Iran attacked the US embassy in Saudi Arabia on Thursday as Washington began withdrawing more personnel from the Middle East amid an escalating war.
The US and Israel hit Iran with airstrikes in what President Donald Trump suggested was just the start of a war that has severely disrupted the world’s oil and gas supplies, international shipping, and air traffic.
The conflict continued into its fourth day, with Israel sending ground troops into Lebanon and bombing the Iranian capital. Hundreds of people have been killed, most of them in Iran.
The intensity of the war raised questions about when and how it would end.
Trump said it could take four to five weeks – but the US was willing to go longer. He appeared to open up the possibility of more involvement by the US military, telling the New York Post on Monday that he would not say there might be boots on the ground.
However, the management’s intentions remain unclear. The first US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump called on Iranians to overthrow their government.
However, since then, senior administration officials have said that regime change was not the intention. Trump’s initial announcement about the strikes listed a number of grievances, from concerns about Iran’s nuclear and missile programs to its leadership.
Iran attacked the US embassy in Riyadh
Two drone attacks on the US embassy in Riyadh caused “limited fire,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the area.
It followed the attack on the American embassy in Kuwait, which announced on Tuesday that it was closed until further notice.
The US State Department has ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family from Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, the US has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, like many other countries, although most of the airspace is closed and many remain homeless.
US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. In Israel, where Iranian missiles hit many places, 11 people were killed. The Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah has also attacked Israel, its retaliatory strikes killing 52 people in Lebanon.
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The US military has confirmed the death of six US service members. Three people died in the United Arab Emirates, one in Kuwait and one in Bahrain.
Israel and the US are targeting nuclear sites in Iran
Across the Iranian capital, explosions rang out overnight into Tuesday, with planes heard overhead. The strikes caused two explosions at a broadcast facility in Tehran, Iranian state TV said, adding that no one was injured.
The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had “recent damage,” although “there was no expected radiological effect.”
The US struck Natanz during the 12-day war in June, when Israeli and American strikes severely weakened Iran’s nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted, however, that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new sites” underground to make atomic bombs. He did not provide evidence to support his claim.
“We had to act now and act,” Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Hannity.
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, although it maintains its right to do so and says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press showed limited activity at two Iranian nuclear sites before the war. Analysts say Tehran may be assessing the damage of the 2025 strikes and possibly bailing out what is left.
It is not clear how long the war will last
The increase in Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the intensification of Israeli and American attacks, the assassination of Khamenei and the lack of any clear exit plan suggested that the conflict could be extended.
Trump said Monday that the process could take four to five weeks but that he was willing to “go longer than that.” He later added that the US has an “unlimited stockpile” of weapons.
“Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and with great success, using only these weapons,” he wrote on social media.
The conflict affects business interests in the Mideast
Iran has hit many countries considered safe havens in the Mideast in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes. Recent targets include two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. Facilities in the UAE were hit, and the airliner hit one near Bahrain, causing damage, the company said.
Iran has also attacked energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, attacking several ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil trade passes, sending oil and natural gas around the world at soaring prices.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed,” said Iranian Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guards, vows that any ships passing through will be burned.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari vowed that Iran’s attack on the gas-rich country “will not go unanswered.”
Israel sends troops to Lebanon
The conflict has also spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had moved more troops into southern Lebanon and taken up new positions at several strategic locations near the border.
Israel also hit Beirut with more airstrikes, saying they were targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons depots.” An explosion was heard and smoke was seen in the south of Beirut.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army is relocating some of its border areas. The senior official of Hezbollah, Mohamoud Komati, said that the group now has no way to fight Israel.
