live Iran's Assembly Of Experts Building Hit By Air Strike

Iranians are gripped by fear -- and hope -- as the United States and Israel wage a massive bombardment designed to cripple the country's clerical rulers.

The air strikes since February 28 have decimated much of Iran's leadership, including killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But they have also resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, according to local humanitarian groups, and destroyed schools and hospitals.

"We were happy with the news of Khamenei's death," a 56-year-old man in Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told Radio Farda. "But now these heavy bombings are worrying me. Iran should not be destroyed and disintegrated. I hope the future is bright."

The death of Khamenei, an autocrat who ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly 40 years, was celebrated by some on the streets of Iran. But for many, attention has quickly turned to what comes next.

To read the full report by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

In just a few days, the United States and Israel's massive bombardment of Iran has sprawled into a regional war that has dragged in key America allies in the Middle East and sent global energy prices soaring.

Iran has responded to the joint US and Israeli campaign, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, by unleashing unprecedented barrages of missiles and drones at US military and diplomatic facilities and striking key energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.

Fighting an existential threat, experts say, Tehran is aiming to raise the economic, political, and military pain of the conflict for the United States and secure an end to hostilities.

"Tehran appears to be wagering on [US President] Donald Trump's reluctance to become entangled in messy and costly wars, seeking to demonstrate that it possesses the capability to prolong the conflict and make it increasingly complex and expensive," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

To read the full report by Senior Regional Editor Frud Bezhan, click here.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's top policy official defended US military operations against Iran as a limited, US-directed campaign to blunt a growing missile threat, rejecting suggestions Washington was drawn into war at Israel's urging or pursuing open-ended regime change.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 3, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said the strikes were ordered by US President Donald Trump to degrade Iran's expanding arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles and one-way attack drones, and to ensure Tehran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

Colby described the campaign as centered on curbing "the ability of the Islamic republic to project military power against US bases, our forces, etc., as well as our allies and partners in the region and beyond."

He said Trump had directed a military campaign with defined objectives: Degrade and destroy Iran's missile and drone capabilities and place the United States "in a position to deny Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon."

Lawmakers questioned how the strikes align with the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy, which calls for allies and partners to shoulder more of the burden for collective security.

Colby acknowledged that direct US operations against Iran fall outside that typical burden-sharing framework. Still, he argued the action remains consistent with the broader strategic goals of restoring deterrence and protecting US forces.

While Israel is conducting significant operations of its own, Colby stressed that Washington acted based on its own threat assessment and national interests.

Pressed on whether Washington supported the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, Colby sought to draw a clear line.

"Those are Israeli operations," he said, distancing the United States from direct responsibility for Khamenei's death and narrowing the scope of US objectives to military degradation rather than leadership decapitation.

Colby did not directly interpret Trump's rhetoric encouraging the Iranian people to seize a "historic opportunity," but he emphasized that the US campaign is not a nation-building intervention.

Colby stressed the operation does not envision deploying US ground forces to reshape Iran's political system. Instead, he presented it as a limited effort to degrade military capabilities, prevent nuclear acquisition, and restore deterrence.

The building that houses Iran's Assembly of Experts, the body that will elect the country's next supreme leader, has been severely damaged by air strikes.

Verified video from local media and witnesses posting online on March 3 showed the building in the holy city of Qom almost completely demolished.

The state-run IRIB news agency reported that a separate office belonging to the assembly in Tehran was struck late on March 2. The news agency said both facilities had been "evacuated in advance" and that no casualties were recorded.

Axios also quoted an unnamed Israeli official confirming that the Israeli Air Force had struck the building in Qom, 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of Tehran, to "to disrupt the process of appointing a new supreme leader."

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces reported on March 3 that no attack had been carried out "against Omani soil and ports."

The official Oman News Agency, citing security sources, announced that several tanks in the commercial port of Duqm were targeted by several drones, and that at least one of the drones hit a fuel tank.

The port had previously been targeted by a drone attack on March 1. While Iran has not formally claimed responsibility for the first attack, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi suggested that Tehran was behind it in comments made to Al Jazeera.

“What happened in Oman was not our choice. We have already told our armed forces to be careful about the targets they choose,” Araghchi said, adding that the Iranian Army was acting on general instructions.

The German Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned Iranian ambassador in Berlin and has asked Tehran officials to stop attacks on countries in the region.

On March 3, the ministry announced in a message on X that it had called on Iranian leaders to "immediately end reckless attacks against countries in the region."

The German Foreign Ministry also announced that it condemns Iran's "arbitrary and disproportionate" missile and drone attacks, including attacks on civilian targets.

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Merz To Meet Trump Amid Fears In Europe That Iran War Diverting Attention From Ukraine

US President Donald Trump is hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on March 3, his first meeting with a foreign leader since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

The long-planned meeting between Trump and Merz was intended to focus on the war in Ukraine and tense trade relations between the European Union and the United States, but the escalating conflict with Iran has reportedly affected the agenda.

Merz, a staunch critic of the Islamic republic's leaders, has said Berlin understands the "relief" of the Iranian people that "the rule of the mullahs is coming to an end." However, he has declined to comment on the legal legitimacy of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Germany, France, and Britain have announced they will only participate in "defensive" actions alongside their allies in the Gulf region.

The wife of Mustafa Mohammad Hassan, a student imprisoned at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, announced the evacuation of Ward 209, where most political prisoners are held.

"Ward 209 of Evin Prison has been evacuated and the prisoners have been transferred to an unknown location. Other prisoners, including political prisoners and financial criminals, are still in Ward 7," he wrote on X on March 3.

"Counter-Terror Unit forces have left the prison and are stationed in surrounding buildings," he reported.

RFE/RL is unable to independently verify this report.

Hassan's wife has appealed for urgent attention, warning of a potential "humanitarian disaster" regarding the prisoners.

Hassan, a graduate student at the Philosophy of Science department at Sharif University of Technology, has been detained since early February.

On March 1, the Narges Mohammadi Foundation, named for the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist, once again expressed deep concern about the dangerous situation of political prisoners and detained protesters who are trapped behind bars following the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran.

The foundation also referred to reports published by human rights groups saying the situation at Evin Prison has become critical, with staffing, food, and medical shortages.

"The prison management has collapsed, and the staff have evacuated the wards by locking the doors -- a situation that has disrupted prisoners' access to the prison store and basic necessities."

“In the women's ward of Evin and Ward 7 of this prison, food distribution has been stopped and only a limited amount of bread has been provided to prisoners."

The Narges Mohammadi Foundation also wrote that it has verified similar and independent reports from families of prisoners at Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj and Lakan Prison in Rasht. The relatives reported food shortages, shop closures, and reduced access to medical care for prisoners.

Our graphics department have come up with this visualization of how oil and gas prices have been affected by the recent outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East:

US President Donald ‌Trump said it is "too late" for talks with Iran after Tehran made a bid to hold discussions amid the US-Israeli military operation.

"Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said 'Too Late!'" Trump wrote in a social media post on March 3.

He did not say when Iranian officials had indicated they were willing to enter talks.

Before and after images capture sites in the Middle East hit by US-Israeli and Iranian strikes.

• RFE/RL

Before and after images capture sites in the Middle East hit by US-Israeli and Iranian strikes. (Scroll left to see the damage caused in each location.)