Iran US: Over 30 dead after fresh attack on Lebanon as war spreads

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran continue. President Trump said they could last for up to five weeks.

The conflict is now also spreading to Lebanon and to US allies areas in the Gulf. Israeli strikes killed at least 31 people and wounded 149 others in Lebanon earlier today (March 2).

Israel is now also targeting Hezbollah targets in the south of Beirut and in other areas of Lebanon.

This comes after Hezbollah previously hit Israel in retaliation after the killing of Iran's Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Iran is targeting in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. said the three warplanes that crashed in Kuwait were hit by friendly fire.

The IDF is now urging the evacuation of buildings in the south of Beirut.

During the press conference announced by the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said regimes like Iran must not have nuclear weapons.

With a message on X, the IAF confirmed that "in a precise strike in Beirut tonight, the terrorist Hassan Maqlad, who served as the head of the intelligence headquarters of the terror organization Hezbollah, has been eliminated".

Four U.S. service members have been killed in action, the U.S. Central Command said in an update shared on X.

Here is the full message.

The Lebanese government has banned Hezbollah’s armed activities throughout the country, the prime minister said, the BBC reported.

It was also reported the government thinks Hezbollah's actions could provide Israel with justifications for retaliation.

In a message shared on X and written in English, the IAF said they are prepared, along with the IDF, "for a multiple-front scenario".

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said it "launched a broad wave of strikes on targets of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".

Three F-15E that crashed in Kuwait earlier today, went down due to "an apparent friendly fire incident".

Here is a message from the U.S. Central Command: "At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident."

IDF is "striking now simultaneously in Lebanon and Iran," the IDF itself said on X.

"Overnight broad strikes in Lebanon vs Hezbollah after launches toward Israel," its message also read.

Read more about the Israeli offensive in our story at this link.

A short while ago, alerts were activated in several areas in Israel following the detection of missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory, the IAF said in another message.

"The public is requested to follow Home Front Command instructions. The Air Force is now operating to intercept and strike wherever needed to remove the threat."

The ministry’s headquarters in Tehran has also been hit, the IDF message also added.

Senior members of the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence have been killed by Israeli attacks, the IDF said.

Sayed Yahya Hamidi – Deputy Minister of Intelligence for ‘Israel Affairs,’ who led terrorist activities targeting Jews, Western actors, and regime opponents in Iran and abroad, and Jalal Pour Hossein – Head of the Espionage Division, have been killed in the recent attacks, the IDF and Israeli Air Force (IAF) said in a statement posted on X.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has "precisely struck" a senior Hezbollah member in Beirut, the BBC reported.

Israeli drones (including surveillance UAVs like the Hermes 450) have been spotted and heard over Beirut, the BBC reported.

This follows Hezbollah firing drones and rockets to the northern city of Haifa in Israel, it was also reported.

"The Iranian Red Crescent Society says 555 people have been killed in Iran following attacks by the US and Israel across more than 130 cities," the BBC reported.

Oil supplies could be affected by the conflict after Iran reportedly warned tankers on the strait of Hormuz that no ships would be allowed to pass through.

UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre officials said that two vessels have been struck near to the key trade artery.

The Strait of Hormuz is used by tankers carrying around one fifth of the world’s oil supplies and seaborne gas.

On Monday, the price of Brent crude oil soared by as much as 13% before paring back.

It was 7.6% higher at 77.8 dollars a barrel after 8am.

Israel launched strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut today after missiles were fired by militant group Hezbollah.

The latest strikes came after the US and Israel hit targets across Iran on Sunday as part of an intensifying military campaign which followed the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has been attacking Hezbollah, which had previously hit Israel in retaliation after the killing of Iran's Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

American warplanes crashed in Kuwait this morning, the country’s defence ministry said.

The pilots were taken to hospital, according to the ministry, and they are all in a stable condition.

As the US-Israel conflict with Iran widens, the latter has been targeting Kuwait.

Israeli strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon have killed 31 people and injured 149, according to Lebanon's health ministry, the BBC said.

Several buildings were damaged after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb neighborhood of Haret Hreik today (March 2).

Hezbollah's political leader Mohammad Raad was reportedly killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike, Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath reported Monday morning.

Israel's Chief of Staff, Major General Eyal Zamir, said the country has "launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah," the Israel Defense Force shared in a post on X.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 31 people and wounded 149 others, several news outlets reported.

Oil prices rose sharply Monday as the Middle East enters its third day of conflict.

Prolonged higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods.

Read the full story here.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine have planned to hold a press conference on Monday about the military operation against Iran.

According to the Arabic Breaking News Service, Iran has launched a new wave of missiles and drones on Qatar, Kuwait, Dubai and Bahrain.

The Express was not immediately able to verify the alleged attack.

The Israel Defense Forces wrote in a post on its official X account that missiles were launched from Iran toward Israel.

Local news outlet Cyprus Mail reported that government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the government of Cyprus is “monitoring the situation” after the UK's RAF Akrotiri air force base was struck by suspected a drone.

The base was struck by a suspected a drone around midnight.

A top national security official in Iran has made a frank statement on his nation's relationship with America, stating simply on social media that Iran “will not negotiate with the United States".

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani took to social media to respond to media reports that suggested Iran had reached out the US through intermediaries asking to resume talks between the two nations.

Larijani said on X that the US President has “plunged the region into chaos with his ‘false hopes’ and is now worried about further casualties of American troops".

“With his delusional actions, he has transformed his self-made slogan of ‘America First’ into ‘Israel First’ and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s quest for power,” he added.

Larijani added that Iranian forces “did not initiate the invasion.”

Donald Trump has told the New York Times that the US may continue its campaign against Iran for up to five weeks.The US president told the paper on Sunday that the US military intends to sustain its strikes on Iran for “four to five weeks” if necessary, adding that it “won’t be difficult” for Israel and the US to keep up the current intensity of strikes.Comments made by the US Commander-in-chief come in the wake of the confirmation of three American deaths in the US-Israeli military operation in Iran. The three soldiers are the first American casualties recorded since the attacks began on Saturday, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM)."Three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM said in a social media post.“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty.”The identities of the soldiers have not yet been released, pending notification of their families.

As strikes by US-Israeli forces continue against Iran, satellite images collected on Sunday by US spatial intelligence firm Vantor has shown the widespread devastation felt in the Middle East.

Images from space showed a number of Iranian targets decimated in the recent bombing campaign, with targets appearing to include a drone base, a naval facility, and a radar system.

Perhaps the most shocking of photographs, however, show thousands of mourners in Tehran who have taken their grief to the streets in mass vigils for the now-dead Supreme Leader.

See the full album of before and after satelitte shots here. 

The US is continuing its bombing campaign in the Middle East, launching fresh strikes on Iran overnight. 

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that its military is continuing the assault on Iranian targets with a vido released late Sunday night.

"US forces are taking bold action to eliminate imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime. Strikes continue," CENTCOM said, alongside the footage.