DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states, apparently hitting the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait, while Israel and the United States pounded targets in Iran as the war expanded on Monday with statements of defiance and increasing casualties.
Fire and smoke rose from inside the embassy compound in Kuwait City and an alarm wailed after the Iranian attack, which came not long after the U.S. issued a warning to Americans there to take cover and for others to stay away. There were no immediate reports on damage or casualties.
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This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18F Super Hornet preparing to make an arrested landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
In this photo taken with a slow shutter speed, a Middle East Airlines plane flies over Beirut as smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh in Beirut's southern suburbs, early Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man takes pictures of the damage in an apartment building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a Navy sailor observing flight operations aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
Iraqi Shiites hold pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Tehran, during a symbolic funeral, in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
Meantime, as the American and Israeli airstrikes continued, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani vowed defiantly on X that “we will not negotiate with the United States.”
In Iraq, a pro-Iranian militia claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting U.S. troops at the Baghdad airport, the day after it said it fired at a U.S. base in the city of Irbil in the north, and Cyprus said a drone attack targeted a British base on the Mediterranean island nation.
Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian missile sites and targeted its navy, claiming to have destroyed its headquarters and multiple warships. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes, according to Iranian leaders.
As the bombardment continued, Hezbollah said it fired missiles from Lebanon into Israel early Monday in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and “repeated Israeli aggressions.” It was the first attack the Lebanese militant group has claimed in more than a year. There were no reports of injuries or damage, and Israel said that it had intercepted one projectile while several fell in open areas.
Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding 149 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. About two thirds of the dead were in the country's south.
Following its initial strikes on Beirut, Israel urged civilians in nearly 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of more possible attacks, sending people fleeing. Lebanon’s government said it was holding an emergency meeting after Hezbollah’s attack on Israel triggered the Israeli airstrikes.
Iran has been firing missiles at Israel and Arab states in a counteroffensive since the joint America-Israeli attack Saturday that killed Khamenei and many top Iranian officials.
Gulf Arab states have warned that they could retaliate against Iran after strikes that hit key sites and killed at least five civilians, and U.S. President Donald Trump promised Washington would “avenge” the deaths of three American troops who were killed in Kuwait.
“Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends,” Trump said. “That’s the way it is.”
Trump has urged Iranians to “take over” their government and, while he has also signaled he would be open to dialogue with new leadership there following the death of Khamenei, suggested Sunday there was no end in sight to the military operations.
“Combat operations continue at this time in full-force, and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved,” he said in a video message. “We have very strong objectives,” he added, without elaborating.
The U.S. military said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “largely destroyed.”
In an indication the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said they were ready to work with the U.S. to help stop Iran’s attacks, and a group of Gulf Arab countries said it reserved the right to respond to Iranian strikes.
The weekend attacks were the second combined strikes in eight months from the U.S. and Israel against Iran. In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.
Also Monday, the World Health Organization called for sparing civilians and healthcare facilities in the Middle East amid the escalating conflict.
“The protection of civilians and health care must be absolute,” Hanan Balkhy, regional dietitian at WHO wrote on social media. “All parties must … ensure medical facilities remain protected.”
Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18F Super Hornet preparing to make an arrested landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
In this photo taken with a slow shutter speed, a Middle East Airlines plane flies over Beirut as smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh in Beirut's southern suburbs, early Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man takes pictures of the damage in an apartment building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a Navy sailor observing flight operations aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
Iraqi Shiites hold pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Tehran, during a symbolic funeral, in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
Iran fired missiles at Israel and Arab states Monday and the war expanded to include militias Tehran backs in the Middle East with an attack by Hezbollah on Israel, which struck back against the group in Lebanon and with the United States pounded targets in Iran.
As the American and Israeli airstrikes kept hitting the country, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani said on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”
Trump, who a day earlier had encouraged Iranians to “take over” their government, signaled Sunday that he was open to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister suggested earlier that military units were acting independently from any central government control after being pressed about attacks on Gulf Arab nations that have served as intermediaries for Tehran in the past.
More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.
Here is the latest:
Fire and smoke rose from inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait after an Iranian attack on the small Mideast nation on Monday.
Video obtained by The Associated Press showed the smoke with an alarm wailing.
The United States had earlier issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors.
It said: “Do not come to the Embassy,” without elaborating.
Qatar Airways said its flights remain suspended, with its next update planned for Tuesday morning.
Iranian state media published footage showing damage at the Gandhi Hospital in Tehran.
Associated Press journalists heard several loud explosions Monday morning in Irbil, the capital city of Iraq’s semiautonomous region of Kurdistan.
The World Health Organization called for the sparing of civilians and health care facilities in the Middle East amid a regional conflict triggered by Israeli-US strikes on Iran over the weekend.
“The protection of civilians and health care must be absolute,” Hanan Balkhy, regional dietitian at WHO wrote on social media.
“All parties must … ensure medical facilities remain protected.”
Lebanon’s government is holding an emergency meeting after Hezbollah’s attack on Israel triggered Israeli airstrikes in different parts of the country.
The meeting started Monday morning and is being attended by the army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
The state-run National News Agency reported that the Cabinet will discuss the volatile situation and the measures it plans to take.
A witness said he saw smoke over a Kuwait neighborhood home to the U.S. Embassy as Americans had been urged to stay away.
Ayman Moawad, an Egyptian worker living near the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, told The Associated Press that he saw smoke over the area.
However, he didn’t know if it was specifically the embassy hit in an ongoing Iranian attack targeting the small Mideast nation.
The U.S. earlier issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors.
It said: “Do not come to the Embassy,” without elaborating.
Strikes across Iran continued into Monday, with one apparently taking Iranian state television off air.
Witnesses said an attack in northern Tehran’s Niavaran neighborhood struck one of the transmitters used for Iranian state TV.
Since then, its satellite signals have dropped.
State media had said hospitals and residential areas had been hit in strikes by the Americans and Israelis.
Iran has not offered any details on its materiel losses.
The United Arab Emirates is shutting the country’s main stock exchanges for the start of the trading week as the regional war intensifies.
The country’s Capital Market Authority said the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market would be closed Monday and Tuesday.
It says it will closely monitor the regional situation and take any further steps as necessary.
Another market, the Nasdaq Dubai, also said it was halting trading both days.
Dubai is the Gulf’s main business hub, though the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi is also an important regional financial center and home to some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds.
The benchmark index for the Saudi Exchange, the region’s largest stock market, fell 2.2 percent on Sunday.
As Kuwait faced an ongoing attack, the U.S. issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors.
It said: “Do not come to the Embassy,” without elaborating.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon after Hezbollah attacked it have killed at least 31 people, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday.
The Hezbollah attack and the Israeli retaliatory strikes expand the ongoing war gripping the Mideast after the U.S. and Israel launched an airstrike campaign targeting Iran.
The Health Ministry said that the strikes also wounded 149 people.
It said about two thirds of the dead were in southern Lebanon.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shaheed-type drone caused “minor material damage” to military installations inside the U.K.’s RAF Akrotiri air base on the island’s southern coast.
Christodoulides said in a brief national address that the drone struck just past midnight Monday.
He said all relevant authorities have been put on alert and that he has called a meeting of the country’s national security council to take stock of the situation.
He added that he’s in contact with other European leaders.
“I want to be clear: our homeland is not participating in any way, nor is its intention to take part in any military operation,” Christodoulides said in his address.
He said Cyprus remains focused on the humanitarian role that it plays in the region and that it seeks to be “part of the solution and not the problem,” adding that his primary concern remains the safety and security of the country and its people.
Overnight, airstrikes were reported across Iran.
Elsewhere, explosions were heard in Dubai on Monday.
In Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said sirens sounded across the country as it urged residents to “head to the nearest safe place.”
And in Kuwait, authorities said debris fell on its Ahmadi oil refinery, slightly injuring two workers there.
The state-run KUNA news agency said earlier that Kuwait’s forces had thwarted a drone attack early Monday.
A top Iranian security official on Monday said: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”
Ali Larijani made the statement on X, responding to a report from Qatar’s Al Jazeera news network.
The comment comes as an American and Israeli airstrike campaign continues to target Iran.
Iran and its militia allies have expanded their attacks over the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are planning to hold a press conference Monday morning about the military operation against Iran.
The Pentagon announced the 8 a.m. EST media briefing on social media Sunday night.
On Tuesday, Hegseth and Caine will join U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe in briefing the full membership of Congress on the strikes, the White House said.
Rubio also was slated to brief Hill leadership Monday.
In a statement Monday, President Joseph Aoun said Hezbollah’s rocket launches from Lebanon “target all the efforts and endeavors exerted by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the dangerous military confrontations taking place in the region.”
He added that while Israeli strikes on Lebanon are condemned, “persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for proxy wars in which we have no involvement will expose our country to risks once more.”
Cyprus’ government spokesperson said an “incident” that happened at a British air base on the island nation’s southern coastline involved an “unmanned drone which caused limited damage.”
Spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the incident at RAF Akrotiri occurred shortly after midnight Monday.
He said “information received through various channels” indicated a drone strike.
He didn’t specify what kind of drone, where it was launched from or the extent of damage.
Letymbiotis said Cypriot authorities have enacted security protocols and are monitoring the situation in coordination with the U.K. and its two military bases in Cyprus.
The suspected drone strike occurred after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran.
Smoke rises up after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet makes an arrested landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) after a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
People watch from a rooftop as a plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
