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.
Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
State Department says it's 'actively securing' military, charter flights for Americans
The State Department said it is working on “actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East,” according to the department’s Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs.
"We've been in direct contact with nearly 3,000 Americans abroad,” he said in a post on X.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
Mar 03, 2026, 1:38 PM EST
Trump contradicts Rubio
President Donald Trump on Tuesday contradicted the words of Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Israel’s plans to attack Iran prompted the president to launch strikes.
Asked by ABC News if Israel forced his hand to launch strikes, Trump responded, “No. I might have forced their hand. You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack. If we didn’t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that.”
“Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen,” he said. “So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand. But Israel was ready and we were ready.”
People inspect the rubble of a collapsed building near Ferdowsi square in Tehran on March 3, 2026.
"There absolutely was an imminent threat," Rubio said. "And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit, sit there and absorb a blow before we respond.
Trump said Tuesday that he was "surprised" that Iran was hitting other countries.
"Amazingly, they're hitting countries that were, you know, let's call them neutral, right? They lived together for a long time,” he said. “They -- I think they were surprised. I was surprised.”
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Fritz Farrow
Mar 03, 2026, 1:21 PM EST
Schumer criticizes lack of clear rationale for war in Iran: 'Which one is it, Donald Trump?'
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the administration for failing to give a clear rationale for war in Iran.
"If the case for war was strong, the story would be consistent and steady. Instead, it changes by the hour," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
"We heard this attack was defensive in nature. Then [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio said it was preemptive. Which one is it, Donald Trump? Regime change? Nuclear weapons? Missiles? An imminent threat to the homeland? Or a preemptive strike to stop future attacks on the region?" Schumer said. "When the rationale for war keeps shifting, the strategy is missing. And that's because there is no strategy. And when the strategy is missing, the risk grows."
An F-35C Lightning II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 3, 2026.
U.S. Navy
Schumer warned against engaging in a prolonged contact.
"This is not a defensive war. This is not a necessary war. This is a war of choice," he said.
Schumer said Americans would prefer Trump focus on lowering costs at home.
-ABC News’ Allie Pecorin
Mar 03, 2026, 1:15 PM EST
Trump on stranded Americans: 'It happened to all very quickly'
Thousands of Americans are stranded in the Middle East because of the severe restrictions on commercial air travel.
Asked by ABC News why there wasn't a plan to evacuate Americans, President Donald Trump said, "Well, because it happened to all very quickly.”
President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House, March 3, 2026 in Washington.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
“We thought, and I thought maybe more so than most, I could ask [Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio], but I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked,” he said. “They were getting ready to attack Israel. They were getting ready to attack others. You're seeing that right now. And a lot of those missiles that are hitting in those are stationary. Those were aimed there for a long period of time at these other countries."