At the White House in Washington on Monday, US president Donald Trump<\/a> said the United States<\/a> would continue attacking Iran<\/a> for as long as it takes to leave it incapable of posing a threat, indicating that an expanding war in the Middle East could continue for weeks or more.<\/p>\n Confirming that \u201cOperation Epic Fury\u201d was ongoing with combat strikes on Iran, Trump said there was an urgent need \u201cto eliminate the great threats posed to America by this terrible terrorist regime\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe warned Iran not to make any attempt to rebuild at a different location … but they ignored those warnings and refused to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons. This posed a very clear colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas,\u201d he said, claiming that Iranian military power \u201cwould soon be capable of having missiles reaching our beautiful America\u201d. <\/p>\n That claim has been widely disputed. <\/p>\n Iranian state media reported over 160 were killed in a strike on a girls\u2019 \u200cschool on the first day of the US and Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n The reported strike took place on a girls\u2019 \u200belementary school in the town of Minab in southern Iran on Saturday.<\/p>\n As US and Israeli planes pounded targets in Iran for a third day, fighting expanded into Lebanon<\/a>, where the Iran-allied militia Hizbullah<\/a> fired rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to bombard the militia\u2019s strongholds outside Beirut.<\/p>\n The \u200cIsraeli military \u200bsaid late on Monday night \u200bthat \u2060it \u200cwas \u200ccarrying \u200bout \u2060strikes \u200bon \u200bHizbullah command centres and \u200bweapons storage \u2060facilities \u2060in \u200bBeirut.<\/p>\n Three US jets were shot down by Kuwaiti air defences in what the US military called an \u201capparent friendly fire incident\u201d.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Irish citizens in UAE could be bussed to Oman if Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights remain restrictedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n As Iran responded with missile strikes on Israel and the region on Monday, all six Gulf Co-operation Council member countries \u2013 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) \u2013 issued a joint statement condemning Iran\u2019s \u201creckless and indiscriminate attacks\u201d and noting the right to respond. <\/p>\n Israel<\/a>\u2019s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu<\/a> declared that the Iranian people will soon \u201cbe able to throw off the yoke of tyranny\u201d and sought to present the joint Israel-US bombardments as \u201can effort to save the world\u201d. <\/p>\n Iran\u2019s leaders remained defiant.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s top security official, Ali Larijani, who survived Saturday\u2019s slaughter of the leadership, denied news reports that Iran\u2019s new leaders were seeking to negotiate with Washington, denouncing Trump for \u201cdelusional fantasies\u201d and for plunging the Middle East \u201cinto chaos\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIran, unlike the United States has prepared itself for a long war.\u201d<\/p>\n The regional turmoil was evident in images and reports varying from a luxury hotel in flames in Dubai to villagers fleeing their homes in southern Lebanon as Israeli strikes concentrated on Hizbullah strongholds in and around Dahiya. <\/p>\n The announcement by Qatar\u2019s state energy company that it would suspend production of liquefied natural gas, which it exports through the Strait of Hormuz, led to a dramatic spike in the price.<\/p>\n Iranian officials threatened to fire on any ship that tries to pass through the strait, \u200ca key shipping route \u2060for the world\u2019s oil supply.<\/p>\n Oil prices also rose steadily on Monday, exacerbated by the vague messages emanating from Washington as to how long the fighting will continue.<\/p>\n Trump projected military operations may continue for the next \u201cfour or five weeks\u201d, but \u201cwe have the capability to go far longer than that. We\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump did not rule out the prospect of US troops participating in land-engagements in Iran, telling the New York Post: \u201cI don\u2019t have the yips with regards to boots on the ground.\u201d <\/p>\n But he spoke about the conflagration in the Middle East for just five minutes in the White House on Monday, before switching subjects to anticipate the success of the White House ballroom and inviting guests to admire the decor in the East Room as a preview.<\/p>\n \u201cI picked those drapes in my first term,\u201d he said, gesturing to the curtains behind him. \u201cI always liked gold.\u201d<\/p>\n The price of that commodity rose in tandem with global uncertainty on Monday.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/57XQP3PWY7KGXYQ7XS5INIS4HI.jpg\")
People view damage to shops and residences destroyed by an air strike on Monday in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ![\"Plumes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/P7ZKMHHIRS746V7XT5GA5YLBWQ.jpg\")
Plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran on Monday. Photograph: Mahsa\/Middle East Images\/AFP via Getty <\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GQNHGBBZMF7XQKIJNNKYONJTN4.jpg\")
Smoke rises from an Israeli air strike in the suburbs south of Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday. Photograph: Diego Ibarra S\u00e1nchez\/The New York Times<\/p>\n