As Iran retaliates, largest US military base in Middle East hit by ballistic missile, Qatar says

No one was injured, according to the Qatari Ministry of Defense.

ByJon Haworth, Jack Moore, Nadine El-Bawab, David Brennan, Kevin Shalvey, Meredith Deliso, and Leah Sarnoff
Last Updated: March 3, 2026, 10:02 PM EST

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.

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Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Mar 03, 2026, 6:29 AM EST

Hezbollah in 'open war' with Israel, senior official says

The deputy head of Hezbollah's political council, Mahmoud Qamati, said Tuesday that Israel "wanted an open war" with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group.

PHOTO: Smoke plumes rise following Israeli bombardment on southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on March 3, 2026.
Smoke plumes rise following Israeli bombardment on southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on March 3, 2026. Israel on March 3 ordered the military to take control of more positions in Lebanon, where the army pulled back some of its forces after Hezbollah attacked Israeli bases in support of its backer, Iran. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

"The enemy wanted an open war, which he has not stopped since the ceasefire agreement decision, so let it be an open war," Qamati said in a statement, referring to the November 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, since which Israel has continued to bomb Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and has maintained military positions in five locations in the south of the country.

The heavily-damaged building of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah's radio broadcast station al-Nour, which was hit by overnight Israeli strikes, is pictured in Beirut's southern suburbs on March 3, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images

"God is our helper, and victory is for the homeland, the people and the resistance," Qamati said.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Morgan Winsor

Mar 03, 2026, 6:14 AM EST

IAEA confirms entrances to Iran's Natanz enrichment plant were bombed

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations, said Tuesday that entrances to Iran's underground and previously bombed uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz have been damaged by the U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country.

A satellite image shows a closer view of the Natanz Nuclear Facility with new building damage, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, near Natanz, Iran, March 2, 2026.
Vantor/handout via Reuters

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Somayeh Malekian

Mar 03, 2026, 5:55 AM EST

IDF says it struck Iranian regime's leadership compound

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Tuesday that its aircraft had overnight "struck and dismantled facilities within the leadership compound of the Iranian terrorist regime in the heart of Tehran."

Plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran early on March 3, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

"During the strike on the compound, numerous munitions were dropped on the Presidential Office and the building of the Supreme National Security Council," the IDF said. "In addition, the gathering site of the regime’s most senior forum responsible for security decision-making was targeted, as well as the institution for training Iranian military officers and additional key regime infrastructure."

The IDF added: "This compound serves as the most central and significant headquarters of the Iranian terrorist regime. Its strike further degrades the functional continuity of the regime’s command and control systems."

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Jordana Miller

Mar 03, 2026, 4:57 AM EST

787 people killed by strikes on Iran, Red Crescent Society says

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said Tuesday that at least 787 people had been killed by U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran since Saturday, according to the semiofficial ISNA news agency.

APTOPIX Iran US Israel
A woman crosses almost deserted square with a billboard at rear showing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.–Israeli military campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The Associated Press

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Morgan Winsor

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