U.S. closes two embassies in the Gulf, and Israel moves into southern Lebanon.
The U.S. urged Americans to leave 14 countries, and closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait after drones hit them. Israel’s military intensified operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fired rockets into Israel.
While the State Department closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait following drone attacks and urged Americans to leave immediately from 14 Middle Eastern nations, the Israeli military claimed on Tuesday that it had seized areas of southern Lebanon in its escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. The Trump administration made it clear that the assault on Iran could last for weeks as the conflict in the region grew and Iran increased its retaliatory strikes. The Israeli military said that it was carrying out additional strikes in Iran, and had targeted weapons storage facilities in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as Hezbollah said it had fired attack drones at Israel.
Concerns arose as a result of Israel’s advance in Lebanon that it might be considering a larger ground assault similar to the one it launched during its year-long conflict with Hezbollah, which came to an end at the end of 2024. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, sustained minor damage after an attack by what appeared to be two drones, the Saudi Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
Two American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to discuss the matter publicly said that a drone attack had caused a fire at the American Embassy compound in Kuwait the day before.
In both incidents, it was unclear where the drones came from. In another sign of the widening conflict, Qatar’s Defense Ministry said its air force had shot down two Su-24 bombers coming from Iran. It was the first report that Iran had launched warplanes at its Gulf neighbors in addition to missiles and drones.
The Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that carries approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, was promised by a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps official that “not a single drop of oil” would pass through it. Even though Iran had not directly threatened them, the Revolutionary Guards’ weekend warning of ships away has already reduced traffic to a trickle. What we’re covering is as follows: U.S. advisory:
The advisory for Americans to leave the Middle East on Monday cited “serious safety risks” and included Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, along with Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian territories. Separately, the State Department directed non-essential employees and their families to leave Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Southern Lebanon: Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said the country’s forces had been ordered to advance and take control of additional strategic locations in Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israeli border communities. In northern Israel, air raid sirens went off, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Find out more: Trump warning: Mr.
On Monday, Trump offered an open-ended timeline for the military campaign in the United States. In a social media post, he said the United States had a “virtually unlimited” supply of certain types of weapons. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, stated, “The U.S. military has yet to deliver the most severe blows.” As investors prepared for a conflict that could last for weeks and cause economic turmoil in energy markets, travel, and supply chains, the global market rout intensified. The price of Brent Crude, the international oil benchmark, soared above $80 a barrel, the highest level since 2024 and the price of natural gas jumped for a second day.
Since Saturday, when the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an American-Israeli attack on Iran, the Pentagon reported that six U.S. service members had been killed in Iranian strikes. Iran’s Red Crescent Society, the country’s main humanitarian relief organization, said on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 787 since the start of the U.S.-Israeli attacks. The Lebanese health ministry said that at least 31 people had been killed in fighting.
According to the authorities, there have been at least ten fatalities in Israel and six fatalities in the Gulf since Saturday. German leader: Mr. On Tuesday, Trump was scheduled to meet with Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Washington. The meeting was long planned, but is likely to be dominated by discussions of the attack on Iran.
