Iran fires more missiles at Israel on day 4, as Trump declines to put a timeline on the war

Six Persian Gulf nations appear to be on the verge of ending their neutrality in the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, after accusing Tehran of “reckless and indiscriminate attacks” on their territories. 

The Gulf Cooperation Council said Sunday that it maintained the “option to respond to Iranian attacks” to protect security in the region. It was just one sign of a potential major escalation in the conflict sparked Saturday by the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh sustained “minor material damage” after being hit by two Iranian drones. That came a day after an Iranian attack targeted the vast Saudi Arabian oil refinery at Ras Tanura — the biggest such facility in the country and one of the biggest in the world.

Iran has shocked the region by firing hundreds of missiles and drones at every state across the Persian Gulf, hitting luxury hotels in Dubai and Bahrain, residential areas in Doha, Qatar, military sites and energy infrastructure in Kuwait, and vital seaports and waterways in Oman.

All these nations host major American military bases so, by default, they are in the American camp in Iran’s view. Iran’s foreign minister has said repeatedly that the Islamic Republic’s fight is not against its neighbors, but against the U.S. military assets they welcome.

Tehran’s aim with the missile and drone fire has likely been to pressure the Gulf’s monarchies to push their allies in Washington to end the war, but the Iranian calculus appears to be backfiring. 

After Qatar’s air force shot two Iranian bombers out of the sky for the first time, there was a clear risk that other countries would decide to join in a war threatening to spread quickly across the Middle East’s long-peaceful Gulf region.

Before the U.S. launched its joint attack on Iran, in close coordination with Israel, President Trump had expressed frustration with progress in what were ongoing talks over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

On Monday, Mr. Trump articulated the reasons he said he had decided, despite the ongoing diplomacy, to order U.S. strikes on Iran, sparking what he says may well be a weeks-long war.

In his first live public remarks on the operation, he offered four core reasons for the campaign:

• Destroying Iran’s missile capabilities;
• Annihilating Iran’s navy;
• Preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons;
• Ensuring the regime can’t continue to arm, fund or direct “terrorist armies” outside its borders.

A senior administration official said the operation would continue until all four objectives are achieved. Click here to read more about the Iranian capabilities and alleged ambitions, which Mr. Trump said had made this war a “last best chance” to deal with what he claims was an imminent threat to American security.

Israel’s military warned people in at least 80 southern Lebanese cities, towns and villages to evacuate and not return on Tuesday as it announced that troops had been sent across the border into the neighboring country “to create an additional layer of protection for our towns.” 

“Forces have begun an operation to thicken the line of defense for northern communities. As part of this, we evacuated the Lebanese population for their own safety. We have deployed forces across the border, holding several strategic points along the border,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, adding that it had “achieved operational control in the area, with combatants prepared to act against any threat.”

Israel has hammered the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon for years, and with the U.S.-designated terror group joining Iran’s retaliatory attacks against perceived Israeli and U.S. interests across the region in the last few days, Israel had indicated that a new ground operation could be coming.

“We continue to strike Hezbollah’s centers of gravity in Beirut. Overnight, we completed a wave of strikes on Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters,” the IDF said Tuesday, adding that “the ongoing activity, in cooperation with the U.S., will continue to deepen the damage, eliminate launchers, and reduce their numbers as part of the operation’s goals.”

The Israel Defense Forces warned Tuesday morning of a new Iranian missile launch and urged people to heed orders from the country’s Home Front Command to seek shelter.

“Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said, repeating warnings that have been issued multiple times daily since the U.S. and Israel launched their blistering attacks on Iran Saturday morning.

Red alert sirens were reportedly blaring across central Israel, including in the capital Tel Aviv, and there were unconfirmed reports of at least one impact but the nation’s emergency MDA medical service said there were no immediate casualties confirmed. 

The MDA said teams were treating two people injured “on their way to a protected area,” but it didn’t indicate the injuries were serious, or the result of the Iranian fire.

The assessment by the U.S. and Israeli militaries as of Monday was that they had destroyed roughly half of the 500 or so missile launchers Iran had before the American “Midnight Hammer” attacks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities in June. They estimate that Iran could still have around 250, but they believe that by the end of the week, 70-80% of the country’s launchers will likely have been destroyed. 

The last of Iran’s missile launchers may be harder to reach because many are underground. 

The assessment was that Monday saw notably fewer ballistic missile barrages due to Iran’s diminished launching capacity, but it was also likely that the country is trying to ration its stockpiles, given President Trump’s remarks that the war could last five weeks or longer. 

U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf have faced a significant bombardment from Iran since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war on the Islamic Republic on Saturday. 

Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said that as of Monday it has successfully intercepted 90 ballistic missiles, 24 drones, three cruise missiles and two Su-24 fighter jets. 

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense said Monday that it had detected 178 ballistic missiles and 384 drones since the start of the war, according to the country’s official news agency. Some 27 members of the Kuwaiti army have been injured, the ministry said.

Six American service members have been killed and 18 seriously wounded in the U.S. military’s Operation Epic Fury as of Tuesday morning, according to U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins.

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia was attacked by two drones, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said on X, causing what the ministry described as a small fire and limited damage.

The apparent drone attack in the Saudi capital of Riyadh came as several U.S. allies in the Gulf region face days of retaliatory attacks by Iranian drones and missiles, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

The embassy has urged U.S. citizens in Riyadh and the key commercial cities of Dhahran and Jeddah to shelter in place. It said it would be closed Tuesday.

In an interview Monday night, President Trump said that “you’ll be finding out very soon” when asked who now controls Iran. 

Speaking to NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer, the president also reacted to the strike on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, saying “you’ll find out soon” when asked about retaliation for that attack.

The U.S. embassy in Kuwait on Tuesday said it was closed until further notice, a day after smoke was seen rising from the mission following Iranian attacks on the country.

“Due to ongoing regional tensions, the US Embassy in Kuwait will be closed until further notice. We have cancelled all regular and emergency consular appointments,” the embassy said in a statement on X.

President Trump said late Monday on Truth Social, “The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better,” and that the U.S. has a “virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies.”

“At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries,” Mr. Trump added. 

Mr. Trump has predicted the war in Iran could last at least five weeks, and he has not ruled out the possibility of putting American boots on the ground in Iran.

State Department evacuations of non-emergency personnel and family reached six nations Tuesday with the inclusion of the United Arab Emirates.

The other nations where that’s happening are Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.  

The UAE, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi and long considered a safe corner of the Middle East, has been dragged into the Iran war with and attacks on its territory and missile interceptions.

In addition, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has advised Americans there about what he calls “VERY LIMITED” options for leaving, mainly via bus to Egypt, using his X account, saying, “We are getting a lot of requests regarding evacuating from Israel from American citizens who are currently in Israel or who have family here.”

CBS/AP

President Trump on Monday submitted a War Powers Resolution notification to Congress regarding the Feb. 28 military strikes against the government of Iran. 

“Despite my Administration’s repeated efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran’s malign behavior, the threat to the United States and its allies and partners became untenable,” Mr. Trump wrote to Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley in the March 2 letter, obtained by CBS News.

Mr. Trump writes that “at my direction,” U.S. forces conducted precision strikes against “numerous targets within Iran,” including ballistic missile sites, maritime mining capabilities, air defenses and command-and-control capabilities. The strikes, he writes, were undertaken to protect U.S. forces in the region, protect the homeland, ensure the free flow of maritime commerce through the Strait of Hormuz and act in collective self-defense of U.S. allies, including Israel.

The president states that no U.S. ground forces were used and that the mission was designed to minimize civilian casualties, deter future attacks and neutralize Iran’s malign activities.

He acknowledges in the letter that “it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary,” adding that U.S. forces remain postured to take further action as needed.

The president wrote that he directed the action pursuant to his constitutional authority as commander in chief and is submitting the report consistent with the War Powers Resolution.

President Trump reiterated in remarks at the White House on Monday that the U.S. is “substantially ahead” of its time projection for the operation in Iran, but added that the military was prepared for a longer campaign.

“Whatever it takes, we will always — and we have right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that,” he said. “We’ll do it.”

Mr. Trump also rebuffed a claim from an unidentified person. The president said the person alleged he would soon get bored of the military operation.

“I don’t get bored. There’s nothing boring about this,” Mr. Trump said.