Hezbollah strikes Israel as American and Israeli planes pound Iran

NPR News · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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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. Hassan Ammar/AP hide caption toggle caption Hassan Ammar/AP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — 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. 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 having come under attack. Eleven people have been killed in Israel, according to authorities there. In Kuwait City, as fire and smoke rose from inside the U.S. Embassy compound, the country's defense ministry said "several" American warplanes had also crashed in the country. The ministry did not elaborate on what caused the crashes or how many aircraft were involved, but said the pilots were taken to a hospital and were in stable condition. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The embassy compound was hit not long after 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. Meantime, as the American and Israeli airstrikes continued, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani vowed 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. Iran expands attacks to regional oil infrastructure With world markets already rattled by the fighting and oil prices soaring, Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack Monday from drones, with defenses downing the incoming aircraft, a military spokesman made the announcement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. Online videos from the site appeared to show thick black smoke rising after the attack. Even successfully intercepted drones cause debris that can spark fires and injure those on the ground. Ras Tanura, near the city of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia, is one of the world's largest with a capacity over half a million barrels of crude oil a day. It was temporarily shut down as a precaution after the attack, Saudi state television reported. Earlier in the day, debris fell on Kuwait's Ahmadi oil refinery, injuring two workers, after drones were shot down, the state-run KUNA news agency reported. Iran's decision to expands its attacks to major regional oil infrastructure add a new element to the war gripping the Middle East, directly targeting the lifeblood of the area's economy. "The attack on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran's sights," said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. "An extended period of uncertainty lies ahead as Iran seeks to impose a heavy economic cost by putting tankers, regional energy infrastructure, trade routes and U.S. security partners in the crosshairs," he added. 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. AP/U.S. Central Command hide caption toggle caption AP/U.S. Central Command Already, Iran has been threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes. Several ships have been attacked as well there. Sascha Bruchmann, a defense analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain, told The Associated Press that Iran's goal in hitting energy infrastructure is to 'cause global backlash and impose costs" on the U.S. president. So far, however, "this is not the wholesome destruction of critical infrastructure the Iranian regime seeks," Bruchmann said. Meanwhile, Iran's Ambassador to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, told reporters that the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes had targeted Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday. "Again they attacked Iran's peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday," he said. "Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie." Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the U.S. bombed back in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. The Israeli military also did not immediately comment on Najafi's allegation. Israel has not publicized specific targets in Iran but has said that it is targeting "leadership and nuclear infrastructure." Hezbollah fires on Israel, prompting massive response As the attacks on Iran 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." 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. 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. 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. Hussein Malla/AP hide caption toggle caption Hussein Malla/AP Casualties rise as attacks spread across the region 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, while predicting more casualties. "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." Others have mostly stayed out of the war and pressed for diplomacy. But in an indication that the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with the U.S. to help stop Iran's attacks. Early Monday, Cyprus said an uncrewed drone "caused limited damage" when it hit a British air base on the southern coast. Further details were not immediately available, but it came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran. The weekend attacks were the second time in eight months that the U.S. and Israel had combined against Iran, in a startling show of military might for an American president elected on an "America First" platform and pledged to keep out of "forever wars." 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. Iranian proxies join the fray Hezbollah's launch of missiles at Israel was the first time in more than a year that the militant group has claimed an attack. Iran's proxies were a chief concern for American and Israeli officials before they suspended negotiations with Iran last week and moved ahead with strikes on Iran. Israel said the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group had "joined the campaign" alongside Iran as it retaliated with strikes on Beirut, Lebanon's capital. Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake by a series of loud explosions that shook buildings and caused windows to shatter. Warplanes could be heard flying low overhead. "The strikes continue," said Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, head of Israel's Northern Command. "Their intensity will increase." The Iraqi Shiite militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed a drone attack Monday targeting U.S. troops at the airport in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, further widening the retaliation over the killing of Khamenei. It had claimed a drone attack on Sunday against a U.S. air base in Irbil, in Iraq's north. The group is one of a number of Shiite militias operating in Iraq. The U.S. and Iraq did not immediately comment on the claims. In the Persian Gulf, Iran's retaliatory strikes pushed the conflict into cities that have long marketed themselves as regional safe havens. Three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain. In the United Ar