As the war in the Middle East spirals further, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. has \u201c the capability to go far longer \u201d than its projected four to five week time frame for its military operations against Iran.<\/p>\n
Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world\u2019s production of oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n
The intensity of the attacks and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences.<\/p>\n
At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the U.S.-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, with 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
Spain says joint US bases were not used in attack on Iran<\/p>\n
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez called the U.S. attack an \u201cunjustifiable\u201d and \u201cdangerous\u201d military intervention.<\/p>\n
Defense Minister Margarita Robles said \u201cno assistance of any kind, absolutely none,\u201d had been provided from the Rota and Mor\u00f3n bases in southern Spain, which are shared with the U.S. but remain under Spanish command.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a deal with the U.S. over these bases, but our understanding of the deal is that operations have to comply with international legal frameworks and that there has to be international support for them,\u201d Robles said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Israel were acting \u201cunilaterally without the support of an international resolution,\u201d Robles said.<\/p>\n
Flight map data from FlightRadar24 showed that several U.S. military aircraft had left the bases in southern Spain since the weekend attack, including nine tankers that departed Sunday from Mor\u00f3n for Germany.<\/p>\n
Israel says it intercepted a drone from Lebanon<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military said the hostile aircraft was intercepted and it is reviewing the incident. The army\u2019s social media post did not blame the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah or any other party.<\/p>\n
Iran-backed Hezbollah did not immediately issue a statement. The group had fired rockets late Sunday into northern Israel, sparking Israeli strikes throughout Lebanon that killed at least 31 people and displaced thousands.<\/p>\n
Drone hits at a fuel terminal in the UAE but fire is contained<\/p>\n
Authorities in Abu Dhabi quickly responded to the drone attack on the Musaffah fuel terminal and got the fire under control. No injuries were reported and operations at the terminal were not affected, according to a statement by the Abu Dhabi Media Office posted on X.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Putin speaks to Saudi crown prince<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin held a phone call Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss \u201cthe escalation in the Middle East as a result of American-Israeli armed aggression\u201d against Iran, the Kremlin said.<\/p>\n
Both \u201cexpressed serious concern over the real risks of the spreading of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences,\u201d the Kremlin said in the readout of the call.<\/p>\n
Putin \u201cemphasized the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,\u201d and Prince Mohammed \u201cexpressed the opinion that Russia could play a positive, stabilizing role in these times, given its friendly relations with both Iran and the Persian Gulf countries,\u201d the readout said.<\/p>\n
Tennis stars in Dubai and Paralympians face travel issues due to war<\/p>\n
Former U.S. Open tennis champion Daniil Medvedev<\/a> has indicated he\u2019s one of what the ATP Tour calls \u201ca small number of players and team members\u201d it is trying to help leave Dubai. A widespread travel shutdown has also caused issues for athletes heading to the Paralympics.<\/p>\n Medvedev\u2019s Instagram account reposted on Monday a report from a Russian-language tennis outlet, Bolshe, which said he was safe and staying at a friend\u2019s apartment in Dubai, amid flight cancellations after winning the ATP event there last week.<\/p>\n Medvedev and others are due to play at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, where main-draw matches start Wednesday.<\/p>\n The Winter Paralympics open in Italy on Friday and some athletes are facing travel difficulties, the International Paralympic Committee said. Iran has one cross-country skier expected to compete at the March 6-15 Paralympics.<\/p>\n Trump articulates his four objectives for the US war in Iran<\/p>\n The president said U.S. forces are out to destroy Iran\u2019s missile capabilities, wipe out its naval capacity, stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon and \u201censuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm fund and directors armies outside of their borders.\u201d<\/p>\n He said U.S. attacks have already \u201cknocked out\u201d 10 ships, and that attacks on Iran\u2019s missile capacity is ensuring they is destroyed while stopping \u201ctheir capacity to produce brand ones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis was our last, best chance to strike \u2014 what we\u2019re doing right now \u2014 and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Trump says the US expected the Iran operation to take 4 to 5 weeks<\/p>\n The president said during an unrelated event at the White House that from the beginning, the U.S. has projected that time frame but \u201cwe have the capability to go far longer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n He then said he wouldn\u2019t get \u201cbored\u201d of continuing the operation over such time. \u201cI don\u2019t get bored. There\u2019s nothing boring about this.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said the U.S. had also projected it would take four weeks to get rid of Iran\u2019s military leadership, but that was quickly accomplished \u201cso we\u2019re ahead of schedule there.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranian missiles filmed flying over Jerusalem skies<\/p>\n Iranian missiles drew straight lines of smoke across clear Jerusalem skies Monday afternoon. the conflict\u2019s third day.<\/p>\n Interceptions by Israel\u2019s advanced aerial defense system<\/a> could be seen as the projectiles flying overhead suddenly lost course and began haphazardly falling before disappearing from view, leaving circles of smoke behind where they\u2019d been hit by the interceptor missiles.<\/p>\n Loud booms could be heard, intermingled with the barking of dogs and chirping of birds.<\/p>\n Jerusalemites were told to take shelter three times Monday morning and early afternoon, but sirens didn\u2019t ring for much of the afternoon.<\/p>\n Israeli military says airstrike in Beirut targeted a senior Hezbollah official<\/p>\n An Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital heavily damaged a building as the Israeli military said it targeted a senior Hezbollah official.<\/p>\n The strike occurred near the old compound of the Iranian embassy in Beirut\u2019s Beir Hassan neighborhood.<\/p>\n Medal of Honor Ceremony begins at the White House<\/p>\n Trump is attending with top members of his administration. The event began with a prayer.<\/p>\n 4 Greek warplanes land in Cyprus after a drone strike on air base<\/p>\n Four Greek F-16 fighter jets landed in Cyprus on Monday to bolster the country\u2019s security, after a drone struck a U.K. military base.<\/p>\n The drone strike caused minor damage, according to Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides. Another two drones flying in the direction of RAF Akrotiri shortly after midday Monday where intercepted after two British Typhoon fighter jets and another pair of F-35 warplanes were scrambled from the base.<\/p>\n Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that the arrival of the F-16s was done in close cooperation with Greece, which was also sending two navy frigates equipped with an anti-drone system.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s deadly strikes in the Gulf highlight vulnerability of migrant workers<\/p>\n The five reported casualties from Iranian strikes in Gulf nations have been foreign nationals. The countries hit \u2014 including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait \u2014 rely heavily on labor from South and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n Migrant workers in Gulf states are often housed in employer\u2011provided accommodations on the outskirts of cities or near industrial zones.<\/p>\n The Philippines\u2019 Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday upgraded its travel advisory for the United Arab Emirates, placing it along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia at a level that automatically triggers a deployment ban on newly hired workers.<\/p>\n The Emirates reported three deaths, one each from Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Kuwait\u2019s Health Ministry said a strike killed one person and wounded 32 others, all foreign nationals. Bahrain\u2019s Interior Ministry said a post-strike fire killed an Asian worker and wounded two others.<\/p>\n The International Labor Organization estimates more than 24 million foreign workers were employed across the Gulf states in 2024, forming a backbone of the region\u2019s economy while often remaining among its most vulnerable.<\/p>\n Medal of Honor Ceremony begins at White House<\/p>\n Trump is attending with top members of his administration. The event began with a prayer.<\/p>\n Israeli military says airstrike in Beirut targeted senior Hezbollah official<\/p>\n An Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital heavily damaged a building as the Israeli military said it targeted a senior Hezbollah official.<\/p>\n The strike occurred near the old compound of the Iranian embassy in Beirut\u2019s Beir Hassan neighborhood.<\/p>\n Qatar says its air force shot down 2 Iranian warplanes<\/p>\n The Gulf state of Qatar, home to a key U.S. military base, said its air force had shot down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted nine ballistic and six cruise missiles and 148 drones on Monday. The Defense Ministry said it has repelled hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles since the attacks began on Saturday, in response to U.S.-Israeli bombardment.<\/p>\n No fatalities were reported Monday in the UAE. Three people were killed in Iranian attacks on Sunday.<\/p>\n Trump says he doesn\u2019t \u2018have the yips\u2019 about sending US ground troops into Iran<\/p>\n In a brief phone interview with the New York Post, the president said he wasn\u2019t ruling out U.S. forces in Iran if \u201cthey were necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground. Like, every president says, \u2018There will be no boots on the ground.\u2019 I don\u2019t say it,\u201d Trump told the newspaper. \u201cI say, \u2018Probably don\u2019t need them,\u2019 (or) \u2018if they were necessary.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has said since the start of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that American military casualties were likely, as they are in any war, but he hasn\u2019t committed to having U.S. forces on the ground long term. Before the strikes began, Vice President JD Vance told The Washington Post that there was \u201cno chance\u201d the U.S. would be pulled into a drawn out war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Israel launches a new wave of strikes on Lebanon<\/p>\n The Israeli army said it had completed \u201ca broad wave of strikes\u201d on dozens of targets in southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and missile launchers that it said belong to the militant group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n At least 31 people were killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel for the first time in more than a year.<\/p>\n British prime minister defends letting the US use bases in the country<\/p>\n U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday defended his decision to allow the U.S. to use British bases to launch defensive strikes against Iran, saying the country had to support its allies in the region and British citizens who were at risk due to indiscriminate attacks by Iran.<\/p>\n Speaking to the House of Commons, Starmer said that the government was focused on looking \u2018\u2019at all options to support our people.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to ensure that they can return home as swiftly and safely as possible, for their lives are on the line.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Starmer also defended his decision not to join U.S and Israeli offensive actions against Iran, saying the U.K. had learned the lessons of the Iraq War and that any military action must be legally justified. Britain can legally take part in defensive action to protects its own citizens and allies, but it will not participate in offensive actions aimed at regime change, he said.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s president urges restraint<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday condemned what he described as a \u201cwar being waged on Iran while negotiations were underway\u201d and called for restraint.<\/p>\n In a televised address to lawmakers in parliament, Zardari said he joins \u201call Pakistanis in condoling the martyrdom of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.\u201d He also condemned what he called \u201csubsequent attacks launched on our brotherly countries in the Gulf region.\u201d<\/p>\n Demonstrators in Pakistan supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. Consulate<\/a> on Sunday, authorities said, leading to violent clashes with security forces that killed at least 22 people and injured more than 120 others.<\/p>\n Israeli strike in Lebanon kills a senior Islamic Jihad militant<\/p>\n