Live Updates: Trump vows to hit Iran "very hard," says he has no war timetable: "Whatever it takes"

President Trump said Saturday he had "ruled out" the idea of asking armed Iranian Kurdish groups to launch a ground attack into Iran, two days after he said he welcomed the idea.  

"We're not looking to the Kurds going in," Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Florida after attending the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait on Feb. 28. "We're very friendly with the Kurds, as you know, but we don't want to make the war any more complex than it already."

This appeared to contradict an earlier statement from Mr. Trump, who told Reuters Thursday that "I think it's wonderful" if Iranian Kurds joined the war effort against Iran. "I'd be all for it."

The Kurdish ethnic minority make up around 10% of Iran's population, and there are several armed Iranian opposition groups in exile across the border in northern Iraq.

One of those, the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, told CBS News that its camp was struck by a drone Thursday. It said the drone was launched either by the Iranian regime, or by a militia group that is backed by the Iranian government. 

A second Kurdish Iranian group also told CBS News that its base was targeted with drones Friday.

The Iranian Kurdish groups CBS News spoke to in Iraq are only lightly armed, mainly with AK-47s. It would be a struggle for them to take on the Iranian regime with its drones and ballistic missiles.

"I don't want the Kurds going in," Mr. Trump said Saturday. "I don't want to see the Kurds get hurt, get killed. We've had a good relationship. They're willing to go in, but…I've told them I don't want them to go in."

Lebanon's health ministry said Sunday that an Israeli strike on a hotel in central Beirut killed at least four people, with Israel saying it had targeted commanders from Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Early Sunday, the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli air strike hit Beirut's city center, targeting "a hotel room," killing four people and wounding 10 others.

Israel Defense Forces earlier announced it had "begun an additional wave of strikes in Beirut," saying it was targeting the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

A separate statement later said Israeli forces carried out a "precise strike" in Beirut, targeting "key commanders" in the Quds Force, the Guards' foreign operations arm. The statement, which did not specify the exact location, accused the unidentified commanders of planning "terror attacks" against Israel.

An Agence France-Presse photographer at the bombarded seafront hotel saw one room on the fourth floor with shattered glass and charred walls, while security forces cordoned off the site.

The hotel's area of Raouche is a major tourist destination and had remained untouched by Israeli strikes during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire in November 2024.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday, when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel, which has kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite the 2024 ceasefire, launched multiple waves of strikes this week across Lebanon and sent ground troops into border areas.

Thousands of delegates arrived in Beijing this week for one of the country's most important political events, the National People's Congress.

Hanging over this year's National People's Congress was the war in the Middle East, 3,500 miles away, except none of the delegates here wanted to talk about it when approached by CBS News.

The US-Israel-led war on Iran has exposed China's Achilles' heel: its reliance on oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf.

China, one of Iran's closest allies, is the largest importer of energy in the world and buys nearly all of Iran's sanctioned oil. That supply line has been severely disrupted by the war.

Inside the Great Hall of the People, Chinese President Xi Jinping looked on as Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the annual report and his country unveiled its new five-year plan focusing on becoming technologically self-reliant.

While that plan is critical for setting out China's strategy, the outcome of the war in the Middle East could have a much larger impact on the long-term future of its economy.

Facing a growing rivalry with the U.S., China is continuing to spend on defense and is aiming for global supremacy in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other technologies.

China has condemned the war, and sent a special envoy to the Middle East to try and deescalate tensions. If this becomes a protracted conflict, China could in fact benefit, with the U.S. draining resources and military hardware and losing focus on its greatest power rival.

Kuwait's defense ministry said early Sunday local time that fuel tanks at the Gulf nation's international airport were targeted in an Iranian drone attack.

"The fuel tanks of Kuwait International Airport were attacked by drones in a direct targeting of vital infrastructure," an official defense ministry spokesman said, according to a post by the Kuwaiti military on X.

The spokesman added the country's forces were "responding to a wave of hostile drones" that penetrated the country's airspace.

Saudi Arabia's defense ministry said its military intercepted and destroyed 15 Iranian drones early Sunday morning local time.

The defense ministry said in social media posts that it intercepted seven drones east of Saudi's capital Riyadh, and another eight that had entered the nation's airspace.

President Trump on Saturday told reporters, without citing evidence, that he believes a deadly strike on a girls' primary school in southern Iran last weekend was "done by Iran."

"In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran…We think it was done by Iran, because they're very inaccurate with their munitions, they have no accuracy whatsoever, it was done by Iran," Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after attending the dignified transfer of six U.S. soldiers who were killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait on March 1.

When pressed by a reporter if Mr. Trump's assessment was accurate, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded that the Pentagon was "investigating," adding that "the only side that targets civilians is Iran."

Iranian-state media and health officials have reported that the strike on Feb. 28, the first day of the war, killed dozens of people, including schoolgirls ages 7 to 12. Iranian officials have blamed the U.S. and Israel for the strike.

Israel was not operating in the area, two sources told CBS News Friday. One of those, an Israeli source, told CBS News that Israel was not behind the attack, and said that the Israeli Air Force was not operating near the school.

A person familiar with the ongoing inquiry told CBS News Friday that U.S. investigators believe the U.S. may have been responsible. 

President Trump gave a brief update on the war with Iran Saturday night aboard Air Force One, but declined to say how long the attacks will last, telling reporters "I never project that, whatever it takes."

"Their drone capacity is way down and we hit them where it hurts, including about every form of leadership you can have, we've wiped out," Mr. Trump said en route to Florida after he attended the dignified transfer of six service members who were killed in the first days of the war.

When asked about the possibility of troops on the ground, the president said he didn't want to speak about it, saying it is "not an appropriate question."

"Could there be? Possibly for very good reason, have to be very good reason," Mr. Trump said. "I would say if we ever did that, they (Iran) would be so decimated that they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level."

President Trump said Saturday the United Kingdom is considering sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, but he indicated they were not needed. 

In a Truth Social post Saturday afternoon in which he described the U.K. as "our once Great Ally," Mr. Trump appeared to take a shot at his counterpart, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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!"

On March 1, 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.

On Monday, however, Mr. Trump told the Daily Telegraph he was "very disappointed" in Starmer, saying Starmer took "far too much time" to approve that request. 

The Spanish Embassy in Iran was fully evacuated on Saturday, Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares said on X.

"The Ambassador and essential personnel who remained in Tehran have just crossed the border into Azerbaijan and are safe," Manuel Albares wrote.

However, other Spanish embassies in the region remain operational through emergency phone lines, Albares said.  

"We continue working for the protection of Spaniards," the foreign minister said.

he ruling emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, spoke by telephone Saturday to President Trump about the rapidly intensifying war in Iran and the surrounding region. 

Qatar announced the call in a social media post saying the Emir spoke about the current escalation seen in the Middle East region, and said the conflict will have dangerous repercussions on international security and peace.

He stressed the importance of containing the crisis and intensifying diplomacy to end it, adding that Qatar would defend its sovereignty, security, and national interests in line with the UN Charter and the provisions of international law.

"Both sides affirmed the necessity of joint action to maintain regional and international stability and to support political processes that can address current tensions and prevent further escalation in the region," Qatar said in a statement.

The White House has not confirmed the call.

President Trump participated in a dignified transfer on Saturday of six service members who were killed in the first days of the war with Iran.

Mr. Trump, joined by first lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, attended the transfer of the Americans killed in action at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The fallen servicemembers were identified by the Department of Defense as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45 and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54.

Read the full story here.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is "continuing with full force" with its attack on Iran and that the alliance with the U.S. is "deeper than ever."

"We are changing the face of the Middle East, but not only that, we are changing ourselves," Netanyahu said in a statement. "After October 7th, I decided to lead a polar shift: actions that dramatically alter the balance of power between us and our enemies. Through calculated risk taking, we have become a regional power."

Netanyahu said the U.S. and Israel joined forces to remove the threat of Iran's ballistic and nuclear capabilities.

"There was a further danger that Iran would preempt us and strike first; for all these reasons, we struck at the chosen time," the Israeli prime minister said. "Moving forward, we have an organized plan with many surprises designed to destabilize the regime and enable change."

Massive plumes of flames lit up the night sky in Tehran on Saturday after the Iranian state news agency said that an oil storage facility was targeted by the latest U.S. and Israeli strikes.

The depot, the IRNA news agency reported, was in an area close to a key oil refinery and the refinery's facilities "were not damaged in the military attacks."

Photos showed the horizon over Tehran glowing with pillars of flame and billowing smoke.

It is among the first times a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on the targets of the latest strike, but said Israel had recently launched another round of strikes in Tehran. Iran's state media, in response, threatened to hit oil refineries in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

CBS/AP

Some Iranian missiles believed to be targeting the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were intercepted by U.S. air defense systems on Saturday, a source in the region told CBS News.

Elsewhere, three Iraqi security officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that a missile had landed on the helicopter landing pad in the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. Residents reported hearing explosions and the sound of air defenses intercepting incoming missiles or drones Saturday evening.

The AP said there were no casualties reported. 

A person in Dubai was killed on Saturday after debris from an "aerial interception" fell onto a vehicle, officials said.

The vehicle was in the Al Barsha area and the driver, identified only as being Asian, was killed, authorities said, without providing additional details.

This brings the number of people killed in the UAE since the war began to four. Authorities have said all were foreign nationals.

CBS/AP

Israel and Iran continued to trade airstrikes on Saturday night, sending residents to cover.

A wave of strikes shook neighborhoods in Tehran's east and southwest. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Iran launched more missiles toward Israel.

Ir ordered residents across the country, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, to seek over in shelters.

CBS/AP

Lebanon's Health Ministry said at least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded overnight in Nabi Chit and areas nearby. Lebanon said the deaths happened during an Israeli operation searching for Ron Arad, an Israeli navigator who disappeared 40 years ago. 

Arad went missing after parachuting from a fighter jet that crashed in Lebanon in 1986. He was captured alive. 

The Lebanese army and state media said an Israeli commando force landed on the mountains along the border with Syria on Saturday before heading to the eastern town of Nabi Chit, where they clashed with Hezbollah and local fighters.

Elsewhere in Lebanon, Israel's air force conducted strikes on different parts of eastern and southern Lebanon.

Mr. Trump arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday for the dignified transfer of six service members killed in Kuwait.

He was joined by fiirst lady Melania Trump. The families of the soldiers, who were all members of the 103rd Sustainment Command, are expected to attend the transfer. 

All six servicemembers were killed during an unmanned aircraft system attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on Saturday, March 1. 

The dignified transfer, a ritual that returns the remains of U.S. service members killed in action, is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Mr. Trump called participating in the transfer "the toughest thing I have to do" as president. 

The U.K. said Saturday the U.S. is using British bases for defensive operations to prevent Iran from firing missiles into the region. The missiles are putting British lives at risk, the U.K said. 

The U.K. said its military has continued operations over Jordan, Qatar, Cyprus and the larger region to protect British interests. A Merlin helicopter is headed to the region to provide further airborne surveillance.

The British press reported last month that the U.K denied the U.S. permission to use both Diego Garcia and the Royal Air Force's Fairford base in England — both of which host American long-range bombers — for new strikes on Iran.

Reporting contributed by Mariia Kashchenko

The U.S. State Department cited the war in Iran as a reason to expedite the sale of munitions valued at least $650 million to Israel, bypassing Congressional approval.

The U.S. had announced late Friday they were expediting $151.8 in munitions to Israel. The agency also generally mentioned a request for thousands of 1,000-pound bomb bodies. Details about the munition sales were not fully disclosed until Saturday, following press coverage that noted the omissions from the legally-required public disclosures.

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department provided the media with its revised munition sales list to Israel, which included general-purpose bombs for $151 million and $209 million and critical munitions worth $298 million.

"The United States supports Israel taking necessary action to defend its country, consistent with international law, and we will continue to coordinate with Israel to ensure it has what it needs to defend itself, its people, and U.S. citizens living and traveling in Israel," a U.S. State Department official told CBS News.

Secretary of State Rubio invoked emergency powers under the Arms Export Control Act in order to waive the Congressional review requirements, citing the sale to Israel as being in the national security interests of the U.S. 

The Biden administration also twice declared an emergency, using the same legal basis, to bypass Congress and send arms to Israel during the Gaza war. 

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said Saturday evening that Iranian missiles caused a fire and other damage to a house and several surrounding buildings in the country's capital of Manama.

It was not clear if an Iranian missile hit the country or if the damage was a result of interception efforts.

"The Iranian aggression caused a fire and material damage to a house and several surrounding buildings in Manama," the ministry said. "Civil Defence is taking the necessary measures to extinguish the fire."

This is the first material damage the country reports Saturday, but sirens have sounded at least seven times.

CBS/AP

Britain's Foreign Office issued a warning Saturday advising against all travel to Israel and Palestine, citing the escalating war in the region. 

The office said British nationals who travel to the area do so at their own risk. 

The U.K. said assistance is present on the Egyptian side of the Taba border to point British nationals to the airport. The office said that their embassy in Israel is operating as normal. 

Israel's military said its army struck 300 targets in Iran over the weekend amid the rapidly intensifying war. Missile storage sites above and below ground were targeted, the IDF said. 

Israel also said it dismantled the bunker of Ali Khamenei, located beneath the regime's leadership complex. The supreme leader was killed last week on the first day of U.S.-Israeli strikes against the leader. 

The IDF said it was also fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, striking 170 targets over the weekend.

By: Cara Tabachnick and Michal Ben-Gal

The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group (CSG) is primed to deploy to the Middle East, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Saturday.

The Bush CSG is currently near Naval Station Norfolk after completing its Composite Training Unit Exercise, which is standard ahead of any deployment.

The group will move through the United States European Command region en route to the Middle East.

Its deployment follows that of the USS Gerald Ford, which has crossed the Suez Canal and is now operating in the Red Sea. It will take some time for the USS George H.W. Bush CSG to get to the region, but the U.S. official said it is expected to overlap with the USS Ford and the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is already in the region.

The U.S. State Department strongly condemned Thursday's Iranian drone attack in Azerbaijan on Saturday.  

Principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the attack targeted Nakhchivan International Airport and a children's school. Pigott said civilians were injured and "critical civilian infrastructure" was damaged. 

"These strikes are a flagrant violation of Azerbaijan's sovereignty and a needless escalation of Iran's aggression," Pigott said. "The United States stands in full solidarity with Azerbaijan against these threats." 

Missiles and drones flew across the Middle East on Saturday as the U.S-Israel war against Iran continued to escalate.

The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran, targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Meanwhile, sirens rang in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

This map shows the latest known locations of strikes by the U.S., Israel and Iran.

A Chicago woman who is pregnant with twins has returned home safely after escaping the bombing unfolding in Israel, where she had been visiting family and friends amid the ongoing Iran war. Tamar Rubinstein told CBS News Chicago it felt "amazing" to be back in Chicago. 

Anna Rickert, of Crystal, Minnesota, and her friend, Laura vanZandt, arrived in Dubai the day before the airstrikes began and say they keep running into roadblocks. They told CBS Minnesota they were frustrated by the U.S. government's response.

Arun Mamtani and his wife, Monica Mamtani, were on their honeymoon when the conflict began. The couple told CBS Texas, "After the alarm, I thought that we are going to die here. I mean, seriously, there is. There is no plan. What are we going to do?" said Monica.

They eventually secured seats on an Emirates flight that avoided much of the conflict by flying over southern Iran and then over the North Pole.

The Israeli military said Saturday that it struck 16 Iranian military aircraft during a "broad wave of strikes" in Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, claiming they were being used to send cash and weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force of using the airport, one of the two that serve the capital, as a "central hub for arming and funding the regime's terrorist proxies" in the Middle East.

"Also targeted were several Iranian fighter jets that posed a threat to Israeli Air Force aircraft operating in Iranian airspace", the statement added.

The Quds Force is a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that focuses on extraterritorial operations, unconventional warfare, and military intelligence.

Iranian foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said the U.S. hit a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. 

Aragachi, on social media, called the incident a "blatant and desperate crime," and referred to it as an attack. He did not provide further details about it. Aragachi said that the water supply in 30 villages has been impacted. 

"Attacking Iran's infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences," Aragachi wrote. "The U.S. set this precedent, not Iran." 

The U.S. has not issued a comment about the alleged incident. 

More than 28,000 American citizens have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East, the U.S. State Department said Saturday.

Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said in a statement that the figure does not include Americans who safely relocated to other countries or who have departed the Middle East and are still in transit back to the U.S.

Johnson said the State Department has completed more than a dozen charter flights from the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, which retaliated with its own strikes.

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, the State Department said.

President Trump said the U.S. operation on Iran is going "very well" and that the results have been "amazing." 

Mr. Trump said the U.S. has knocked out Iran's navy, air force and telecommunications. He said that the attack "had to be done" because the country was "very close to a nuclear weapon." 

He said the operation against Iran is "a service that we're really providing, not for the Middle East, but for the world." 

Mr. Trump also acknowledged the United States servicemembers who had died since the war began, calling their deaths a "very sad situation" and calling them "great heroes in our country."

Pezeshkian said Iran was attacking "legitimate targets" in Gulf nations shortly after issuing an apology to neighbors earlier Saturday. 

"We have not attacked our friendly and neighboring countries; rather, we have targeted U.S. military bases, facilities, and installations in the region," the president wrote on social media. 

Pezeshkian said the strikes "are exclusively against targets and facilities that are the origin and source of aggressive actions against the Iranian nation." 

Pezeshkian said Iran will "stand firm to the last breath in defense of our country and resist" the joint operation by the United States and Israel. He said that while Iran "has always emphasized the preservation and continuation of friendly relations" with neighboring governments, it has an "inherent right to defend itself against military aggression."

The Kuwait Petroleum Company said that it was implementing a "precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining operations" amid Iranian attacks. 

The company said the adjustment will be reviewed "as the situation evolves" and that it was ready to restore production levels "whenever circumstances permit." 

Crude oil prices have surged amid the war with Iran.

A spokesperson for the Iranian president's office said that Pezeshkian's message during his televised remarks on Saturday is "clear."

"If regional countries do not cooperate in a U.S. attack against us, we will not strike them," Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, the deputy of communications for the Iranian president's office, said on X. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will never submit to coercion, and our powerful armed forces will respond decisively to any aggression from U.S. bases in accordance with the issued directives.

Earlier Saturday, Pezeshkian apologized for Iran's attacks on regional countries.

President Trump plans to attend the dignified transfer for the six U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the Middle East.

Mr. Trump will go to Delaware's Dover Air Force Base as the soldiers' remains return to the U.S.

The dignified transfer, a ritual that returns the remains of U.S. service members killed in action, is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief.

On Friday, Mr. Trump said in a social media post that he will be joined by first lady Melania Trump and members of his Cabinet "to pay our Highest Respect to our Great Warriors, who are returning home for the last time. GOD BLESS THEM ALL!"

Those killed in action were Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.

The United Arab Emirates said it detected 16 ballistic missiles and 121drones launched from Iran on Saturday.

The country's Ministry of Defense said in a post on X that it intercepted and destroyed 15 ballistic missiles, while the other fell into the sea. Only two drones hit the UAE; the rest were intercepted.

Since the start of the war a week ago, 221 ballistic missiles and 1,305 drones have been detected in the UAE, the ministry said.

They have resulted in three deaths of Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals; more than 112 people were injured.

"The Ministry of Defence affirmed that it remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront any attempt to undermine the security of the state, ensuring the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability, and safeguarding its interests and national capabilities," it said in a statement.

Jordan has been attacked with 119 Iranian missiles and drones since the U.S. and Israel launched the war a week ago, authorities said Saturday.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hiyari told reporters that Iran's attacks were aimed at "purely Jordanian targets" and that no attacks against Iran originated from Jordan.

"These missiles and drones were targeting vital installations inside Jordan and were not passing through our territories," he said, adding that 108 of the projectiles were intercepted.

Fourteen people have been injured in the attacks.

Police spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said most of the casualties suffered minor injuries from falling shrapnel.

CBS/AP

Mr. Trump said on social media that Iran will be "hit very hard" on Saturday. 

He did not offer more details except to say that "under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran's bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time." 

Mr. Trump also took credit for the Iranian president's apology to its Gulf neighbors, saying the concession "was only made because of relentless U.S. and Israeli attack." 

"They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East," Mr. Trump wrote on TruthSocial. "It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries. They have said, 'Thank you President Trump.' I have said, 'You're welcome!' Iran is no longer the 'Bully of the Middle East,' they are, instead, 'THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,' and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse!"

Israel's military said its special forces conducted an operation overnight deep in Lebanon to gather information about an Israeli navigator who has been missing for nearly 40 years.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said that no evidence was found related to pilot Ron Arad, who was captured alive after his fighter jet crashed over southern Lebanon in 1986.

According to Lebanon's state media, Israeli forces landed in the eastern Lebanese town of Nabi Chit late Friday. They were intercepted by members of the militant Hezbollah group, triggering a gunfight that lasted until the early hours of Saturday.

Ron Arad was believed to have been held in Nabi Chit until 1988, when he went missing.

"The IDF will continue to operate relentlessly, day and night, out of a deep commitment to bringing all of Israel's sons, the fallen and the missing, back home to the State of Israel," an IDF statement said.

CBS/AP

Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, a prominent Iranian cleric, urged the country's Assembly of Experts to act quickly and name a new supreme leader a week after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

"The timely realization of this important matter will lead to national authority and the best possible organization of affairs," Shirazi said.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers only to the supreme leader, and in an apology to Gulf neighbors, Iran's president specifically blamed the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders for what sounded like a days-long loss of command and control in the armed forces. 

The Assembly of Experts is a panel made up of 88 clerics. Buildings associated with the group have been hit by airstrikes, likely slowing any meeting of the group. 

U.S. bombers have landed at the United Kingdom's RAF Fairford base after a dispute between Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the United States' use of U.K. bases. 

The 146-foot-long B-1 Lancers arrived on Friday evening, according to photos and CBS News partner BBC News. The aircraft is capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles and is the fastest bomber in the U.S. Air Force, the BBC reported. It can hit speeds of more than 900 miles per hour and has advanced radar and GPS systems, as well as electronic jammers, a decoy system and radar warnings to protect it from enemy strikes.  

Photos showed several Lancers at RAF Fairford. A U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy was also pictured. 

Military analyst and former British Army Officer Justin Crump told the BBC that the Lancer is "one of the most significant bombers in the world" and is capable of carrying large bomb loads a long way, quickly, if it needs to."  

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would suspend its attacks on countries in the region unless an attack on Iran originated from those countries, suggesting they were the result of miscommunication within the ranks of Iran's leadership, according to The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies.

"I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf," Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded address played on Iranian state television, according to The Associated Press. "From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked from those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy."

Pezeshkian also said the U.S. demand that Iran surrender unconditionally is a "dream that they should take to their grave," according to AP.

The statement came after Iran continued targeting Gulf states early Saturday, as Israel and the U.S. carried out more strikes on Iran.

Following Pezeshkian's statement, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it "the armed forces once again affirm that they respect the interests and national sovereignty of neighboring countries and have not taken any hostile action against them," but that "all military bases and interests" of the U.S. and Israel "on land, at sea, and in the air across the region will be considered primary targets and will come under powerful and heavy strikes by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Israel launched a new wave of strikes Saturday on Iran's capital Tehran and other parts of western and central Iran, the Israeli military said.

Israel Defense Forces wrote on social media that more than 80 Israeli fighter jets carried out the strikes, which targeted several military sites, including Imam Hossein University in Tehran, a university that Israel says was being used to train officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The IDF said it struck ballistic missile storage facilities and an underground command center, as well as multiple missile launch sites. 

Iran also launched a volley of missiles toward Israel Saturday, prompting emergency alerts across the country. 

The Kremlin early Saturday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

On the call, according to the Kremlin, Putin "reaffirmed Russia's principled stance in favour of an immediate cessation of hostilities, the rejection of force as a method to solve any issues surrounding Iran or arising in the Middle East, and a swift return to the path of diplomatic resolution."

The Kremlin noted that Pezeshkian thanked Putin for Russia's show of "solidarity with the Iranian people."

This comes after multiple sources on Friday, including a senior U.S. official, told CBS News that amid the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Russia is providing Iran with intelligence regarding U.S. positions in the Middle East.  

Russia and Iran have long been allies. In 2023, declassified intelligence showed that Iran had been sending material to Russia that would be used to construct a drone manufacturing facility for use in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

It remains unclear who is leading Iran following the Feb. 28. killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's Assembly of Experts, a body made up of dozens of clerics, will be tasked with selecting Khamenei's replacement.  

Journalists for Agence France-Presse heard explosions Saturday in Dubai, as well as in Bahrain's capital of Manama.

Two blasts were heard in Dubai and one in Manama, where a warning siren sounded.

"Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," Bahrain's interior ministry posted on X.

The Dubai Media Office also said there was a "minor incident" in which debris fell to the ground following the interception of an Iranian missile strike. 

Officials also said there were no injuries from the debris, and that reports of a possible impact from the incident to Dubai International Airport were not true. 

CBS/AFP

Iran launched a round of missiles toward Israel early Saturday morning local time, the Israeli military said.

The launch occurred a little before dawn, the Israel Defense Forces reported on social media.

"Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat," the IDF said of its sophisticated missile defense system known as the Iron Dome.  

Alerts had been sent to residents of impacted areas, the IDF said. A journalist for Agence France-Presse reported hearing a blast in Jerusalem after Israel sent out the alert.

President Trump said Friday he believes the U.S. is doing "very well" in its war with Iran. 

"Somebody said, 'How would you score it from 0 to 10?' I said I'd give it a 12 to a 15," Mr. Trump told reporters during a White House roundtable about college sports in which he fielded questions on the war.

The president then claimed that Iran's army, navy and communications were "gone," and that its air force had been "wiped out."   

He also said that "two sets" of Iranian leaders had been killed, alleging that Iran was "down to their third set," but did not elaborate on who specifically he was referring to.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, and sources told CBS News at the time that the initial strikes were believed to have killed about 40 Iranian officials.

Two U.S. officials told CBS News that among them were believed to be Iranian defense minister Amir Nasirzadeh and Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammed Pakpour.

The president went on to say Friday that he believed the U.S. military was "doing phenomenally."

During the first seven days of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. has hit more than 3,000 targets, and 43 Iranian ships have been damaged or destroyed, U.S. Central Command said Friday.

Data compiled by the CBS News data team tallies the targets of the war so far, as of 5 p.m. ET Friday. The data was collected from a combination of CBS News reporting, visual verification, government estimates and from think tanks like the Institute for the Study of War.

A dozen key Senate Democrats criticized President Trump for temporarily waiving sanctions to allow India to more easily buy Russian oil, accusing him of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin "a free pass" in an effort to quell soaring oil prices.

The senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called the strikes on Iran "reckless and poorly conceived," and said they have "resulted in huge spikes in gas prices."

"In turn, this self-made global energy shock is serving to enrich Putin and line his war coffers by offering him windfall profits," the senators wrote. "Instead of changing course, the President is only making this situation worse by handing Putin, his shadow fleet, and traders still dealing in sanctioned oil a free pass to increase oil shipments to Russia's second-largest importer."

U.S. investigators believe the U.S. may have been responsible for a deadly airstrike on a girls' primary school in Iran last weekend, a person familiar with the ongoing inquiry told CBS News Friday.

Investigators believe this because the U.S. was operating in the area while Israel was not, the source said. 

Iranian-state media have reported that the strike on Feb. 28, the first day of the war, killed dozens of people, including schoolgirls ages 7 to 12.  

The source stressed that no final conclusions have been reached.

Israel was not operating in the area, two sources told CBS News. One of those, an Israeli source, told CBS News that Israel was not behind the attack, and said that the Israeli Air Force was not operating near the school.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News in a statement that the "investigation is ongoing" into the incident. 

"There are no conclusions at this time, and it is both irresponsible and false for anyone to claim otherwise," Kelly said. "As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that President Trump is "well aware of who's talking to who" amid reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. movements in the region.

Hegseth told Major Garrett in an interview airing Sunday on "60 Minutes" that the U.S. is "tracking everything" and factoring it into battle plans. 

"The American people can rest assured their commander-in-chief is well aware of who's talking to who," he said. "And anything that shouldn't be happening, whether it's in public or back-channeled, is being confronted and confronted strongly."

Earlier Friday, multiple sources, including a senior U.S. official, told CBS News that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran regarding U.S. positions in the Middle East. It was the first known indication that Russia is aiding Iran.

Read more here.

Data compiled by the CBS News data team indicates the number of strikes carried in the Middle East war as of 5 p.m. Eastern Time Friday. 

The data was collected from a combination of CBS News reporting, visual verification, government estimates, and from think tanks like the Institute for the Study of War.

The U.S. has struck 27 Iranian military bases and missile launch sites, the data shows, while Iran's strikes have hit at least 12 U.S. and allied military installations.

See the full tally below. 

United Airlines said Friday it has canceled all flights from the U.S. to Tel Aviv and Dubai through at least March 21 as the war rages on.

The airline said the canceled flights also apply to their corresponding returns. United said it is providing affected customers a travel waiver.

Airspace has been closed across much of the Middle East this week, leaving tens of thousands of travelers stranded and seeking out relief flights out of the region.

A spokesperson for Emirates, one of the two major carriers in the United Arab Emirates, told CBS News Friday it is currently operating at 60% capacity and is still flying to seven U.S. cities.

Emirates carried about 30,000 passengers out of Dubai on Thursday, the spokesperson said.

Advocates for at least four American nationals who were jailed in Iran before the U.S.-Israeli strikes started are growing increasingly concerned about their safety, as intense bombing continues across the country.

Two of those U.S. nationals have been named publicly: 49-year-old Journalist Abdolreza "Reza" Valizadeh, whom the U.S. State Department formally designated as "wrongfully detained" by Iran in May 2025, and 61-year-old Kamran Hekmati, who was arrested in July 2025 while visiting family in Iran.

Both were being held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison before the war started. There has been no confirmed information on their whereabouts or condition since then.

Nonprofit groups say they are tracking at least two other U.S. nationals believed to be detained in Iran, whose identities CBS News cannot confirm.

Read the full story here.

President Trump will attend the dignified transfer for the six U.S. service members killed abroad on Saturday, the White House said. 

"President Trump and all Americans grieve for our fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation," White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said in a statement to CBS News. "On Saturday, the president will attend the dignified transfer of six of our U.S. military service members lost in Operation Epic Fury to stand alongside their families in grief and honor their legacies."

"These brave heroes represent the very best of our country – and we will never forget their service and sacrifice," she added. "They gave their lives for a courageous mission that President Trump will continue in order to eliminate the threats posed by the sinister Iranian regime and make our Nation and world stronger, safer, and more free than ever before."

Qatar announced Friday that it's partially reopening its airspace to a limited number of flights. 

The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement that it is partially reopening its airspace for passenger evacuation and air cargo flights "in light of the current circumstances in the region, and in a manner that ensures the continued provision of essential air services."

"QCAA affirms that it continues to operate at the highest level of operational readiness, in close coordination with the competent authorities in the State, in order to ensure the safety and security of passengers and personnel in the civil aviation sector, and to maintain the safe and efficient flow of air navigation in accordance with the highest international standards," the government office said in a statement on social media. 

The QCAA also said it is continuously monitoring developments and will keep the public and aviation sector partners informed of any updates in the future.

President Trump said the defense company CEOs he met with on Friday agreed to "quadruple" production of "exquisite class," high-tier weaponry for the Pentagon. The president said he met with the leaders of BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

"Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and plants and production of many of these weapons are already under way," the president said on Truth Social. "We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela. Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels."

Mr. Trump said they will meet again in two months.

Qatar says it faced another wave of attacks from Iran on Friday, saying it intercepted nine of 10 drones, the country's defense ministry said. One drone hit an uninhabited area and caused no casualties.

The ministry said the Qatar Armed Forces "process full capabilities and resources" to respond to the threat. It urged citizens, residents and visitors to remain calm and adhere to security instructions.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that "the stakes could not be higher" amid the escalating violence in the Middle East and called on all parties to stop the fighting.

"All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region – and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people," he said in a statement on X. " The situation could spiral beyond anyone's control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations."

In a phone interview with Axios, the president clarified that his demand for "unconditional surrender" might not necessarily entail a formal declaration from Iran.

"Unconditional surrender could be that [the Iranians] announce it. But it could also be when they can't fight any longer because they don't have anyone or anything to fight with," he told the outlet.

His earlier Truth Social post said that "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

Outside the White House, a reporter asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt about what President Trump meant by "unconditional surrender," specifically whether the regime "has to fully relinquish control" for the war to end.

"What the president means is that when he, as commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury have been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not," Leavitt said. 

"Frankly, they don't have a lot of people to say that for them, because the United States and the state of Israel have completely wiped out more than 50 leaders of the former terrorist regime, including the supreme leader himself," she added.

Sri Lanka gave refuge to more than 250 Iranian sailors two days after a deadly torpedo strike on another of Iran's ships by a U.S. submarine, the country's navy said.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his country decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr after discussions with Iranian officials and the ship's captain, after one of its engines failed.

"No civilians should die in wars. Our approach is that every single life is as precious as our own," he said on X. "We jealously guard our non-aligned policy while ensuring that humanitarian values and the saving of lives remain our top priority."

Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors were brought to its Welisara Naval Base, while about 15 others remain on board with Sri Lankan naval personnel.

Dissanayake urged for peace amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli campaign that led to Iranian retaliatory strikes in the Middle East.

"All our actions are aimed at saving lives and ensuring that humanity prevails," Dissanayake said.

The broadening Middle East conflict is putting strategically located Sri Lanka in a delicate position as it tries to balance humanitarian obligations, international maritime law and its longstanding policy of non-alignment.

CBS/AP

The former head of Israeli military intelligence told CBS News that no reasonable person in the Israeli government or military believes regime change is feasible right now in Iran. 

Amos Yadlin presided over what he called the original plans for the Iran assault. He said the campaign appears to be reaching critical mass in terms of damaging Iranian missile and nuclear capabilities, but that even if 99% of Iran's capacity is destroyed, which would be difficult, it will only buy about three to four years of quiet.

Israeli military planners have used the term "mowing the grass" to describe the cyclical nature of Israel's wars on Gaza, and Israeli officials believe a similar sort of strategy would likely have to be applied to Iran going forward, according to Yadlin.

The price of oil continued to surge on Friday amid growing concerns that the Iran war will disrupt global crude supplies. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. oil benchmark, rose almost 11% to $89.89 per barrel on Friday afternoon, according to data from Factset. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 7.7% to $92.06. Both were trading near their highest levels since April 2024.

Crude prices jumped on Friday after Qatar's energy minister suggested that all Gulf energy exporters may shut down production within days, which could drive Brent crude to $150 a barrel, the Financial Times reported. 

Oil had already jumped earlier in the week as tankers transporting oil and liquefied natural gas have been halted through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global oil shipments normally travel.

"The market is shifting from pricing pure geopolitical risk to grappling with tangible operational disruption, as refinery shutdowns and export constraints begin to impair crude processing and regional supply flows," JPMorgan analysts said in a report on Friday. 

Surging oil prices are pushing up costs at the gas pump. In the U.S., the national average gas price has jumped 32 cents a gallon over the last seven days, to roughly $3.31 a gallon — the highest since August of 2024, according to GasBuddy. 

More than 300,000 people in Lebanon have been forced to flee after Israel launched a wave of evacuation orders and airstrikes, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Friday.

The orders covered hundreds of villages in southern Lebanon, as well as villages in the Bekka region and the southern suburbs of Beirut. The number of people who could be displaced potentially exceeds one million, the group said.

"Families who had barely begun rebuilding their lives are now forced to flee once again," said Maureen Philippon, country director for NRC in Lebanon. "People left their homes in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Once again, civilians are paying the highest price. If implemented, the latest evacuation orders from Israel could yet produce a humanitarian crisis unlike anything we have seen in over two years." 

The organisation insisted that civilians be protected, including those who choose to remain or are not able to relocate.

After the attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel on Monday for the first time in over a year. Israel has retaliated by bombarding southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

Lebanon's health ministry said Friday at least 217 people had been killed and 798 wounded.

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes alone are unlikely to result in the ouster of the Iranian government, according to an expert in air campaigns, who said that the risks are growing for a more drawn-out war that could spread beyond the Middle East.

Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has studied air power for three decades, told CBS News 24/7 that history does not support the idea that bombing alone can unseat a regime and install a more friendly leader.

"The fact of the matter is, for over a century, states have been trying to topple regimes with air power alone and — I'm choosing my words carefully — it has never worked," Pape told CBS News 24/7 on Friday. "We are heading toward the predictable result of growing risk, growing escalation. And I'm sorry to say this could go on for quite some time."

Read more here.

Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. positions, three sources confirmed to CBS News on Friday, including a senior U.S. official with direct knowledge.

Earlier Friday, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia's government is in "dialogue" with representatives of the Iranian leadership. Peskov's comments came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Russia and China were assisting Iran politically and "in other ways."

The Washington Post was the first to report.

Asked about the reports, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran, because we are completely decimating them." 

Read more here.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East must not lead to the collapse of the Iranian state and warned it would have far-reaching consequences on migration to Europe.

He said he doesn't want to see a "Syrian scenario" in Iran, referring to Syria's long civil war.

"An endless war is not in our interest. The same applies to a collapse of Iranian statehood or proxy conflicts fought on Iranian soil," he said in a statement.

Merz said that while his government shares the same goals as the U.S. and Israel regarding the Iranian nuclear and missile program, "we want this state to be capable of functioning by itself."

"The Iranian people have the right to freely decide their own destiny," Merz said.

He said his appeal in his discussions with the U.S. and Israel is "to create as quickly as possible the preconditions for this country to be stabilized, for it to get a democratically legitimized government and for it to continue to exist as a state."

"We naturally have a strong interest in this ourselves in order to avoid new waves of refugees from the region," he said.

CBS/AFP

The State Department says it has "directly assisted" nearly 13,000 Americans in the Middle East, although those numbers aren't broken down into how many Americans it has directly evacuated.

Nearly 24,000 American citizens have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the war began, according to  Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state. 

"These figures do not include the many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States," Johnson said, adding, "Through the State Department's 24/7 Task Force, we have directly assisted nearly 13,000 Americans abroad, offering security guidance and travel assistance."

Johnson said the State Department "will continue to actively assist" any Americans who wish to leave the Middle East, and is doing so with charter flights and ground transport travel assistance. 

The State Department and the Trump administration have been criticized for not immediately evacuating Americans when the U.S. struck Iran, or before. 

Americans in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are asked to fill out a crisis intake form. 

American citizen Shirley Bejarano said she has been in Doha for almost a week and that no evacuation plan has been provided to her by the U.S. government. 

Bejarano told CBS News she had been trying to pass through the Qatari capital, on a long layover, while traveling to Colombia for her grandfather's funeral. Her flight left Doha on Saturday morning but turned around after two hours in the air, apparently as the Iran conflict started. 

She told CBS News she has called the State Department and the U.S. embassy, and filled out a STEP form, looking to leave the country.

"I've done everything to get information and when I do call the embassy or the Department of State, any of these numbers that have been provided, they just say, 'Shelter in place. OK. We have your information. We'll send it up,'" she said.

At one point, Bejarano said she was told, "I don't know what's going on there. I don't have any further information to give you."

Anyone who has left has done so on their own, going by land, she said.

Qatar is among the countries in the region that have closed their airspace. 

Qatar Airways "has been absolutely incredible taking care of all of us," Bejarano said, adding that the airline and the Qatari government "have been supporting anyone who has needed accommodations, so we've been here fully for free."

Iranian Kurdish opposition factions massed along Iraq's border would love to stage a ground invasion, but for it to be successful, they would benefit hugely from U.S. backup in the skies. 

President Trump has said such a Kurdish ground offensive would be "wonderful," but it's unclear how much support his administration is willing to offer.

A leader of the lightly-armed Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) told CBS News the group is in contact with the U.S. government, and it sees an opportunity to topple the regime in Tehran.

"We have the same goal," Amanj Zabtaee, part of the KDPI's leadership committee, told CBS News' Holly Williams. "This is why we could be help to each other."

He said if the U.S. does lend air support for a ground incursion, "it will be great. But if it doesn't happen, it doesn't mean that we will be less committed to our cause." 

Read the full story here.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that five soldiers were severely injured as a result of projectile fire toward Israeli territory near the Lebanese border. Three others suffered lesser injuries and all were evacuated for treatment.

Israel's defense minister said one of the injured soldiers is the son of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu's governing coalition.

The IDF has been bombarding Beirut and parts of southern Lebanon, which has been a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah forces. Israel urged residents in southern Lebanon to flee the area.

In a statement, the Israeli military said, "The IDF has attacked more than 500 targets in Lebanon, eliminated more than 70 Hezbollah terrorists and carried out more than 20 waves of attacks on Beirut."

By: Michal Ben-Gal

As thousands of Americans have left the Middle East and thousands more are trying to depart, President Trump said the U.S. is "seamlessly" moving Americans to safety. 

"We are moving thousands of people out of various countries throughout the Middle East," he said on Truth Social. "It is being done quietly, but seamlessly. The State Department, under Secretary Marco Rubio, is doing a great job!"

As of Thursday, the State Department said nearly 20,000 Americans returned from the Middle East, a number that is expected to continue to climb. 

President Trump is meeting with the CEOs of major defense companies at the White House on Friday in a meeting the administration says was scheduled weeks ago. 

The White House says the U.S. has "more than enough" weapons at its disposal for the ongoing war, something the Pentagon has been saying all week as well. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthening our military, which is why this meeting with defense contractors was scheduled weeks ago. The president will continue to call on these U.S. companies to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the absolute best in the world."

The defense companies meeting with the president include:

• Lockheed Martin
• Northrop Grumman 
• RTX Corporation
• Boeing 
• Honeywell
• L3Harris Technologies

Reuters first reported the meeting. 

Israel's military said Friday that it destroyed a large-scale underground bunker Iranian leaders had planned to use in emergencies, deploying more than 50 fighter jets and 100 munitions.

The bunker was located under several residential neighborhoods in Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces said.

"The destruction of the bunker is another and severe blow to the regime's ability to maintain stable functioning and deepens its appeal," it said in a statement.

Iran has spent decades constructing underground bunkers for a range of purposes and contingencies. Many of them have been targeted this week.

After strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders, Israel's military has continued to strike their infrastructure. Israel's military said its targets have included the Supreme National Security Council's building — the meeting place for the country's top security forum — as well as a Revolutionary Guard military academy.

CBS/AP

The U.S. military shared a video late Thursday that it says shows an Iranian drone carrier being struck in the Iran conflict.

"U.S. forces aren't holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy," U.S. Central Command said in a post on X. "Today, an Iranian drone carrier, roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier, was struck and is now on fire."

President Trump has said one of the objectives of the campaign against Iran is to annihilate Iran's navy. U.S. officials said earlier this week that the operation has destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels and a submarine. An American submarine also sank an Iranian warship.

Four men were arrested in London on Friday on suspicion of spying for Iran, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Counterterrorism police with the force apprehended the men in the early hours of Friday morning at addresses in Barnet and Watford, on London's northern outskirts, the Metropolitan Police, or Met, said.

The investigation centered on "suspected surveillance of locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community" in London, according to a statement from the police.

"Today's arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it," said Commander Helen Flanagan, the Met's counter-terror chief.

Read more here.

An airplane emblazoned with the New England Patriots' logo has been used to bring stranded Americans home from the Middle East.

Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for public affairs, shared a photo on X of Americans boarding the Patriots plane, at least the second such flight that landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Friday.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a friend and supporter of President Trump, but his football franchise did not arrange or pay for the flight.

"One of the companies the State Department contracted for charter flights also manages the New England Patriots team plane. This flight was entirely paid for by the State Department. The New England Patriots organization was not involved in this flight," the State Department said.

CBS/AP

Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon on Friday, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic. The U.S. apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea.

Iran launched new retaliatory attacks against neighboring countries that host U.S. forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The latest strikes mark a full week of attacks affecting countries across the Middle East.

This map shows the latest documented strikes by the U.S., Israel and Iran.

UNICEF said Friday that it is deeply concerned about the impact of the ongoing military escalation in Iran on children.

It said about 180 children have been killed and many more injured so far, which is a "stark reminder of the brutality of war and violence on children."

"Children and schools are protected under International Humanitarian Law and must be places of safety," UNICEF said in a statement. "As military strikes continue across the region, children are increasingly exposed to violence and the impact on essential civilian infrastructure poses a direct threat to their wellbeing."

The organization called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international and ensure the protection of civilians. It said that it is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to support humanitarian efforts.

President Trump said Friday that there would be no deal with Iran except if there is "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

"After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. 'MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!)'"

Mr. Trump has said multiple times that whoever takes over leadership of Iran must be to the U.S.'s liking.

Thousands of men and women took part in a demonstration in the streets of Tehran on Friday, in a show of defiance against the U.S. and Israel.

Waving clenched fists and Iranian flags and holding images of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the marchers chanted, "We'll fight, we'll die, we won't accept humiliation" and "No compromise, no surrender, destruction of Israel."

Hassan Fathollahi, 54, told the Associated Press that he had brought his children to "make our enemies understand that we and our children will sacrifice our lives for the (Islamic) revolution."

"We will not give up the blood of our leader. Every single son of Iran is ready to fight America and Israel until victory, God willing," he said.

CBS/AP

Russia's government is in a dialogue with Iran's leadership and will continue that dialogue, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday during a regular briefing.

"We are in dialogue with representatives of the Iranian leadership, and we will certainly continue this dialogue," Peskov told reporters, responding to a question about how Russia is assisting its ally Iran. 

He spoke after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Russia and China were assisting Iran politically and "in other ways."

Peskov said Moscow was seeing "a significant increase in demand for Russian energy resources" due to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Those were the only comments Peskov made in relation to Iran at his Friday briefing. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed in a brief post on social media earlier Friday that some countries had "begun mediation efforts" as the war against his nation continued, but he provided no further information about those efforts or which nations were involved.

The national average gas price in the U.S. is continuing to rise, hitting $3.32 on Friday, according to AAA. That's up from $3.25 on Thursday.

The national average was $2.90 a month ago and $3.11 a year ago.

Before the uptick, gas prices had been sliding for months and dipped below $3 in December. They started rising before last weekend, on the possibility of the U.S. launching attacks on Iran.

"The actual attacks themselves, obviously, are a major escalation," said Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy.

De Haan told CBS News he expected the price of gas to keep rising over the next week before the pace of price hikes starts to moderate.

Despite ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes against its launch capabilities and claims from Washington and Tel Aviv that its offensive capacity is being rapidly reduced, Iran was still firing missiles and dozens of drones at U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf on Friday. 

Sirens reportedly sounded in Kuwait City hours after the Iranian Army claimed to be unleashing "a large volume of Army attack drones" against "U.S. positions" in Kuwait.

The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said it had "detected and intercepted 9 ballistic missiles. Additionally, 112 drones were detected, of which 109 were intercepted, while 3 fell within UAE territory."

"Since the start of the Iranian attacks, 205 ballistic missiles have been tracked, with 190 destroyed, 13 falling into the sea, and 2 impacting within UAE territory. Meanwhile, 1,184 Iranian drones were detected, 1,110 intercepted, and 74 fell on UAE soil. Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed," the UAE's Ministry of Defense said in its statement, shared on social media.

The UAE said earlier this week that Iranian strikes had killed three people in the country, Pakistani, Nepali, and Bangladeshi nationals, and left at least 112 people with minor injuries as of Friday.

The Ministry of Defense "emphasized that it remains fully prepared and ready to respond to any threats, protect national security and sovereignty, and ensure the safety and stability of the country." 

Two regional officials told CBS News' Margaret Brennan on Thursday that America's Persian Gulf allies were running dangerously low on interceptors to take down Iranian weapons.

Israeli military said Friday that it had destroyed the military bunker of Iran's supreme leader in the heart of Tehran, with strikes involving dozens of Israeli fighter jets. 

Longtime Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, "before he could use the bunker," the statement from the Israel Defense Forces said, but it added that the underground compound remained "one of the Iranian leadership's most important military command centers."

"Targeting the bunker further degrades the regime's command and control capabilities," the IDF said, adding that "approximately 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets guided by precise IDF intelligence" carried out the early morning mission to destroy the compound.

"It spanned multiple streets in the heart of Tehran and contained numerous entrances and meeting rooms for senior members of the Iranian terrorist regime," the IDF said, sharing video it said showed the operation from several angles.

The United Nations on Friday demanded swift investigations into fatal Israeli strikes across Lebanon to determine whether they violate international law.

"The devastating impact of this renewed conflict is already before our eyes, with civilians paying a painfully heavy price," U.N. rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva. "We urge the parties to step back from the brink of a major escalation of this conflict in Lebanon."

Her comments came as fresh Israeli strikes battered Lebanon, where Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned "a humanitarian disaster is looming" due to mass displacement.

Shamdasani warned that "Israel's military ground incursions into southern Lebanon, blanket displacement orders for the population in Beirut's southern suburbs, the Bekaa region and the full area to the south of the Litani river, and its continued air strikes on different parts of the country, are bringing more misery and suffering to an already weary civilian population."

"These warnings and displacement orders issued for the south of Lebanon reportedly affected more than 100 towns and villages — home to tens of thousands of people, and risk affecting many more," she said.

"In addition, on Thursday, the Israeli army urged the complete evacuation of almost the entire southern suburb of Beirut, creating fear and panic among residents, as well as the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon."

Shamdasani warned that in all, "hundreds of thousands have now been affected by these Israeli displacement orders," cautioning that they risked amounting to "prohibited forced displacement" under international law.

CBS/AFP

Iran fired another salvo of missiles at Israel on Friday, the Israeli military said, after it announced a fresh wave of strikes targeting the Iranian regime in Tehran.

The Israel Defense Forces said in its latest alert — of which there have been many thousands during the nearly-week-long war — that it had detected missiles "recently launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel," adding that defense systems were "working to intercept the threat."

It urged people to heed warnings sent from the Israeli Home Front Command directly to people's cell phones "in the relevant areas."

The vast majority of Iran's missiles and drones targeting Israel are intercepted, but at least 10 people have been killed by weapons that have slipped through the country's air defenses so far, and three others have died in related incidents, according to data compiled by the independent Israeli Institute for National Security Studies think tank.

The ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,200 people in Iran over the last seven days, according to the Islamic Republic's health ministry.

Israeli officials told reporters on Friday that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have been speaking with each other daily during the war.

The officials said the joint operations against Iran have thus far gone as planned, with cracks appearing in the Iranian regime, but they added that "it may take time" to achieve objectives.

By: Michal Ben-Gal

Qatar's foreign ministry on Friday condemned "in the strongest terms" an Iranian strike that it said hit buildings in the tiny neighboring kingdom of Bahrain that were housing Qatari naval forces.

The statement said the Qatari troops were taking part in the Unified Military Command of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council, calling the Iranian strike a "dangerous escalation" and "a blatant act of aggression and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain and a direct threat to its security and stability and the security of the region."

The Qatari ministry said all of its personnel at the scene of the strike were safe and there were no injuries. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed in a brief post on social media Friday that some, unidentified countries had "begun mediation efforts" as the U.S.-Israeli war against his nation continued apace. 

"Let's be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation's dignity & sovereignty. Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict," Pezeshkian said.

Pezeshkian, long considered a relatively moderate member of Iran's government, did not provide any further detail, and the country's military commanders have issued statements in recent days suggesting no interest in a negotiated end to the war. 

President Trump told NBC News on Thursday that the objective of the joint U.S.-Israeli war against Iran was to "go in and clean out" the country's theocratic leadership. He added, however, that he had some ideas about who within Iran might make a "good leader," and that the U.S. was taking unspecified measures to keep those individuals alive during the war.

Several Gulf nations were directly involved in brokering indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, which were abruptly cut off when the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Feb. 28. 

CBS News has sought comment from officials in Doha, Qatar, which was a key broker in those talks, along with contacts in Tehran and Oman's capital Muscat, about Pezeshkian's claim of new "mediation efforts."

The Iranian Army claimed Friday to be unleashing "a large volume of Army attack drones" that it said were "hitting U.S. positions" in Kuwait.

"Over the past hours, various types of attack drones from the Ground Forces carried out concentrated strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait," the army said in a post on social media, adding that the "attacks will continue in the coming hours."

There were no immediate reports of incoming drones in Kuwait, but the small U.S. Gulf ally has been struck repeatedly by Iranian drones and missiles since the war began almost a week ago — including the drone strike on the first day of the conflict that killed six U.S. troops at a military installation. 

Four men were arrested in the U.K. capital Friday on suspicion of spying for Iran, according to the London Metropolitan Police. Counterterror officers apprehended the men — one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals — in the early hours of Friday morning in the northern suburbs of Barnet and Watford, the force said.

The investigation centred on "suspected surveillance of locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community" in London, according to a press release.

"Today's arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it," said Commander Helen Flanagan, the Met's counterterror chief.

The men were 55, 52, 40 and 22, according to the police statement. Six others were arrested on suspicion of assisting the alleged offenders, and another was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Sam Vinograd, a former DHS assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat protection, told CBS News this week that Iran represents a "multi-dimensional threat" to the U.S. homeland, with a "deep bench of players they tap into to inflict damage," including proxies — regional, like-minded terrorist organizations — along with state agents. 

Iran has developed what she called "surrogate networks here in the United States — regular criminals that they actually hire and pay money to do things like murders and assassinations."

Explosions were reported in Tehran and Beirut on Friday after Israel's military announced a new "wave of strikes" in both cities, stepping up its war against both the Iranian regime and Hezbollah, one of its most powerful regional proxy groups, in Lebanon.

An Israeli military official said strikes were targeting "the terrorist regime's infrastructure" in Tehran, while in Lebanon's capital, they said there were "several waves of strikes" in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut against Hezbollah targets, following "extensive calls on the civilian population in the area to evacuate in order to reduce civilian casualties."

The military official said more than 500 targets were hit in Lebanon, "including senior Hezbollah terrorists," rocket launchers, and command and weapons storage facilities.

Israel claims to have achieved "near-complete air superiority" over Iran, as the ongoing joint strikes with the U.S. entered their seventh day. Israel says those strikes have destroyed more than 80% of Iran's air defense systems.

"We're destroying more of Iran's missiles and drone capability every single hour," President Trump said Thursday, calling Iranian forces "tough" but badly weakened.

Still, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi says the fight is far from over, and insists Tehran is "not asking for a ceasefire."

As Iranian drones and missiles continue to target U.S. allies across the Gulf, sirens blared again Friday across Kuwait City, where operations at the U.S. Embassy were suspended the previous day.

President Trump has said the objective of the war against Iran is to "go in and clean out" the country's theocratic leadership. In a phone interview with NBC News, Mr. Trump also said he has some ideas about who would be a "good leader" there.

"We want to go in and clean out everything," he said. "We don't want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period."

The president added that the U.S. was taking measures to try to assure that the people he has in mind survive the war, without offering any details.

Mr. Trump said earlier that he'd "have to be involved" in the appointment of Iran's next leader, calling the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been mentioned as a possible successor, an "unacceptable" option and a "lightweight." 

Speaking Monday at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. operation was "laser-focused: destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons."

He rejected criticism of the operation as the beginning of another "endless war" in the Middle East and insisted it was "not a so-called regime-change war."

"But the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it today," Hegseth said.

NATO has "increased its alliance-wide ballistic missile defense posture" in the wake of the interception of a missile that was launched toward Turkey on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the alliance said.

"This immediate action was taken by the commander of NATO's Air Command, who further recommended NATO's ballistic missile defense posture remain at this heightened level until the threat from Iran's continued indiscriminate attacks across the region subsides," the spokesperson said, adding that "the adjustment gives the Supreme Allied Commander Europe exactly what he needs to defend the alliance based upon the current threat and defend it he will!"

"As the world witnessed yesterday, NATO perfectly executed its ballistic missile defense procedures. In less than 10 minutes, NATO service members identified a threat to allies, a ballistic missile, confirmed its trajectory, alerted land- and sea-based missile defense systems, and launched an interceptor to defeat the threat and protect our territory and its people," the statement continued. "That is real strength!"

Turkey is a NATO ally, and the missile attack raised questions about whether the alliance would invoke Article V of the NATO charter, which states that a strike against one member should be considered an attack against all.

Saudi Arabia's defense ministry reported early Friday that it intercepted three Iranian drones east of its capital, Riyadh.

On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was targeted by an Iranian drone attack which caused a small fire and minor damage, the defense ministry said. There were no reported injuries. 

According to Israel's private Institute for National Security Studies, Saudi Arabia has been targeted by 14 missiles and five drones since the war began. 

Qatari officials announced early Friday morning local time that their military stopped an Iranian drone targeting the Al Udeid airbase in Doha.

The Qatari Ministry of Defense said in a statement that its defense forces "successfully intercepted a drone attack" targeting Al Udeid, which is the largest U.S. base in the Middle East with about 8,000 to 10,000 U.S. troops. 

Qatari's defense ministry had reported Thursday that the country was targeted by 14 ballistic missiles and four drones from Iran. All but one of the missiles were intercepted, with the remaining missile landing in ocean waters.

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar on Wednesday announced that the State Department had ordered all non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Qatar. The embassy said it was under a shelter-in-place order for all remaining emergency personnel.

"To the extent possible, remain inside your residence, hotel, or another structure, and stay away from windows," the embassy said.