Trump Vows To Protect Shipping In Strait Of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump has vowed to offer military and financial security for shipping traffic in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which is being threatened by Iran amid its retaliatory action following US and Israeli air strikes.
"If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible," he posted on his Truth Social platform on March 3.
Trump also said he has instructed the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to offer risk insurance and guarantees for all maritime trade in the Gulf region. The action is directed at energy transport but will be available to all shipping companies, he said.
"No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD."
"More actions to come," he said.
Oil prices had surged and stock markets globally had tumbled amid concerns that Iran could attack shipping in the strait, which lies between Iran and Oman.
It is considered one of the most important shipping routes in the world, being the only connection from the Gulf to the world's seas.
Markets recovered some of the losses after Trump's announcement.
With reporting by dpa
Fire Contained After Drone Strike Near US Consulate in Dubai
A fire was contained near the US Consulate in Dubai on March 3 after a drone strike, US authorities confirmed, as regional tensions intensify amid ongoing US-Israeli military operations against Iran.
The Dubai Media Office said emergency crews responded immediately to a blaze caused by a "drone-related incident" in the vicinity of the diplomatic compound. No injuries were reported, and the fire was brought under control.
Videos circulating on social media showed flames and thick black smoke near at least one building inside the compound.
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that a Shahed drone hit the consulate compound. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility, framing the strike as part of Tehran's expanding retaliatory campaign across the Gulf targeting US government facilities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that a drone had struck near the consulate and said all American personnel were safe and accounted for.
Authorities said investigations into the attack are ongoing.
Speaking in Washington, Rubio said airspace closures across the region were complicating evacuation efforts.
"If a country closes their airport -- in some cases the airports have been hit -- we can have the planes lined up to go but we can't get them to land," he said. He added that "a little over 1,500, maybe closer to 1,600 Americans" have requested assistance, and he expressed confidence they would be helped despite delays.
The incident in Dubai came hours after two drones sparked a small fire at the US Embassy in Riyadh, according to Saudi authorities.
On Monday, the US Embassy in Kuwait City was also struck by drones, underscoring the widening scope of attacks on American diplomatic sites.
US Announces Iran War Objectives
The White House has outlined four objectives of its ongoing aerial assault against Iran, carried out in tandem with Israel, now in its fourth day.
Announcing the aims of Operation Epic Fury, as the campaign has been named, the White House wrote on X on March 3 that "America will win. The terrorist Iranian regime will be defeated."
It listed the steps to this goal as being to "destroy the Iranian regime's missiles," "Annihilate their Navy," Ensure their terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the world," and "Ensure Iran can NEVER obtain a nuclear weapon."
To read the full report, click here.
Trump Says 'Something Had To Be Done' About Iran
Speaking at the White House alongside the visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, US President Donald Trump said "Something had to be done" about Iran.
"I had a feeling Iran would have attacked us first," he told journalists on March 3.
"They are even attacking countries, which were kind of friendly with them and were doing nothing hoping to sit it out," Trump continued, noting that Iranian drones and missiles have hit the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman -- which had been mediating talks between Washington and just days before the aerial campaign began on February 28.
To read the full report, click here.
Fear And Hope In Iran Amid US-Israeli Bombardment
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.
Iran War Descends Into Regional Conflict With Global Spillovers
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.
Top Pentagon Official Defends Air Strikes
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.
Iran's Assembly Of Experts Building In Qom Hit By Air Strike
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."
Iran Denies Responsibility For Drone Attack In Oman
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.
German Foreign Ministry Summons Iranian Ambassador
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.
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.