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 Monday with statements of defiance and increasing casualties.
In the chaos, the U.S. military said that Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission.
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.
Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi, delivering his first public remarks since he was made a member of Iran’s temporary leadership council, said he hoped that a new supreme leader would be “quickly” appointed to replace Ali Khamenei.
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Cyberattacks knocked out Iran’s key systems ahead of U.S and Israeli strikes, according to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. Dan Caine.
U.S. cyber operations were used to “disrupt, disorient and confuse” Iranian forces at the start of the operation, Caine said.
Disruptions to its communications systems reduced Iran’s ability to assess the attack and to coordinate its response, Caine told reporters at a Monday briefing.
European natural gas futures are spiking 42% in the wake of the shutdown of a major supplier of ship-born gas due to the fighting in the Middle East.
The futures contract for April delivery shot up to 45.46 euros ($53.26) on the ICE commodities exchange. The jump came after QatarEnergy said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas as the Mideast war rages. The state-owned firm blamed the war for the decision.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that more forces are being deployed.
The deployment already includes thousands of service members from all branches, including Reserve and National Guard forces; hundreds of advanced fighters; dozens of refueling tankers; the Lincoln and Ford Carrier Strike Group and their embarked air wings.
“The Joint Force has launched hundreds of missions over land and sea,” Cooper said.
Caine noted especially the Wisconsin Army National Guard units that are operating in Kuwait and Iraq, and Air National Guard units from a variety of states to include Vermont and Virginia.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military operations in Iran are the “most precise aerial operation in history.”
Decrying Tehran’s “expansionist and Islamist regime,” Hegseth referenced violence in places across Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon as proxies in more than four decades he said were part of “a savage, one-sided war against America.”
“Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their ayatollah and his death cult,” Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon.
Hegseth said the U.S. is not engaged in a nation building effort in Iran and that ongoing strikes on Iran have a clear mission and won’t be the prelude to a long sustained conflict.
“This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” he said. “This is not a so-called ‘regime change war’ but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it."
Cyprus said it is displeased that Britain did not make clear its intention to use its military bases in Cyprus in a capacity other than for humanitarian purposes.
Government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said Cypriot authorities had assurances from U.K. officials that the bases would only be used for “strictly in a humanitarian capacity.”
Letymbiotis said protests will be lodged with the U.K. government to express Cyprus’ displeasure. He left open the possibility that the Cypriot government would possibly open negotiations with the U.K. regarding the bases’ status.
Military strikes on Iran rattled global markets on Monday with U.S. futures following markets in Europe and Asia lower. Energy prices rose sharply.
Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each sank about 1%.
Travel sectors, from airlines and cruise operators to global hotel chains, tumbled. Natural gas futures rose early 6% and futures for fuel used for transportation as well as industrial purposes, spiked more than 14%.
Germany’s DAX dropped 1.9% to 24,817.42, while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 1.7% to 8,435.80. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 1% to 10,808.53.
Shares fell in most Asian markets but they rose in Shanghai, where higher oil prices lifted some oil company stocks such as CNOOC, China Petroleum & Chemical and PetroChina to the 10% limit. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.5% to 4,182.59, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 2.1% to 26,059.85. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index initially fell more than 2%.
Gold, a safe haven for investment in times of uncertainty, rose 3.1% to about $5,408.10 per ounce.
Cyprus says two drones moving in the direction of a British air base on the island have been intercepted.
Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that the two drones were heading toward RAF Aktotiri Air Base.
Sirens sounded at around 1000 GMT at the key base, minutes before two Typhoon fighter jets and a pair of F-35s took off, ostensibly to intercept the drones. The sirens stopped an hour later with the aircraft landing shortly after.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said earlier that a Shaheed-type drone had cause minor damage when it struck inside the base just after midnight.
A U.S. soldier has died during the war with Iran, the U.S. Central Command announced on Monday, bringing the official tota l to four.
The soldier was wounded during the initial stage of Operation Epic Fury and died on Monday, it said.
A total of four U.S. soldiers have been killed since Israel and the U.S. launched strikes against Iran on Saturday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday that “sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”
Countries across the world are scrambling to bring citizens home who are stranded in the Middle East.
Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways said flights remain suspended, with its next update planned for Tuesday morning, while Jordan announced a partial closure of its airspace.
About 30,000 German tourists are currently stranded on cruise ships, in hotels or at closed airports. Air France canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh, while carriers from Air India to KLM suspended flights and issued advisories.
The Czech Republic is sending two planes to Egypt and Jordan to bring home Czech nationals, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said. Four more planes are heading to Muscat and Salalah in Oman to fly home Czech tourists.
In Asia, thousands of travelers were stranded on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali because international flights were canceled. Bali’s international airport said at least 15 flights, including eight departures and seven arrivals, on routes to Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were canceled as of Monday afternoon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Monday to the United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss “the unprecedented tragic events in the Middle East in the context of the American-Israeli aggression against Iran and Tehran’s harsh retaliatory actions,” the Kremlin said.
Putin noted that Russia had sought to help facilitate a settlement of the situation regarding the Iranian nuclear program, but those efforts were “thwarted by an unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign U.N. member state, in violation of the fundamental principles of international law.”
Al Nahyan described the Iranian strikes on the Emirates as completely unjustified, noting that the country’s territory wasn’t used for launching attacks on Iran. Putin expressed his readiness to convey these signals to Tehran and to provide all possible assistance to stabilize the overall situation in the region, the Kremlin said.
Britain is not at war, the government said Monday, despite saying it would allow the U.S. to use British bases during its war with Iran and after a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian-made drone.
Sirens sounded again at RAF Akrotiri on Monday and British warplanes were scrambled, apparently in response to a new threat.
“The U.K. is not at war,” Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said Monday. He told the BBC Iran has ballistic missiles “pointed at the Gulf and it is vital that those missile launchers are taken out in the face of these completely reckless attacks.”
Greece is sending two frigates and two fighter jets to Cyprus after attacks against a British base on the island.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said one of the frigates was equipped with an anti-drone system recently tested in a European Union-led deployment in the Red Sea to protect international shipping.
”(Greece) will contribute in every possible way to the defense of the Republic of Cyprus, in order to confront the threats and unlawful actions taking place on its territory,” Dendias said.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi expressed hope that a diplomatic process will resume with regard to Iran’s nuclear program, highlighting the “indispensable role” that the U.N. nuclear watchdog could play in such a scenario.
“My hope...is that we will be back at the negotiating table sooner rather than later. It is obvious that after this military conflict ends — and we all hope that this will be very, very soon — we will still need to have a long, durable solution, which will provide a sense of predictability and a sense of certainty for Iran and neighboring countries,” Grossi told reporters after the special session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna.
The IAEA chief underlined that “there is a recognition” that “there will have to be a dialogue at some point.”
QatarEnergy, one of world’s top natural gas producers, said it is halting production of liquefied natural gas, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market.
“Due to military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City in the state of Qatar, QatarEnergy has ceased production of liquefied natural gas and associated products,” it said. “QatarEnergy values its relationships with all of its stakeholders and will continue to communicate the latest available information.”
It offered no timeline for restoring its production.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Hezbollah's rocket attack on Israel were “illegal” acts, adding that such activities give Israel a pretext to destroy the country.
The government held a five-hour Cabinet meeting to discuss the Hezbollah action that triggered massive Israeli retaliation and the displacement of tens of thousands of people.
Information Minister Paul Morcos cited Aoun as saying that what happened overnight “was not to defend Lebanon or protect the Lebanese people. What are witnessing is building collapsing on their residents as they sleep.”
Israel’s rescue services said at least 15 people were injured by Iranian missiles in the southern city of Beer Sheba.
Searches are ongoing for additional victims. Several missile barrages targeted Israel from Iran on Monday.
Long-haul carrier Etihad Airways said in an update that all flights to and from its base in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, will be now suspended until 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
Etihad, like fellow Gulf airlines Emirates and Qatar Airways, mainly serves long-haul travelers whose plans have been disrupted by the closure of regional airspace.
The price of oil jumped as tanker disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz raise fears about supply shortages from the Persian Gulf.
U.S. oil rose to about $71.97 a barrel on Monday and Brent climbed to about $78.46. Higher prices increase the risk of costlier gasoline and pricier goods.
The U.K. maritime center also reported attacks on vessels and warned of heavy electronic interference. Oman said a drone boat hit an oil tanker and killed one mariner. Saudi media said drones hit near Ras Tanura and Saudi Arabia shut the refinery as a precaution.
Traffic through the strategic Strait of Homruz has sharply dropped following U.S.-Israel weekend strikes in Iran. MarineTraffic.com said that transit through the chokepoint has fallen by 70% since Saturday.
It said that it has noticed changes in vessels’ navigation in the past three days including “U-turns, idling, reduced speeds, and last-minute diversions.”
Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi has delivered some of his first public remarks since he was made a member of Iran’s temporary leadership council.
In remarks aired on state television, Arafi said he hoped that a new supreme leader would be “quickly” appointed. The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of mostly hard-line clerics, will choose former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s replacement. But no clear successor is in place.
Arafi is serving on a temporary leadership council that includes President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. Arafi added that state institutions were continuing to function “under these extremely difficult circumstances.”
Iran has targeted a power plant in Qatar, the country’s defense ministry said. There were no casualties.
The ministry reported that Iran launched two drone attacks, one targeting a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed, in southern Qatar, and another targeting an energy facility operated by Qatar Energy in the industrial city of Ras Laffan.
The U.S. military said Monday that Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” thee American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission as Iran attacked the country.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said the combat included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones — the first time Iran’s aging combat fleet has been engaged in the war.
“The U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” it said. “All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.”
A bomb-carrying drone boat exploded against a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, killing one mariner on board, Oman said.
The state-run Oman News Agency said the attack occurred in the Gulf of Oman off Muscat, the sultanate’s capital. It identified the vessel as the MKD VYOM. It said the dead crew member was from India.
Iran has been threatening vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
A state TV communications tower and building destroyed Sunday during a strike as part of the ongoing joint U.S.–Israeli military campaign are seen in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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)
Israeli security forces inspect the scene of a direct hit on a road following an Iranian missile strike in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
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)
