Strikes resume on Iran, U.S. military says Tehran's defenses 'severely degraded'

The war with Iran stretched into a fifth day Wednesday, with Israel launching a new wave of strikes in Tehran and Iranian authorities postponing public mourning rituals for the slain supreme leader.

The Israeli military said Wednesday a "broad wave of strikes" targeted internal security command centers in Tehran, as well as missile launchers and other systems.

The strikes came amid preparations in Iran for three days of funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which were set to begin on Wednesday evening.

According to Iran's state media, the ceremonies were postponed due to "overwhelming response." A new date has not been specified.

Here are more of the key updates NPR is reporting on.

To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:

US strikes | Iran | Spain | Americans stranded | US soldiers identified | US evacuations | Trump reasoning

U.S. Central Command says strikes "severely degraded" Iran's capabilities

U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday that Iran's "air defenses and hundreds of ballistic missile launchers and drones" were "severely degraded" following U.S. and Israeli strikes on 2,000 targets.

In a video posted on X, Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, described the U.S. operation as "ahead of our game plan."

Cooper said the U.S. military destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including what he described as Iran's "most operational" submarine.

Cooper said Iran has retaliated by launching more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones. The scale of the campaign - the largest buildup of U.S. forces in the region since the war in Iraq in 2003 - has sharpened questions in Washington about how far it could expand.

The U.S. has deployed 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets and two aircraft carriers in the Middle East, according to U.S. officials. Cooper said "more capabilities were on the way."

After a closed-door briefing with senior Trump administration officials Wednesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he was "more fearful than ever" the U.S. could end up putting "boots on the ground." Other senators, including Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), also raised concerns about escalation and called for greater public accountability.

Across the Gulf, U.S. diplomatic sites have come under attack in recent days. On Tuesday, drones hit near the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, in an attack that the Saudi foreign ministry said came from Iran. The embassy warned American citizens to shelter in place and avoid the embassy compound until further notice. The same day, a drone struck near the U.S. consulate in Dubai, and the embassy in Kuwait was closed following an attack.

Speaking in between meetings on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that U.S. embassies are under attack from a "terrorist regime."

"A drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancellery building and then set off a fire in that place," he said. "All personnel are accounted for. As you're aware, we began drawing down personnel from our diplomatic facilities in advance of this."

Israel says it targeted the top body of Iran's clerics

Inside Iran, Israel said it had targeted on Tuesday the building housing the Assembly of Experts, the body of top Shia clerics whose job it is to choose a new supreme leader. It was not immediately clear whether the assembly was meeting at the time.

Thousands of Iranians gathered on Tuesday for the funeral of children killed in an elementary school that was struck Saturday. Over 160 students, mostly girls, and 14 teachers were killed, according to Iranian officials. Israel denies it hit the school, and the U.S. military says it's looking into it. Iran said the school was hit Saturday morning when the war began.

In Tehran, Shadi, a woman who identified herself to NPR without giving her last name out of safety concerns from the Iranian government, described government buildings, military bases and centers of Iran's Revolutionary Guard shattered by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes – a debris of mangled metal and concrete and broken glass.

She also witnessed an understaffed hospital, bread and gas waiting line and a once vibrant city gripped by anxiety and fear.

Fighting also engulfed Lebanon since Monday. After Hezbollah fired missiles into southern Israel, Israel launched retaliatory strikes that Lebanese health officials said killed 50 people and displaced thousands.

In Israel, officials said Iranian strikes had killed 11 people. In Iran, the Red Crescent said at least 787 people were killed in strikes. The Pentagon said six U.S. service members were killed.

President Trump said Tuesday the U.S. began striking Iran over the weekend because, he said, Iran was "going to attack first."

Trump had previously said the U.S. launched strikes on Iran because it was close to securing missiles that could reach the U.S.

— Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Ruth Sherlock

Spain's PM responds to Trump's trade threats

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended his stance on the war in the Middle East on Wednesday, in response to President Trump's threats to cut off trade with Spain.

Trump said on Tuesday that he would cut off all trade with Spain after the Spanish government denied permission for two U.S. military bases to be used as part of the ongoing offensive in Iran.

On Wednesday, without naming Trump, Sánchez reiterated his government's position regarding the war in the Middle East. "We say no to breaking the international law that protects us all, especially the most defenseless, the civilian population," Sánchez said.

"No to accepting that the world can only solve its problems through conflicts and bombs. And, finally, no to repeating the mistakes of the past. In short, the position of the government of Spain is summarized in four words: no to the war."

Sánchez demanded that the United States, Israel, and Iran look for a diplomatic exit to this conflict.

Sánchez's address comes a day after Trump complained publicly about the Spanish government denying permission for two U.S. military bases to be used as part of the offensive in Iran. The bases are located in the south of Spain, and have been used by the U.S. since 1953. The town of Morón de la Frontera houses an airbase, while the coastal town of Rota is home to the U.S. Navy.

On Monday, Spain's defense minister, Margarita Robles, said the U.S. and Israel are acting unilaterally and without the support of an international resolution, and that therefore the bases are not available to them.

Sanchez had already come out against the U.S. and Israel's operation in Iran, on Saturday, demanding an "immediate de-escalation, and respect of international law."

It's unclear if or when Trump will take any trade action against Spain. On Tuesday, Trump also expressed anger regarding Spain's refusal to spend 5% of its GDP on defense, a target NATO has set for 2035.

— Miguel Macias and Danielle Kurtzleben

Americans — urged to leave the Middle East — ask 'How?'

The Trump administration says it is working to arrange military aircraft and charter flights to help evacuate Americans who've been stranded in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war. Thousands of U.S. citizens have been frustrated that other foreign nationals are being flown out, while Americans can't even get through to a help line.

Evelyn Mushi, 52, is one of them. She was headed from Chicago to Bali for what was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime with her 82-year-old mother, and a group of other family and friends. But she arrived in Abu Dhabi to catch a connecting flight, only to realize she had landed in what was quickly becoming a war zone.

"I heard a bombing and I heard a noise and then everything started hitting, and I understood later that they were attacking the airport," she said in an interview from Abu Dhabi.

She was bussed to a hotel, where she says things got even scarier.

"I saw in the air missiles and lights and all that and everyone got on their knees and started praying," she said. "We just kept on praying and praying."

Mushi says she repeatedly called numbers provided by The State Department for days, but was left on hold for hours. As instructed, she also signed up for State Department security updates, but those weren't much help either. Mushi says the emails she received were the same message as officials were posting on social media, imploring Americans to "DEPART NOW."

"Yeah, but how?" Mushi was left wondering. "Where do you leave? Where? What do I do? This is cold to write me this email."

Mushi says she supports the U.S. military action in Iran, but calls it unacceptable for the administration to not have solid evacuation plans in place.

"I'm just very shocked and upset that I see other nations getting their citizens out and we're just stranded here," she said.

The State Department said Tuesday that it was facilitating charter flights from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and that the government would cover the cost. In a statement, a spokesperson said government call centers have been in touch with almost 3,000 Americans, and more than 9,000 have managed to leave on their own.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday why evacuation plans were not in place sooner, President Trump suggested it was because the U.S. decided to strike sooner than expected.

"It happened all very quickly," Trump said. "I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked."

In a separate briefing with reporters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said evacuations were going to take time "because we don't control airspace closures."

For her part, Mushi says she's trying to remain optimistic, but she's running low on patience.

"I want to get out. I want to leave this place," she said. "I need to get somewhere safe."

— Tovia Smith

Four U.S. soldiers killed have been identified

The Pentagon released the names of four of the six U.S. soldiers that have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. They were in the Army Reserve and died on Sunday during a drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

• Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.
• Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.
• Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.
• Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa,

All four soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. The department said the attack is under investigation.

— Ayana Archie

U.S. embassies hit, Americans urged to leave region "NOW"

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday urged Americans to avoid the compound after the Saudi Defense Ministry said the embassy had been attacked by two drones. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry called it a "flagrant Iranian attack" in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Defense Ministry said the drone strikes caused "limited fire and minor damage" to the U.S. Embassy.

Later Tuesday, the authorities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said a fire resulting from a "drone-related incident" had broken out near the U.S. Consulate.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancellery building" in Dubai and set it on fire. There were no injuries.

This comes after an Iranian attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait on Monday.

In Jordan, the State Department said Tuesday it had evacuated its large embassy in the Jordanian capital, Amman, after threats against it. Rubio said the department had also drawn down personnel at U.S. embassies in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Irbil.

Mora Namdar, the State Department's assistant secretary for consular affairs, wrote on X that Americans need to "DEPART NOW" from more than a dozen countries and territories in the Middle East because of the conflict. That was even as options to leave have narrowed, with flight cancellations and airport closures.

Rubio said Tuesday afternoon that the State Department has been helping Americans evacuate from the Middle East for the last 72 hours, using military, commercial and chartered flights. He said at the time that 9,000 Americans had left the Middle East and that more than 1,500 had requested help in leaving.

"We've had a couple instances in which we have planes in the air and on the way and, unfortunately, the airspace gets closed and they have to turn back around," Rubio said. "So we're working through those challenges."

He added: "But rest assured, we are confident that we are going to be able to assist every American."

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is telling Americans that it is not in a position to help them leave Israel. Officials there are suggesting that Americans cross into Egypt by land.

"Americans seeking to depart the Middle East through Egypt can do so via commercial flights out of the region from Cairo," the State Department said on X.

Iran has been striking Gulf countries that are normally considered safe in retaliation for U.S. attacks that started Saturday. Iran has also hit commercial targets after warning that it would attack American interests across the region.

Amazon said Monday that two of its data centers in the UAE and one of its centers in Bahrain were hit by drones, affecting their operations.

— Jane Arraf, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Michele Kelemen

Trump: "They were going to attack first"

President Trump shared a new reason why the U.S. began striking Iran over the weekend: "It was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack if we didn't do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that," he said in the Oval Office Tuesday. He did not cite any intelligence to that effect.

Trump had previously said the U.S. launched strikes on Iran because it was close to having missiles that could reach the United States.

He also pushed back on claims that Israel pressured the U.S. to act. If anything, Trump said, it was the other way around.

"I might've forced their hand," Trump said about Israel. "It was my opinion that these lunatics [in Iran] were gonna attack first."

The president's new rationale conflicted with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks a day earlier, suggesting that the U.S. had followed Israel into war.

"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," Rubio said Monday.

The U.S. and Israeli strikes began Saturday following weeks of a U.S. military buildup in the region — even as negotiations to try to reach a deal with Iran were ongoing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday Operation Epic Fury has a focused mission: "Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure and they will never have nuclear weapons."

On Tuesday, Trump touted the success of the mission thus far.

"They have no navy. It's been knocked out. They have no air force, has been knocked out. They have no air detection that's been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out, and just about everything's been knocked out," he said.

He said he has not outlined how he sees the war ending — but did say that "lots of people" are coming forward to negotiate a resolution.

— Deepa Shivaram, Alex Leff

Jane Arraf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi reported from Amman, Jordan; Daniel Estrin reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Ruth Sherlock from Turkey; Tovia Smith from Boston; Julia Simon from San Francisco; Jawad Rizkallah from Beirut; Jackie Northam from Maine; Michele Kelemen, Camila Domonoske, Deepa Shivaram, Ayana Archie and Alex Leff from Washington.

Copyright 2026 NPR