Summary
- US President Trump says "the big-scale hitting comes" as Iranian defensive assets are destroyed.
- US commander says initial attack on Iran nearly double the 2003 "Shock and Awe" campaign against Iraq.
- Streets of Tehran -- a city of 10 million people -- appear deserted amid the US-Israeli air strikes.
The United States and Israel vowed no letup in their military campaign against Iran, with Tel Aviv launching a fresh "broad wave of strikes" while US President Donald Trump said Tehran "is going to be in for a lot of hurt" in the coming days.
"The big-scale hitting goes now," Trump said on March 3 at the White House during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"They no longer have air protections, they no longer have any detection systems left at all, so they're going to be in for a lot of hurt," he warned.
Trump also reiterated that, along with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, much of the Iranian leadership had been killed in the US-Israeli attacks, leaving the regime in uncertain hands.
"Most of the people we had in mind are dead. Now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports," he said.
SEE ALSO: Reports: Kurdish Militias Discuss Iran Attacks With US'Shock And Awe'
After Trump spoke, the chief of the US military's Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, said Operation Epic Fury represents the largest US buildup in the Middle East in a generation.
More than 50,000 US troops, over 200 fighter aircraft, two aircraft carrier strike groups, and long-range bombers are participating in the operation, Cooper said. He described the opening phase as nearly double the scale of the 2003 “shock and awe” campaign in Iraq.
“Today, there is not a single Iranian ship under way in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman,” Cooper said, describing what he called an unprecedented effort to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten US forces.
“We’ve just begun,” he said. “But I have the utmost confidence that we, alongside our partners, will absolutely achieve our military objectives.”
He said the US military has destroyed 17 Iranian naval vessels -- including a submarine -- and struck nearly 2,000 targets across Iran in less than four days, according to the commander of US Central Command.
SEE ALSO: US Announces War Objectives As Trump Says 'Something Had To Be Done' About IranNew Israeli Strikes
Separately, Israel said early on March 4 that it had launched a "broad wave of strikes," saying its latest targets on the fifth day of the joint US-Israeli attack included Iranian "launch sites, air defense systems, and additional infrastructure."
In Tehran, a city of some 10 million people, the streets appeared mostly deserted, with many fleeing the capital and others hunkering down at home.
"There are so few people that you'd think no one ever lived here," Samireh, a 33-year-old nurse, told AFP.
Authorities have urged people to leave the capital. Police, armed security forces, and armored vehicles have been stationed at main junctions, carrying out random checks on vehicles, AFP added.
Reports from inside Iran are difficult to verify. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that nearly 1,100 civilians, including 181 children, have been killed in the air strikes.
Sirens Blare In Israel
In Israel, meanwhile, air raid sirens blared overnight as the Israeli military worked to intercept successive waves of incoming Iranian fire.
Police in Tel Aviv said shrapnel fell in the area, slightly injuring one woman. There were no other immediate reports of Israeli casualties.
Israel also pressed its renewed drive against Iran-allied Hezbollah elements in Beirut after the group's military wing fired missiles into northern Israel.
Loud explosions were in the Lebanese capital Beirut shortly after midnight on March 4, as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged strikes and rocket fire, reportedly killing dozens of people. The UN said more than 30,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian Retaliation
There appeared to also be no letup in Iran's retaliatory missile and drone firings, although results were not as dramatic as the US-Israeli strikes.
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Trump Says Iran Planned To 'Attack First' But Lost Military Strength After Strikes
US diplomatic outposts -- embassies and consulates -- in the Middle East reported drone attacks, some causing minor damage but no casualties.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones targeting US military bases as well as key energy and commercial sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar -- all American allies -- since February 28.
Officials in Qatar said an Iranian ballistic missile hit the US military base at Al-Udeid on March 3 without causing casualties.
The US Embassy in Riyadh was struck by two drones, causing a "limited fire" and "minor material damage," Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said, as tensions escalate across the Middle East.
Cooperation With Kurds?
Elsewhere, the leading Kurdish party in Iraq said its leaders had spoken to Trump about the next steps in the war against neighboring Iran.
The White House did not confirm the report, but said, "“President Trump has spoken with many regional partners.”
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said Trump contacted party head Bafel Talabani to discuss US actions in neighboring Iran. US media reported that Trump also spoke with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani a day after the start of the US-Israeli attacks in Iran.
SEE ALSO: Iran War Descends Into Regional Conflict With Global SpilloversThe report of the calls comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is considering supporting Iraqi Kurdish factions in a fight against the Iranian leadership.
The Iraqi Kurds have a large force at the border with Iran and also have links to the Kurdish minority in Iran. Ethnic Kurds have for decades been seeking an independent state and have long accused Tehran of oppressing its Kurdish minority.