As the war in the Middle East intensifies, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. has “the capability to go far longer" than its projected four-to-five-week time frame for its military operations against Iran.
Across Tehran, the sound of explosions rang out through the night and into the early morning hours Tuesday, as the U.S. and Israel have continued to pound Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas.
The intensity of the attacks and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Israel and the U.S. have given conflicting answers about what exactly the war’s objectives are or what the endgame might be.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Monday defended the decision to go to war, contending in an interview on Fox News Channel’s "Hannity" that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” that would make “their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months,” without providing evidence.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed limited activity at two nuclear sites in Iran before the war, with analysts saying it was likely Tehran was trying to assess damage from American strikes in June and possibly salvage what remained there.
Here is the latest:
U.S. President Donald Trump says America has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions to use as the war with Iran rages.
Trump, writing on his Truth Social website, said: “The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better - As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons.”
He added: “Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies.”
He said “additional high grade weaponry” is “stored for us in outlying countries.”
Trump did not elaborate, but his post comes as analysts begin raising concerns about the number of munitions the U.S. has as the campaign continues — particularly air defense missiles.
Across Iran’s capital, the sound of explosions rang out throughout the night into the early morning hours.
Witnesses described hearing aircraft overhead as well.
It wasn’t immediately clear what had been hit.
Iranian state television early Tuesday read a statement from the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, saying that it launched a missile and drone attack targeting an air base in Bahrain.
Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese capital Tuesday morning.
The Israeli military said it was targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut.”
Hezbollah also said it launched drones targeting an Israeli air base.
The Israeli military said it downed two drones.
Tokyo has told Japanese shipowners to have their ships stay away from the Persian Gulf to ensure the safety of their crew members.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters Tuesday that the Transport Ministry has notified the Japanese Shipowners’ Association to do the utmost to protect crews on board the ships in the region.
Kihara said those already in the Gulf are urged to lie at anchor where it is safe to do so.
On Monday, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with Iranian ambassador to Japan Peiman Seadat and conveyed Japan’s consistent stance that Iran must stop attacks on neighboring countries and other actions destabilizing the region.
Motegi also noted the importance of ensuring safety in the Strait of Hormuz, which is key to Japan’s energy security.
Iran’s top diplomat early Tuesday sought to turn the tables on the United States, describing it as entering “a war of choice on behalf of Israel.”
After Trump urged Iranians to take over their government, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the same call to Americans.
“Shedding of both American and Iranian blood is thus on Israel Firsters,” Araghchi wrote on X. “American people deserve better and should take back their country.”