map of US-Israel strikes in Iran<\/a>map of US-Israel strikes in Iran<\/p>\n Iranian attacks were reported on oil infrastructure and other targets across a 1,200-mile swathe of the region \u2013 with damage inflicted from the Gulf of Oman, where a bomb-carrying drone boat exploded against an oil tanker, to Cyprus, targeting a British military base<\/a>.<\/p>\n The US military said Kuwait\u2019s air defences had mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighters<\/a> during an Iranian attack. All six crew members were safely recovered. Video showed one of the planes spiralling out of the sky, an engine lit up in flames, until it hit the ground and exploded in a fireball.<\/p>\n Black smoke rose above the area around the US embassy in Kuwait<\/a>, where there was a heavy presence of security, ambulances and fire trucks. There were loud blasts in Dubai and Samha in the United Arab Emirates, and in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Saudi Arabia shut its biggest refinery after drone strikes caused a fire there, one of a number of oil installations that became targets.<\/p>\n In the first strike to reach US allies in Europe, a drone hit Britain\u2019s Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus overnight. Britain and Cyprus said the damage was limited and there were no casualties.<\/p>\n A burning aircraft falling from the sky in Al Jahra, Kuwait. The Kuwaiti ministry of defence said a number of US planes had fallen and pilots were safe. Photograph: Social Media\/Reuters<\/p>\n The effort to oust Iran\u2019s leadership is the biggest US foreign policy gamble in decades.<\/p>\n The US president, Donald Trump, repeated his calls for Iranians to rise up and overthrow their leaders, and said the air campaign could last weeks, telling CNN the \u201cbig wave\u201d of attacks was yet to come.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re knocking the crap out of them \u2026 The big wave hasn\u2019t even happened. The big one is coming soon,\u201d Trump told the network.<\/a><\/p>\n In the first public remarks by an administration official since the war<\/a> began on Saturday, the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said the US goals were to destroy Iran\u2019s navy, its ballistic missiles production, and its potential to produce a nuclear weapon. He repeatedly said the US would not get bogged down in the conflict, saying that the US operation was not a \u201cdemocracy-building exercise\u201d and that \u201cthis is not Iraq. This is not endless.\u201d<\/p>\n The US military said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran\u2019s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said 10 Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy\u2019s headquarters had been \u201clargely destroyed\u201d.<\/p>\n Within Iran, where residents have jammed highways to flee cities as bombs fell, there was uncertainty about the future and emotion ranging from apprehension to euphoria.<\/p>\n One Tehran resident said that Monday\u2019s bombardment of the capital was the heaviest so far and seemed to be more indiscriminate with missiles striking across the city. He said hospitals and clinics were among the buildings damaged. \u201cWe are becoming like Gaza,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Another resident, Hosna, a 45-year-old lawyer, said: \u201cEvery time we hear the noises [of explosions], we get scared for just a second. But we experience some joy and excitement every time we hear a strike.\u201d<\/p>\n The IRCS put the death toll in Iran at 555 and said more than 130 cities across the country had come under attack. Israeli officials said its strikes on Monday were aimed at command and control centres and senior leaders of the ruling regime. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, and 52 in Lebanon<\/a>, according to authorities.<\/p>\n European allies distanced themselves from Trump\u2019s initial decision to go to war, saying it fell short of the legal threshold of meeting an imminent threat. But they have since said they would participate to help suppress Iran\u2019s ability to retaliate, after Tehran struck their allies.<\/p>\n A senior White House official told Reuters that Washington would at some point talk with Tehran, but not yet.<\/p>\n Iranian strikes<\/a>map showing Iranian strikes<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump said new potential leadership in Iran has indicated they want to talk and eventually he will talk. For now, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n It remained unclear what the longer-term prospects were for Iran to rebuild its leadership and replace Khamenei, 86.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Sunday a leadership council comprised of himself, the judiciary head and a member of the powerful guardian council had temporarily assumed the duties of the supreme leader.<\/p>\n In a post on X on Monday, Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Tehran\u2019s supreme national security council, said Iran would not negotiate with Trump, who had \u201cdelusional ambitions\u201d and was now worried about US casualties.<\/p>\n \u201cIran, unlike the United States, has prepared itself for a long war,\u201d he posted.<\/p>\n In Jerusalem, booms rattled windows as missiles launched by Iran towards central Israel were intercepted. An Israeli military spokesperson said there had been fewer attacks targeting Israel overnight since Sunday, which he attributed to Israeli strikes degrading Iran\u2019s military capabilities. Hezbollah had made \u201ca big mistake\u201d by \u201cjoining Iran\u2019s war\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n A man holds an Iranian flag as he looks at the damage to a hospital in Tehran hit by US-Israel airstrikes on Sunday. Photograph: Vahid Salemi\/AP<\/p>\n Shipments through the strait of Hormuz \u2013 where about a fifth of the world\u2019s oil trade passes along the Iranian coast \u2013 have been halted after threats from Iran and strikes against tankers. Oil prices leapt by double-digit percentage points<\/a> on Monday and stock markets fell.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they had hit three US and UK oil tankers in the Gulf and the strait of Hormuz as well as attacking military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain with drones and missiles. Shipping data showed hundreds of vessels including oil and gas tankers dropping anchor in nearby waters.<\/p>\n![\"Iran](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1280.jpg\")
Iran war escalates: what\u2019s Trump\u2019s endgame? – The Latest<\/p>\n