President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Saturday, with daytime strikes in the joint U.S.-Israel attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
On Sunday, Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on Saturday.
Iran is responding to the U.S.-Israeli operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations. American diplomatic facilities have also been attacked.
In Lebanon, Israel is intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah militia.
Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
'Action had to be taken, and we took it,' Netanyahu says
During an interview with Fox News on Monday night, his first interview since the joint U.S-Israel strikes on Iran, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump.
"You needed a resolute president like Donald Trump to take that action. And we are his very strong and able partners, and our alliance today is so strong," he said.
"Action had to be taken, and we took it," Netanyahu said of the strikes and Iran's nuclear capacities.
Netanyahu claimed that Iran had "started building new sites, new places, underground bunkers that would make the ballistic missile program and the atomic bomb program renewed within months, if no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future."
Mar 02, 2026, 8:36 PM EST
Trump sends war powers resolution notification to Congress
President Donald Trump submitted to Congress on Monday a war powers notification regarding military action taken on Feb. 28 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,” Trump wrote in a letter addressed to Sen. Chuck Grassley, president pro tempore of the Senate.
President Donald Trump looks on, as a patch of blemished skin is visible above his shirt collar, during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, March 2, 2026.
Ken Cedeno/Reuters
“Accordingly, and at my direction, on February 28, 2026, United States forces conducted precision strikes against numerous targets within Iran including ballistic missile sites, maritime mining capabilities, air defenses and command and control capabilities. Strikes were undertaken to protect United States forces in the region, protect the United States homeland, advance vital United States national interests including ensuring the free flow of maritime commerce through the Strait of Hormuz and in the collective self-defense of our allies, including Israel," Trump wrote.
In the notification, Trump acknowledges that “it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary” during this conflict.
“United States forces remain postured to take further action, as necessary and appropriate to address further threats and attacks upon the United States or its allies and partners,” Trump wrote.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Mar 02, 2026, 7:56 PM EST
US embassy in Saudi Arabia struck by Iranian drones: US officials
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been struck by two Iranian drones, according to two U.S. officials and initial estimates from the Saudi Ministry of Defense.
The strikes resulted in "limited fire and minor damage to the building," a spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Defense said.
The embassy was relatively empty given the overnight hours and no one is believed to have been injured -- but there is still believed to be an ongoing threat to the embassy, the U.S. officials said.
US President Bush's motorcade at the United States Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images
The Defense Ministry later said eight other drones were intercepted during the overnight hours.
The State Department also issued an alert advising Americans in Saudi Arabia to shelter in place immediately.
This is the second U.S. embassy to sustain damage in an Iranian drone strike, following Kuwait on Monday.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston
Mar 02, 2026, 7:10 PM EST
Missile alerts overnight in Israel, UAE, Qatar and more
After alerts were activated across Israel early Tuesday local time, the Israel Defense Forces said "launches from Iran have been identified toward several areas in the country's territory."
The United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Defense said in a recent statement that its "air defenses are currently dealing with a barrage of ballistic missiles coming from Iran."
The Qatari Ministry of Defense said it "successfully continued to intercept and neutralize two ballistic missiles that targeted several areas within the country."
In Kuwait, "armed forces are currently dealing with a wave of missiles and drones that have been detected in the airspace," army officials said.
Emergency sirens have also gone off in Bahrain, according to the country's interior ministry. "Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the ministry said.
