As U.S.-Israeli war with Iran intensifies, Trump says it is "very far ahead of schedule"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel's military offensive against Iran was "not done yet," saying the operation was degrading Iran's clerical leadership.

"Our aspiration is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, it depends on them. But there is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones -- and we are not done yet," Netanyahu said during a visit to the National Health Command Centre on Monday night, according to a statement published Tuesday.

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq have launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Early Tuesday, one of those militias, the 40th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, in the city of Kirkuk, was hit with an airstrike that killed at least five militiamen and wounded four others, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to reporters.

It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the strikes.  

Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday his country was prepared to continue attacks for as long as necessary and ruled out talks after President Trump said the war with Iran would be over "very soon."

Abbas Araghchi told PBS his country was prepared to continue missile attacks and talks with the U.S. were no longer on the agenda.

Iran launched new attacks Tuesday at Gulf Arab countries as it keeps up pressure on the region.

Incoming missile sirens sounded early in the morning in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two drones over its oil-rich eastern region and Kuwait's National Guard said it had show down six drones.

Israeli strikes also hit southern and eastern Lebanon overnight, state media reported Tuesday, as Israel targets the Lebanese group Hezbollah, a powerful Iran proxy.

In addition to firing missiles and drones at Israel and American bases in the region, Iran has been targeting energy infrastructure which, combined with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices soaring.

CBS/AP

Oil prices finished Monday slightly below Friday's levels after a wild trading day that saw prices near $120 per barrel before plunging by more than $25.

Prices surged by double-digit margins late Sunday evening and early Monday as fears mounted about the war and Iran's impact on oil shipments. Commercial traffic has all but stopped in the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and carries roughly 20% of the world's oil. As ships remain unwilling to pass through the strait and storage facilities fill up, several major Arab oil producers have cut production with nowhere to send their oil. 

Some of the morning's gains were pared back later in the day. Then, on Monday afternoon, President Trump signaled that the U.S. military could get involved in keeping the strait open and predicted the war could end "very soon" — and prices fell even more.

The president told CBS News he's considering taking over the strait and warned in a news conference later in the evening that Iran will face "much harder" strikes and pay an "incalculable" price if it does anything to stop oil shipments. He also reiterated his pledge to offer political risk insurance to shippers and said the U.S. could escort tankers through the strait.

The U.S. crude oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, peaked at more than $116 per barrel shortly after midnight on Monday ET before sinking to just over $90 per barrel 24 hours later. By comparison, WTI was trading at slightly over $91 per barrel when markets closed for the weekend on Friday. The international Brent benchmark followed a similar trajectory.

Vice President JD Vance participated in a dignified transfer for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, the seventh American service member who was killed in the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Vance flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the arrival of Pennington's remains. The vice president was seen saluting during the ceremony, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.

A Kentucky native, 26-year-old Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion in Colorado. He was injured during a March 1 attack on a base in Saudi Arabia, and died from his injuries a week later, according to the Pentagon.

A dignified transfer for six other U.S. service members who were killed took place last weekend, with President Trump in attendance.

President Trump warned Iran against blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for the world's oil industry, as the war with Iran has brought shipping traffic in the strait to a virtual standstill — causing oil prices to spike since the war began.

"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far," he said on Truth Social. "Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!"

Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to ramp up strikes on Iran if it disrupts the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and carries roughly 20% of the world's oil. Earlier Monday, he told CBS News he was considering taking over the waterway.

President Trump said he's the only one in his administration who has suggested that Iran bombed a girls' school "because I just don't know enough about it."  

A preliminary U.S. assessment suggests that the U.S. was "likely" responsible for the deadly attack but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error, a person briefed on the preliminary intelligence told CBS News.

"It's something that I was told is under investigation," Mr. Trump said. "But Tomahawks are used by others. … Numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us." 

Mr. Trump said he would accept "whatever" the investigation shows. 

"I'm willing to live with that report," he said. 

Without providing evidence, the president had said Saturday that the U.S. believes the bombing "was done by Iran" and cited information that he had seen.

President Trump said he was "disappointed" by the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new Supreme Leader, but said he likes "the idea" of someone "internal" leading the country "because it works well." 

The president pointed to the ouster of Venezuela's former president, Nicolás Maduro, and Delcy Rodríguez taking over in the interim. Rodríguez was vice president.  

"I think we've proven that so far in Venezuela," Mr. Trump said. "She's doing a great job."

President Trump said "no" when asked whether the war could be over this week, but added that it would end "soon."

President Trump warned that if Iran tries to block the oil supply, it will get hit "much, much harder." Referring to the energy sector, he threatened to "take out those targets" quickly.  

"They'll never be able to recover ever," Mr. Trump said. "We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world if they do anything."

President Trump told reporters that the U.S. has struck more than 5,000 targets, but has left some key targets "for later." 

"We've left some of the most important targets for later," Mr. Trump said, noting the targets involve "electricity production and many other things."  

"So we're not looking to do that if we don't have to," he said. "But they're the kind of things that are very easy to hit, but very devastating if they are hit. We are waiting to see what happens before we hit them." 

President Trump, still speaking to the House GOP conference, said Israel would have been "wiped out" if the U.S. didn't send B-2 bombers to Iran, seemingly referring to an earlier set of June 2025 strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. 

The president said Iran's nuclear capabilities have long been a "dark cloud" over Israel and other countries. The president said there was really "no choice" but to intervene in Iran. 

"This was always a dark cloud hanging over, not only Israel, which was going to get wiped out," he said. "You know, if we didn't do that B-2 attack, Israel would have been wiped out."

The June strikes hit facilities that are crucial to Iran's uranium enrichment program. In recent years, Iran has enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade levels, though U.S. intelligence agencies assessed last year that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

President Trump said the U.S. will "not relent" until the "enemy" in Iran is completely defeated, hours after he told CBS News the war is "very complete, pretty much." Mr. Trump made the comments in his speech to the House GOP conference. 

The president said the U.S. is "counting down the minutes" until Iran's leadership is obliterated. 

"And we'll not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated," he said, to applause. "And remember, Iran did so many bad things."

Speaking at the House GOP retreat, President Trump said the U.S. and Israel are "crushing" the Iranian regime. 

"Together, with our Israeli partners, we're crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force," he said. "Iran's drone and missile capability is being utterly demolished. The navy is gone, it's all lying at the bottom of the ocean." 

The president said 46 ships have been sunk so far. When he heard the Iranian ships were excellent quality, he said he asked why the U.S. didn't capture them instead. The president said he was told it's "more fun to sink them." 

President Trump referred to the Iran war as a "short-term excursion" during his remarks at the House GOP retreat at Trump National Doral in Miami. 

"We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil," Mr. Trump said. "And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion." 

"Short term. Short term," he added.

During a news conference at his Miami-area golf club, Mr. Trump confirmed that he spoke Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East. 

"He wants to be helpful," Mr. Trump said. "I said, you could be helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with. That will be more helpful. But we had a very good talk." 

President Trump told CBS News in an interview the U.S. "could do a lot" about the Strait of Hormuz, as shipping grinds nearly to a halt in a waterway that carries about 20% of the world's oil.

The president asserted that the strait — which lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula — is open now, but said he's "thinking about taking it over."

He also threatens Iran if it interferes with the waterway.

"They've shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it's going to be the end of that country," the president said. "If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran and you'd never hear the name again."

President Trump told CBS News he has "no message" for Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He was named Iran's leader over the weekend after his father was killed early in the campaign. 

Asked about Iran's new Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whom Mr. Trump has openly criticized, he said, "I have no message for him. None, whatsoever." 

The president said he has someone in mind to replace Khamenei, but he did not elaborate.

President Trump told CBS News that he believes the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is "very far ahead of schedule."

"I think the war is very complete, pretty much," he said. "They have no navy, no communications, they've got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones. If you look, they have nothing left. There's nothing left in a military sense."

Read more here.

More than 36,000 American citizens have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the start of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the State Department said on Monday.

Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said in a statement that the State Department has directly assisted 23,000 U.S. citizens abroad, offering security guidance and travel assistance. He said the agency has completed more than two dozen charter flights to evacuate thousands of Americans from the Middle East.

"Most Americans who have requested assistance have declined assistance when offered, opting either to remain in [the] country or book commercial flight options," his statement said.

American citizens in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel in need of travel assistance should complete the Crisis Intake Form.

President Trump told the New York Post he has a plan to address surging oil prices, as the U.S.-Israeli operation in Iran moves forward. 

"I have a plan for everything, OK?" he told the Post. "I have a plan for everything. You'll be very happy."

The president did not elaborate.

President Trump is reviewing "all credible options" as oil prices skyrocket amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, a White House spokeswoman told CBS News on Monday.

Taylor Rogers told CBS News in a statement that the White House is in "constant coordination with the relevant agencies" on the issue of oil and gas prices, saying it is a "top priority" for the president.

"President Trump and his entire energy team have had a strong game plan to keep the energy markets stable well before Operation Epic Fury began, and they will continue to review all credible options," Rogers said. "As the President said last night, this is a short-term change in oil prices, which will drop dramatically once the objectives of Operation Epic Fury are achieved."

Oil prices soared on Monday as the war in Iran intensified. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly surged to $119.50 per barrel on Monday - its highest level since the summer after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

West Texas Intermediate, which is produced in the U.S., also soared to $119.48 per barrel at one point.

Those prices fell to just under $100 later on Monday, but barrels of Brent and U.S. crude are still 36% and 42% more expensive, respectively, than before the war started on Feb. 28.

President Trump will hold a news conference in Miami around 5:30 p.m. ET today.

In a social media post, Mr. Trump did not say if the news conference would be about a particular topic; however, he is expected to speak about the conflict in Iran, a White House official told CBS News.

The news conference comes amid rising concerns about high oil and gasoline prices because of the ongoing war.

The president has spent most of the weekend at his Miami-area golf club and has been having "many important meetings and phone calls," according to the post. Earlier on Monday, Mr. Trump said he spoke with Australia's prime minister.

Mr. Trump is expected to return to Washington, D.C. tonight.

Watch a live stream of President Trump's news conference on CBS News, CBS News 24/7 and CBSNews.com. Find your local CBS television station here.

The Isfahan nuclear site in Iran was stuck amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran;  however, any damage appears to be minor, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog.

He didn't say when the site was struck or by which countries' forces.

Satellite images taken on Sunday show destroyed tunnel entrances at the Isfahan missile complex.

Meanwhile, satellite images of Iran's Natanz nuclear facility have also shown damage to buildings and additional damage across the facility's complex.

"Since the beginning of this campaign, we've seen some impacts in Natanz — a couple — and one in Isfahan. Not a very major one, I should say," Grossi said, speaking to reporters in Paris.

"What we saw was an impact close to one axis, to one of the tunnels there and this is all we saw," he said.

CBS/AP

The U.S. military has lost two more MQ-9 Reaper drones during "Operation Epic Fury" in Iran, according to two U.S. officials. This brings the total to 11 drones lost so far.

MQ-9 Reaper drones are unmanned aerial vehicles used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions or to deliver precision strikes. The drones are easier to take down because they were designed for counter-terrorism environments with little air defense, not for countries with modern missile systems

Their top speed is about 300 mph, which is slow compared to a fighter jet with a speed of about 1,200 to 1,900 mph.

The total cost for 11 Reaper dones is more than $330 million.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that "it is up to this regime and the so-called Revolutionary Guard alone to stop the fighting."

He added that "so long as this not the case, I assume that Israel and America will continue their defense against this regime."

Merz said the threat posed by the Iranian government reaches far beyond the region, pointing to its support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. He said that "Iran is the center of international terrorism, and this center must be closed. And the Americans and Israelis are doing that in their way."

He also said he is "concerned" about rising energy costs as the oil prices soared and stocks plunged.

"We know that this could have an impact on the German economy," he said.

CBS/AP

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the selection of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as his country's new supreme leader.

In a social media post, Pezeshkian said the choice to name the former supreme leader's son as his successor is a "manifestation of the people's will in governance."

"The resolution of the country's problems can be achieved through his wise leadership and by creating an environment based on trust and public participation," he wrote. "I beseech God for his success in safeguarding the sacred unity and building an advanced and independent Iran."

The supreme leader, chosen by a clerical body, has the final say on all major policies, including war, peace and the country's disputed nuclear program.

President Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday that he spoke with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about concerns surrounding offering the Iranian women's soccer team asylum.

"He's on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way," he wrote. "Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don't return."

He said Albanese is doing "a very good job having to with this rather delicate situation."

Earlier on Monday, Mr. Trump weighed in on the situation, saying that if Australia didn't offer the soccer team asylum, the U.S. would.

Australia's government has not replied to a CBS News request for confirmation that any of the women had applied for asylum.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is "well on our way" to destroying Iran's ability to threaten its neighbors and the world with missiles.

Speaking at a State Department ceremony honoring Americans wrongfully detained abroad, Rubio said the U.S. goal in the conflict is to eliminate Iran's ballistic missile stockpile, its ability to produce them and its ability to launch them.

"We are well on our way to achieving that objective every single day with overwhelming force, with overwhelming precision," he said. "The military, the United States military, the men and women in uniform are conducting an extraordinary operation."

He added: "Every single day, this regime in Iran has less missiles, has less launchers, their factories work less and their navy is being eviscerated, and the world is going to be a safer and a better place- place when this mission is accomplished."

The HMS Prince of Wales, one of the United Kingdom's two aircraft carriers, will likely not be sent to the Middle East, despite being put in an advanced state of readiness over the weekend, CBS News partner BBC reported.

Sources told the BBC that it was likely the carrier would instead head to the Arctic to take part in NATO exercises there. 

British officials said the carrier, which is currently stationed in Portsmouth, was not being prepared for Iran-related activity and that the prime minister's office said there was "no decision to deploy her," the Financial Times reported.

The move to scrap any plans to send the HMS Prince of Wales to the Middle East comes after President Trump indicated in a social media post on Saturday that any U.K. carriers were not needed in the war effort.

The U.K. was "finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East," Mr. Trump wrote. "That's OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don't need them any longer — But we will remember. We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won!"

Earlier this month, Starmer announced that he had granted a U.S. request to use British military bases for what he said was the "specific and limited defensive purpose" of destroying Iranian missiles, but said that the U.K. would not be joining the war.

Mr. Trump and Starmer spoke on the phone on Sunday, Downing Street said in a statement.

Iran's top diplomat reveled Monday over the soaring energy prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war with his country, goading in a social media post that what he sardonically referred to as "Operation Epic Mistake" had sent all commodities prices "skyrocketing."

"We know the U.S. is plotting against our oil and nuclear sites in hopes of containing huge inflationary shock," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on social media. "Iran is fully prepared. And we, too, have many surprises in store."

A White House spokesperson told CBS News earlier Monday that "President Trump and his entire energy team have had a strong game plan to keep the energy markets stable well before Operation Epic Fury began, and they will continue to review all credible options." 

U.S. stocks tumbled in early trading Monday after oil prices topped $100 a barrel over the weekend and the war in Iran showed no signs of abating.

The S&P 500 slid 88 points, or 1.3%, to 6,652 in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 632 points, or 1.3%, to 46,870. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3%.

Financial markets have been extremely volatile since the war in the Middle East started last week. The turbulence continued into Monday, after oil surpassed $100 for the first time since 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed up global energy prices. 

Brent crude, the international standard, on Monday hit $102, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, reached $99.49 per barrel, according to FactSet. Higher energy prices are leading Americans to pay more at the pump and renewing fears of inflation.

Read more here.

Speaking to the International Association of Fire Fighters in Washington, D.C., Vice President JD Vance said the seventh U.S. service member killed in the ongoing war with Iran, "will be coming home tonight."

"I just want to say that if you are the praying type, and I certainly am, I hope you'll spare a prayer for the six souls that we lost, for the seventh soul who will be coming home tonight, and for all of their families," Vance said. 

Vance attended the dignified transfer for the first six service members killed in the conflict. 

The Pentagon identified the seventh American killed during the conflict earlier Monday as Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Ky., who "died of his wounds on March 8, 2026, from injuries sustained during an enemy attack on March 1, 2026, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia."  

President Trump weighed in Monday on the plight of Iran's national women's soccer team, who were caught up in the geopolitical ramifications of the U.S.-Israeli war on their home country as they participated in the women's Asian Cup in Australia, offering them asylum in the U.S.

There were calls for Australia to offer the women refuge after Iranian television branded them "traitors" over the weekend, following their decision not to sing or salute during the Iranian national anthem ahead of their first match in the tournament. They did sing and salute ahead of subsequent games, drawing speculation that their team's leaders were coercing them. 

"Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman's Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed. Don't do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM," President Trump said in a social media post, adding: "The U.S. will take them if you won't."

He posted his message as a prominent Iranian opposition figure in exile, and an Australian newspaper, said five of the team's players had fled their hotel in Gold Coast and were being assisted by Australian police, and that they were expected to apply for asylum.

"Most of them have families back home, some of them have children back home, and even if offered the right to remain in Australia, if they feel unsafe, many of them may not accept that opportunity," Craig Foster, a former captain of the Australian men's soccer team and a human rights advocate, told CBS News partner network BBC News earlier. "What's most important is that that offer is made."

Australia's government did not immediately reply to a CBS News request for confirmation that any of the women had applied for asylum.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday that Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Ky., was the soldier killed in the early hours of the war with Iran in an airstrike on a major U.S. base in Saudi Arabia. He is the seventh American service member confirmed to have died in Iran's hail of retaliatory missile and drone fire across the Persian Gulf and beyond.

Pennington "died of his wounds on March 8, 2026, from injuries sustained during an enemy attack on March 1, 2026, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia," the Pentagon said Monday, adding that the deadly incident remained under investigation.

The six other U.S. troops killed in the war thus far died of injuries sustained in an Iranian attack on a U.S. military installation in Kuwait, also in the initial hours of the conflict.

The White House said Monday that President Trump had a plan to keep energy markets stable before the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, sparking a regional war that has sent oil prices soaring and stock prices plunging, and that the administration continues "to review all credible options" to check the spiraling costs to consumers.

"The White House is in constant coordination with the relevant agencies on this important issue, as it is a top priority to the President. President Trump and his entire energy team have had a strong game plan to keep the energy markets stable well before Operation Epic Fury began, and they will continue to review all credible options," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Monday. "As the President said last night, this is a short-term change in oil prices, which will drop dramatically once the objectives of Operation Epic Fury are achieved."

President Trump said on his Truth social media platform Sunday that oil prices would "drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over," calling the current spike "a very small price to pay for USA and World, Safety and Peace," adding: "ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!"

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that the "period of elevated energy prices" would be temporary, "but it will not be long." 

He added that oil and gas prices "shouldn't go much higher than they are here because the world is very well supplied with oil."  

"What you want is emotional reactions and fear that this is a long-term war," Wright told Brennan. "This is not a long-term war; it's a temporary movement." 

The national gas price average in the U.S. rose to $3.48 on Monday, up from about $3 a week ago and $2.90 a month ago, according to AAA.

Gas prices are climbing higher as the war with Iran constrains global oil supplies, with Iran's retaliatory attacks across the Middle East severely hindering oil production in the Persian Gulf and shipments at a virtual stand-still through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which an estimated fifth of all global crude supplies typically flow.

Five members of the Iranian national women's soccer team have left the hotel where they were staying in Australia and sought asylum in the country, according to Iranian opposition figure and exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, as well as the Sydney Morning Herald.

Sources in the Iranian-Australian community told the Morning Herald the women were "receiving support" after making a break from the rest of their team and its handlers in the Gold Coast area on Monday night.

"Police have taken them somewhere safe," Brisbane-based human rights activist Hadi Karimi told the paper. "It's great, it's amazing."

The office of Pahlavi, who fled Iran after his father, the Western-backed Shah, was ousted during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, said on social media that his opposition group had learned of the five players seeking asylum, naming them in the post.

"These five courageous athletes, currently in a safe location, have announced that they have joined Iran's national Lion and Sun Revolution," the post from Pahlavi's office added, a reference to the pre-Islamic Revolution flag of Iran.

The women's team were labeled "traitors" by Iranian state television after they declined to salute and sing the country's national anthem during their first match in the ongoing Asian Cup, drawing calls for them to be offered refuge in Australia, which is hosting the tournament.  

Australia's Department of Home Affairs did not immediately respond to a CBS News request to confirm that the five women had applied for asylum.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Monday that she didn't want to "get into commentary" about the women's fate.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that an attack on Cyprus was an attack on all of Europe as he spoke during a visit to the island nation after it was targeted by Iranian-made drones. A least one drone, fired by Iran or its allied proxy groups, damaged the runway at the British military base at Akrotiri, on Cyprus' southern coast, last week. 

"When Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked," Macron said in Paphos alongside the leaders of Cyprus and Greece.

"The defense of Cyprus is obviously a key issue for your country, for your neighbor, partner and friend, Greece, but also for France and, with it, the European Union," he added.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crusto told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that his country, along with Spain, France and the Netherlands, would deploy naval assets to Cyprus to bolster defenses following the drone strikes.

CBS/AFP

The Turkish president's office said Monday that NATO air defenses had been deployed to intercept a ballistic missile fired by Iran "found to be heading towards our country."

The Iranian missile "was engaged and neutralized by NATO air and missile defense elements in a timely manner in the skies of Gaziantep's Şahinbey district," presidential spokesman Burhanettin Duran said in the statement, adding that there were no casualties from the incident. 

"It is crucial that tensions in the region do not escalate further and that the conflicts do not spread to a wider area. We strongly reiterate our warning to all parties, especially Iran, to stay away from actions that put regional security at risk and may endanger civilians," said Duran.

Turkey, the only NATO member whose primary territory has been targeted by Iran's retaliatory fire thus far during the war, also said NATO defenses intercepted an Iranian missile on March 4. NATO said the following day that it had "increased its Alliance-wide ballistic missile defense posture" in response.

Ukraine has sent drone interceptors and experts to help defend American military bases in Jordan, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The New York Times published Monday.

The U.S. military had requested Ukrainian air defense support last week, as the Iranian Shahed drones targeting U.S. bases across the Middle East are similar to those Russia has launched incessantly at Ukraine, and Zelenskyy said his country would provide assistance.

So far, America's Persian Gulf Allies have managed to intercept most of Iran's airstrikes, with the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain reporting interception rates over 90% last week. But there have been notable exceptions, including one Iranian airstrike that killed six American service members in Kuwait on the first day of the war.

Ukraine's interceptor drones are widely viewed as the most effective counter-drone technology available, but experts told CBS News last week that integrating the technology into Middle Eastern air defenses would take time.

Zelenskyy said Sunday that, in addition to drone expertise, Ukraine may also provide military and humanitarian support to partners in the Middle East.

"We have received some messages regarding how to help civilians in the Middle East and how to help American soldiers deployed in certain countries," he wrote in a post on X. "We responded: we will send experts and provide everything needed to protect them."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to congratulate him on becoming Iran's new supreme leader.

"I am confident that you will continue your father's work with honor and unite the Iranian people in the face of severe challenges," Putin said in a statement published on the Kremlin's website Monday.

According to the Kremlin, the Russian president also declared his unwavering support for Tehran and that "Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner of the Islamic Republic."

Khamenei, who had never held public office, was chosen as Iran's new supreme leader, Iranian state media reported on Sunday. He is the second son of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike last week.

The U.S. State Department on Monday ordered non‑emergency staff and family members to leave the U.S. Consulate in Adana, in southern Turkey, citing unspecified "safety risks." 

All consular services at the facility were suspended, with Americans urged to contact the U.S. Embassy in Ankara or the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul for help.

All Americans in southeast Turkey, which shares borders with Iran, Syria and Iraq, were "strongly encouraged to depart now," the U.S. Embassy said. 

The decision to order non-emergency staff to leave the Adana consulate marked the 10th such order for a U.S. diplomatic mission since the start of the war with Iran, and the first such move involving a NATO ally.

Australian authorities are being urged to help the Iranian national women's soccer team after their exit from the Asian Cup, over fear of what might happen to them if they fly home as scheduled.

Before their first game of the tournament in Australia, against South Korea, the players declined to sing or salute their country's national anthem, prompting calls for harsh punishment from conservatives back inside Iran. The Islamic Republic's state television network branded them "traitors" and accused them of "the pinnacle of dishonor."

"We all have very reasonable and serious concerns for their safety," Craig Foster, a former captain of the Australian men's soccer team and a human rights advocate, told CBS News partner network BBC News.

In their two subsequent matches, the team sang and saluted their anthem, drawing concern they may have been coerced into doing so.  

"Some may have concerns, others may not - but what we know is most of them have families back home, some of them have children back home, and even if offered the right to remain in Australia, if they feel unsafe, many of them may not accept that opportunity," Foster, who helped the Afghan women's team flee the Taliban in 2021, told the BBC. "What's most important is that that offer is made."

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Thousands of people marched through the streets of Tehran overnight, celebrating the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader. The son of former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of U.S.-Israeli strikes, is known as a hardliner with close ties to Iran' security services. 

American-born Israeli businessman Michael Eisenberg, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CBS News that the younger Khamenei's new job title came with an enormous amount of personal risk. 

"The highest risk job right now is to be the new ayatollah," Eisenberg told CBS News. "That's a high-risk job."

He said Israeli officials had made it clear that all senior roles in Iran were subject to targeting, and they had urged people: "Don't take those jobs."

Israel's Mossad intelligence agency warned in a social media post last week that no matter who Iran chose, "his fate has been decreed," with a graphic depicting senior Iranian clerics being toppled as dominoes.

Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following what the kingdom said was a thwarted drone attack on its massive Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the "biggest loser" if it continues to attack Arab states.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said "further escalation ... will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future."

In addition, a fire broke out Monday at an oil facility that was attacked in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain's only oil refinery was apparently also hit.

Another attack appeared to have started a fire at Bahrain's only oil refinery, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air, with online video purportedly showing the blaze. Bahrain's government did not immediately identify the refinery itself as being hit, though it has been a target of repeated Iranian attacks since the war began.

Authorities in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, said one person suffered minor injuries and another moderate injuries after debris fell in two locations in the emirate on Monday, as air defenses raced to shoot down incoming Iranian weapons.

CBS/AP

Israel's national Magen David Adom emergency medical service said Monday that at least one person was killed and another seriously wounded after another Iranian missile attack targeting central Israel. 

Israeli media reports suggested the strike could have included missiles carrying cluster munitions. It came after another warning from the Israeli military of an incoming Iranian missile salvo.

Among the locations impacted was a construction site in the city of Holon, where the MDA said at least one man was fatally struck by shrapnel.

"It was a difficult scene," the MDA cited paramedic Liz Goral, who was among those responding to the explosion on the construction site, as saying . "The two casualties were lying unconscious and suffering from severe shrapnel injuries to their bodies. After performing resuscitation efforts, we had to pronounce the death of a man, approximately 40 years old, and we evacuated the second casualty in serious condition by Mobile Intensive Care Unit to the hospital."

There were unconfirmed reports that the second victim died later of his injuries. 

As of Monday, Israel's independent Institute for National Security Studies said at least 15 people in the country had been killed since the war started, including two troops. That figure does not include the casualties from the strike on the construction site in Holon.

The skies over northern Israel lit up with a barrage of incoming Hezbollah rockets and missiles over the weekend, and Israel launched waves of airstrikes in retaliation. 

Hezbollah is still believed to have thousands of missiles and, along with its backers in Iran, poses the threat of overwhelming Israeli defenses, according to a local Israel Defense Forces colonel who spoke with CBS News on the condition of anonymity for security reasons.

"Most of the attacks from Iran and Hezbollah are coordinated or simultaneous. Once they have missiles firing up from Iran, missiles firing up from Lebanon, Iran's are more to the mainland in Israel, and the Hezbollah missiles are here for the north," the colonel said.

Hezbollah's diminished, but still significant capacity has implications for the U.S.

Iran knows neither the U.S. nor Israel have an unlimited supply of missile interceptors or air defenses. Hezbollah can, if it chooses to, unleash a wave of rocket fire on northern Israel to free up Iran's firepower to focus on U.S. targets and allies in the region.

Fresh airstrikes slammed into the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Monday after Israel warned residents of some neighborhoods to flee for their safety as it continued its attacks against Hezbollah.

Lebanese Minister of Public Health Dr. Rakan Nasr al-Din said Sunday that the death toll since the beginning of the latest Israeli operations in the country, which began along with the joining U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, had reached at least 394, including 83 children and 42 women. He said more than 1,130 people had been injured including 254 children and 274 women.

Tens of thousands of people across southern Lebanon have been ordered by Israeli authorities to evacuate their towns and villages, fueling a humanitarian crisis in the country.

Qatari authorities have arrested more than 300 people for sharing images and "misleading information" during days of attacks by Iran, the interior ministry said on Monday.

The people arrested "filmed and circulated video clips and published misleading information and rumours that could stir public opinion", a statement said.

Stock markets plunged Monday as oil and gas prices soared on fears about supplies from the Middle East with the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran continuing into a second week with no sign of letting up. Investors ran for the hills as crude rocketed to its highest level since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

President Trump has said only the "unconditional surrender" of Iran will end the war, and over the weekend he added that the spike in energy prices was a "small price to pay" to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat, reiterating the White House's insistence that the rise is temporary.

London's FTSE 100 share index dropped 1.4% in the first couple of minutes of trade on Monday as investors reacted to the surge in oil prices. Earlier, stock markets in Asia fell sharply, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index closing down by more than 5%.

In South Korea, the Kospi index sank by more than 8% at one point, triggering a 20-minute halt to trading before eventually closing down 6%.

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude contracts both jumped around 30% to hit peaks just short of $120 a barrel. European gas prices also soared 30% Monday.

Since the beginning of the war, WTI has risen more than 75% and Brent more than 60%, though both eased on news that finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations will discuss tapping emergency reserves to ease the supply strain.

CBS/AFP

Global oil prices spiked near $120 per barrel before falling back Monday as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East and pummeling financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to $119.50 per barrel early in the day but later was trading at $107.80 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, spiked to $119.48 per barrel but fell back to $103 per barrel.

The last time Brent and U.S. crude futures traded near the current level was in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Prices moderated on Monday after the Financial Times reported that some members of the Group of Seven industrial nations were considering releases of strategic oil reserves to alleviate pressure on the markets. The report was later confirmed by sources to other news outlets.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil — about 20% of the world's oil — typically are shipped every day through the Strait of Hormuz, according to independent research firm Rystad Energy. The threat of Iranian missile and drone attacks has all but stopped tankers from traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, and carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

Iran, Israel and the United States also have attacked oil and gas facilities since the war started, exacerbating supply concerns.

CBS/AP

Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Sunday that the country was prepared and equipped to continue waging an intense war against the U.S. and Israel for at least six months.

"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are capable of continuing at least a 6-month intense war at the current pace of operations," the country's official Fars news agency cited IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini as saying.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the "period of elevated energy prices" will be temporary, "but it will not be long," as the Iran war continued into a second week. 

Oil and gas prices "shouldn't go much higher than they are here because the world is very well supplied with oil," Wright said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." He insisted there is "no energy shortage at all," saying the U.S. is a large exporter of natural gas and although refineries in Europe and Asia are seeing "interruptions in their crude flows," there are "massive energy stores around the world." 

"What you want is emotional reactions and fear that this is a long-term war," Wright said. "This is not a long-term war; it's a temporary movement." 

Wright said the U.S. still has 400 million gallons of oil in its strategic oil reserve, and "we're more than happy to use that if it's needed." But he added that it's a "logistics issue" because refineries in Europe and Asia need oil. 

"We're just doing pragmatic things to get through a short period that will that will bring in an era of even lower energy prices because a major energy-producing region of the world, the Middle East, will no longer have a strong, powerful Iran that can threaten their neighbors, that can threaten the United States of America and that was not far away from a nuclear bomb," said Wright. 

President Trump echoed the sentiment in a post on his Truth social media platform on Sunday, saying: "Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for USA and World, Safety and Peace," adding: "ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!"

A U.S. service member has died from injuries received during Iran's initial retaliatory attacks, the U.S. Central Command said Sunday. 

The service member was seriously wounded during an attack in Saudi Arabia on Mar. 1, CENTCOM said. The identity of the service member will be released following the notification of the next of kin.

This is the seventh American service member to be killed in the Middle East since the war in Iran started on Feb. 28.

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the second son of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named Iran's new supreme leader, Iranian state media confirmed Sunday. 

Mojtaba Khamenei has never held elected office. But for years he has operated quietly behind the scenes from within his father's office, cultivating influence across the security establishment, particularly within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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