The US-Israeli war on Iran has now exploded into a regional conflict as Tehran retaliated with strikes against a major gas facility in Qatar and caused a fire at an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia.
Joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 555 people, including Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and reportedly his wife, Mansoureh Khojaste Bagherzadeh, along with other family members.
While Israeli forces continue to strike targets in Tehran, Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks into Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Global gas prices surged sharply, rising as much as 42% at one point amid fears of wider disruption.
In Kuwait, several US fighter jets crashed in what the US military described as an apparent friendly fire incident.
The US also confirmed that a fourth service member was killed in Iran’s initial attacks.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon killed at least 31 people, according to Lebanese officials, as Israel says it is responding to attacks from Hezbollah. Drones heading toward a UK base in Cyprus were also intercepted.
The United States has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, warning that the security situation is volatile as airstrikes continue, particularly in southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut.
At the Pentagon, senior US officials signaled that the conflict could expand.
General Dan Caine announced that additional troops and tactical aircraft would be deployed to the region.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Americans to expect more casualties but rejected suggestions that the US had entered a “forever war.”
He said the strikes were intended to end decades of Iranian hostility, not solely to achieve regime change, though he noted that “the regime sure did change.”
Overall, the conflict has spread beyond Iran and Israel into Lebanon, the Gulf states and Cyprus, raising fears of a prolonged and widening regional war.
