are recommended to take a shuttle bus, operated by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, to Taba, Egypt – and get flights from there or Cairo, Huckabee said.

He added that it’s not recommended to leave via Jordan, as flights are inconsistent, and that even when Israel’s main airport in Tel Aviv reopens, “there will be VERY limited flights with priorities to those who already were ticketed by El Al (airline).”

The US has warned its citizens to leave the region, but a wide corridor of airspace over the Middle East remains closed or with very limited capacity, as countries neighboring Iran restrict flights in and out of the area.

Asian markets plunge as conflict deepens

Asian markets plunged on Tuesday as the United States-Israel attacks on Iran continue, deepening conflicts in the Middle East.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index plummeted 6.6% as of 3:08 p.m local time on the first day of trading since the strikes over the weekend. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 3.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down by 1%.

Do Gulf nations have enough air defenses to keep intercepting Iranian strikes?

The joint US-Israel attack on Iran has triggered retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, including on countries hosting US military bases.

Strikes have hit urban centers, energy infrastructure, airports and hotels, shaking populations long used to relative security – and raising questions about how long their air defenses can keep up.

Here’s a look at how many missiles and drones the Gulf nations have reported since the war began:

- Kuwaithas intercepted 178 ballistic missiles and 384 drones, according to state media Kuwait News Agency on Monday. - The United Arab Emirates (UAE)has intercepted 169 missiles out of 182 detected, with the rest landing in the sea. It has also intercepted 645 drones, with an additional 44 hitting within state territory, according to its ministry of defense. - Bahrainhas intercepted 70 missiles and 76 drones, state media reported on Tuesday, citing the General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force. - Qatarhas intercepted 101 missiles out of a total of 104 detected, as well as 24 out of 39 drones, and shot down two Iranian SU-24 bomber aircraft, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency. - Saudi Arabiahasn’t released a total figure of missiles or drones intercepted. The US Embassy in Riyadh was hit by suspected Iranian drones, according to two sources familiar with the matter on Tuesday. The Ministry of Defense later said eight drones were intercepted near the cities of Riyadh and Al-Kharj. - Omanhas long played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, and has largely stayed out of the line of fire. But Oman’s Duqm commercial port was targeted by two drones on Sunday, and an oil tanker was attacked about five nautical miles off the coast of Masandam.

It remains unclear how long Gulf states can sustain their air defenses before depletion. During Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June last year, the US blew through about a quarter of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptors.

The UAE and Qatar, have strongly pushed back on a Bloomberg report about their diminishing air defense capacities – insisting their interceptors remain well-stocked and the report is inaccurate.

It’s also unclear how much Iran has depleted its missile and drone stockpiles. One expert said Iran has a lot more short-range ballistic missiles than long-range projectiles, making its Gulf neighbors easier to hit.