Expect an “overwhelming” and bigger wave of military strikes on Iran in the coming days, top Trump administration officials told lawmakers in classified briefings.
Updated March 04, 2026, 10:45 AM EST
By NBC News
What we know
- IRAN SHIP TORPEDOED: The U.S. has torpedoed an Iranian ship in international waters in the Indian Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Earlier, Sri Lanka’s navy said it had rescued 32 people after receiving a distress call from an Iranian navy ship, the IRIS Dena.
- MOURNING FOR LEADER DELAYED: Iranian state media reported that the government is delaying public mourning ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose body was set to go on display in Tehran today.
- GULF UNDER ATTACK: Iran's escalating retaliation has hit U.S. sites, travel hubs and oil facilities across the Gulf as Washington scrambled to ensure Americans leave the Middle East.
- STRAIT OF HORMUZ: President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy may escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil and gas that Iran is attempting to block.
- MOUNTING DEATH TOLL: Hundreds of people have died across the Middle East. More than 940 people have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, Iranian state media reported, and 11 have died in Israel as Iran fired back. The U.S. government identified four of the six service members killed in a drone strike on a port in Kuwait.
NEW UPDATES
6m ago / 11:40 AM EST
Asked about the deaths on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “All that I know is that we’re investigating that. Of course, we never target civilians, but we’re taking a look at investigating that.”
Satellite images reveal the scale of Iran school destruction
Max Butterworth and Matthew Mulligan
A photo provided to NBC News via satellite imagery company Planet Labs shows the destruction at the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, which was struck by a deadly airstrike on Saturday as the U.S. and Israel launched joint operations.
Iranian authorities said at least 168 people, many of them children, were killed in the strike on the school.
19m ago / 11:29 AM EST
Shipping company suspends cargo in Middle East
Freddie Clayton
Shipping company Maersk is suspending all cargo in and out of seven Middle Eastern nations until further notice, it said today.
“We are taking operational measures to ensure the safety of our personnel, safeguard your cargo and maintain service stability across affected trades in the Middle East,” it said in a statement.
The blockade affects ports in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, it said.
“Jeddah and King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia and Salalah, Oman remain operational and are not affected by this measure at this stage,” the statement added.
Earlier today, the Omani navy rescued 24 crew members from a cargo ship flying the Maltese flag that was hit by two missiles, the country’s state news agency reported.
The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations also said it had received a report of a container ship being hit by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, off Oman’s north coast.
The crew was accounted for on both accounts with no reported injuries.
41m ago / 10:45 AM EST
Unexploded Iranian missile lands in Syria
Roisín Savage
An unexploded Iranian missile landed near Qamishli International Airport in northeastern Syria today.
Civilians were pictured next to the missile, part of which was buried in the ground.
Iranian missile falls near Qamishli International Airport Orhan Qereman / Reuters
49m ago / 10:37 AM EST
Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship
Freddie Clayton
Sri Lanka's navy has recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people, The Associated Press reported, after receiving a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, an Iranian ship, in international waters this morning.
Navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath told the AP that those rescued were admitted to a hospital in Sri Lanka, and the bodies recovered were being brought to land.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier that the U.S. had torpedoed an Iranian ship in international waters in the Indian Ocean, without naming the ship.
The Department of Defense says periscope footage shows a U.S. Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
The Department of Defense says periscope footage shows a U.S. Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Dept. of Defense via AFP - Getty Images
54m ago / 10:32 AM EST
Oman rescues 24 people from cargo ship hit by missiles
Freddie Clayton
The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members from a cargo ship flying the Maltese flag that was hit by two missiles today, the country's state news agency reported.
The sailors were rescued and provided with necessary medical care and are all in good health, it said.
Earlier today, the United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of a container ship being hit by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, off Oman’s north coast.
“The crew have now abandoned the vessel and all crew are accounted for with no reported injuries,” it said.
57m ago / 10:29 AM EST
U.S. government information to Americans in Dubai is 'pretty poor,' resident says
Keir Simmons
Reporting from Dubai
Information provided by U.S. officials to American citizens living in Dubai has been “pretty poor,” one resident told NBC News this morning.
Liza Thompson, 45, said she had tried to contact a hotline set up by the U.S. government, but she “couldn’t get ahold of anybody.”
“I’ve been told that Americans who have actually gotten ahold of people have been unable to get any help,” she added. “They just get a lot of, ‘I’m sorry, we’re not doing anything.’ To be honest, the information that we’ve received from the U.S. has been pretty poor.”
Thompson said she lived quite close to missile interceptors in Dubai and Saturday afternoon into overnight Sunday had been a busy period for them.
While it was “frightening,” she said most of the explosions they heard were “defensive in nature.”
“What you have to keep coming back to is that this is a very, very well-protected country and they’ve done so far an amazing job to protect us,” she added.
2h ago / 10:10 AM EST
Tearful reunions as travelers return from the Middle East
Matt Nighswander
Passengers arrive from a Dubai flight at the international airport in Sydney today. Izhar Khan / AFP - Getty Images
International travelers have begun returning home after thousands of flights were delayed or canceled following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
A traveler speaks to a reporter as she arrives at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on a flight from the Middle East today. Ramon Van Flymen / AFP - Getty Images
A passenger is embraced by a loved one in Sydney today after disembarking from an Emirates flight coming from Dubai. Izhar Khan / AFP - Getty Images
The first Spaniards evacuated from the Middle East arrive in Madrid yesterday. Diego Radamés / Europa Press via AP
2h ago / 10:04 AM EST
U.S. has 'sufficient' munitions for operations against Iran, general says
Rebecca Shabad
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during his remarks at the Pentagon that the U.S. has enough munitions to carry out its military operations against Iran.
"I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions. We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand — both on the offense and defense," he told reporters.
He added: "I know there's been a great debate about that. I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter."
There have been concerns over U.S. stockpiles of munitions as the military ramps up its efforts in Iran. NBC News reported today that it could prompt the Trump administration to force defense companies to quickly manufacture more weapons.
2h ago / 10:01 AM EST
Injured civilians flood Tehran hospital
F. Brinley Bruton
A surgeon at Firoozgar Hospital in Tehran tells NBC News that he was stuck at work overnight because so many injured civilians had flooded the facility.
Medical services aren't the only ones to appear overwhelmed, he added.
The surgeon, who asked not to be named because he did not want it to be known he was speaking to a foreign news organization, said a security guard had caught a robber trying to steal from the hospital last night.
A call to the police went unanswered, however, and the guard went on to release the robber.
2h ago / 9:55 AM EST
Russia condemns U.S. calls for Iranians to seize power
Freddie Clayton
Russia accused the United States today of using an imaginary threat from Iran as pretext for striking the country, adding that Washington’s call for Iranians to overthrow its government “cynical and inhumane.”
“There is no doubt that the imaginary, invented Iranian threat, repeatedly stated over many years, was merely a pretext for the implementation of a long-cherished plan to violently overthrow the constitutional order of a sovereign state,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already condemned what he called a cynical murder of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the weekend.
Announcing the strikes Saturday, Trump had issued a call for Iranians to “take over your government.”
Without mentioning Trump, Zakharova said that it was “even more cynical and inhumane to hear calls for the Iranians to seize power, as the West says, when the West is literally tearing ripping these hands from the Iranians.”
2h ago / 9:48 AM EST
Spanish PM issues rebuttal after Trump trade threats
Freddie Clayton
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reiterated his opposition to war in the Middle East today after Trump threatened to end trade with Spain following a row over the country’s air bases.
Spain’s position is “the same as in Ukraine and Gaza,” Sanchez said in a video address posted on X, which urged countries not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“No to the collapse of international law that protects us all,” he said. “No to assuming that the world can only resolve its problems through bombs.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers an official statement in response to Trump's remarks, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid today. Borja Puig De La Bellacasa / AFP via Getty Images
Unexploded Iranian missile lands in Syria
Roisín Savage
An unexploded Iranian missile landed near Qamishli International Airport in northeastern Syria today.
Civilians were pictured next to the missile, part of which was buried in the ground.
Iranian missile falls near Qamishli International Airport Orhan Qereman / Reuters
49m ago / 10:37 AM EST
Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship
Freddie Clayton
Sri Lanka's navy has recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people, The Associated Press reported, after receiving a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, an Iranian ship, in international waters this morning.
Navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath told the AP that those rescued were admitted to a hospital in Sri Lanka, and the bodies recovered were being brought to land.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier that the U.S. had torpedoed an Iranian ship in international waters in the Indian Ocean, without naming the ship.
The Department of Defense says periscope footage shows a U.S. Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
The Department of Defense says periscope footage shows a U.S. Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Dept. of Defense via AFP - Getty Images
54m ago / 10:32 AM EST
Oman rescues 24 people from cargo ship hit by missiles
Freddie Clayton
The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members from a cargo ship flying the Maltese flag that was hit by two missiles today, the country's state news agency reported.
The sailors were rescued and provided with necessary medical care and are all in good health, it said.
Earlier today, the United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of a container ship being hit by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, off Oman’s north coast.
“The crew have now abandoned the vessel and all crew are accounted for with no reported injuries,” it said.
57m ago / 10:29 AM EST
U.S. government information to Americans in Dubai is 'pretty poor,' resident says
Keir Simmons
Reporting from Dubai
Information provided by U.S. officials to American citizens living in Dubai has been “pretty poor,” one resident told NBC News this morning.
Liza Thompson, 45, said she had tried to contact a hotline set up by the U.S. government, but she “couldn’t get ahold of anybody.”
“I’ve been told that Americans who have actually gotten ahold of people have been unable to get any help,” she added. “They just get a lot of, ‘I’m sorry, we’re not doing anything.’ To be honest, the information that we’ve received from the U.S. has been pretty poor.”
Thompson said she lived quite close to missile interceptors in Dubai and Saturday afternoon into overnight Sunday had been a busy period for them.
While it was “frightening,” she said most of the explosions they heard were “defensive in nature.”
“What you have to keep coming back to is that this is a very, very well-protected country and they’ve done so far an amazing job to protect us,” she added.
2h ago / 10:10 AM EST
Tearful reunions as travelers return from the Middle East
Matt Nighswander
Passengers arrive from a Dubai flight at the international airport in Sydney today. Izhar Khan / AFP - Getty Images
International travelers have begun returning home after thousands of flights were delayed or canceled following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
A traveler speaks to a reporter as she arrives at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on a flight from the Middle East today. Ramon Van Flymen / AFP - Getty Images
A passenger is embraced by a loved one in Sydney today after disembarking from an Emirates flight coming from Dubai. Izhar Khan / AFP - Getty Images
The first Spaniards evacuated from the Middle East arrive in Madrid yesterday. Diego Radamés / Europa Press via AP
2h ago / 10:04 AM EST
U.S. has 'sufficient' munitions for operations against Iran, general says
Rebecca Shabad
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during his remarks at the Pentagon that the U.S. has enough munitions to carry out its military operations against Iran.
"I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions. We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand — both on the offense and defense," he told reporters.
He added: "I know there's been a great debate about that. I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter."
There have been concerns over U.S. stockpiles of munitions as the military ramps up its efforts in Iran. NBC News reported today that it could prompt the Trump administration to force defense companies to quickly manufacture more weapons.
2h ago / 10:01 AM EST
Injured civilians flood Tehran hospital
F. Brinley Bruton
A surgeon at Firoozgar Hospital in Tehran tells NBC News that he was stuck at work overnight because so many injured civilians had flooded the facility.
Medical services aren't the only ones to appear overwhelmed, he added.
The surgeon, who asked not to be named because he did not want it to be known he was speaking to a foreign news organization, said a security guard had caught a robber trying to steal from the hospital last night.
A call to the police went unanswered, however, and the guard went on to release the robber.
2h ago / 9:55 AM EST
Russia condemns U.S. calls for Iranians to seize power
Freddie Clayton
Russia accused the United States today of using an imaginary threat from Iran as pretext for striking the country, adding that Washington’s call for Iranians to overthrow its government “cynical and inhumane.”
“There is no doubt that the imaginary, invented Iranian threat, repeatedly stated over many years, was merely a pretext for the implementation of a long-cherished plan to violently overthrow the constitutional order of a sovereign state,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already condemned what he called a cynical murder of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the weekend.
Announcing the strikes Saturday, Trump had issued a call for Iranians to “take over your government.”
Without mentioning Trump, Zakharova said that it was “even more cynical and inhumane to hear calls for the Iranians to seize power, as the West says, when the West is literally tearing ripping these hands from the Iranians.”
2h ago / 9:48 AM EST
Spanish PM issues rebuttal after Trump trade threats
Freddie Clayton
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reiterated his opposition to war in the Middle East today after Trump threatened to end trade with Spain following a row over the country’s air bases.
Spain’s position is “the same as in Ukraine and Gaza,” Sanchez said in a video address posted on X, which urged countries not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“No to the collapse of international law that protects us all,” he said. “No to assuming that the world can only resolve its problems through bombs.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers an official statement in response to Trump's remarks, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid today. Borja Puig De La Bellacasa / AFP via Getty Images
Trump said yesterday that he would impose a full trade embargo on the European nation after Spain refused to allow the U.S. to use its jointly run bases for strikes on Iran.
“We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said.
Trump also said that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is “no Winston Churchill” in a row over the U.K.’s refusal to allow the U.S. to use its bases for the initial strikes on Iran. Starmer has since agreed to the U.S. request to use British bases for subsequent “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites.
Starmer defended his government's approach today, saying protecting British nationals was his "number one priority."
2h ago / 9:38 AM EST
War could continue for eight weeks, Pete Hegseth says
Freddie Clayton
Iran cannot outlast the U.S., Hegseth said at his news conference, adding that the war could continue for, three, four, six or eight weeks.
"We’re going to ensure through violence of action and our offensive capabilities and our defensive capabilities, as I said, that we set the tone and the tempo of this fight," he said.
"The only limits we have in this is President Trump’s desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people," he added. "We could say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three."
Hegseth finished by saying Iran was "off balance," and that the "difference gets wider every day."
2h ago / 9:29 AM EST
Call from Benjamin Netanyahu influenced Trump's decision to strike, senior U.S. official says
Peter Alexander
Reporting from Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Donald Trump last Monday to tell him that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be meeting with his high-ranking members of his leadership team, a senior U.S. official told NBC News.
Netanyahu told the president and his advisers that the entire group could be killed in a single strike Saturday morning because they were meeting in one location, the American official said, adding that the CIA quickly confirmed the intelligence.
The call, first reported by Axios, was held in the White House Situation Room, the official said, and it marked a defining moment that led to the exact timing of those initial strikes on Iran.
The call was one of several critical factors that led to Trump’s decision to strike Iran, the official said, adding that he also considered Iran's efforts to build nuclear weapons, the failure to achieve any progress in direct talks with the Islamic Republic and the expansion of its ballistic missile program.
War could continue for eight weeks, Pete Hegseth says
Freddie Clayton
Iran cannot outlast the U.S., Hegseth said at his news conference, adding that the war could continue for, three, four, six or eight weeks.
"We’re going to ensure through violence of action and our offensive capabilities and our defensive capabilities, as I said, that we set the tone and the tempo of this fight," he said.
"The only limits we have in this is President Trump’s desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people," he added. "We could say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three."
Hegseth finished by saying Iran was "off balance," and that the "difference gets wider every day."
2h ago / 9:29 AM EST
Call from Benjamin Netanyahu influenced Trump's decision to strike, senior U.S. official says
Peter Alexander
Reporting from Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Donald Trump last Monday to tell him that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be meeting with his high-ranking members of his leadership team, a senior U.S. official told NBC News.
Netanyahu told the president and his advisers that the entire group could be killed in a single strike Saturday morning because they were meeting in one location, the American official said, adding that the CIA quickly confirmed the intelligence.
The call, first reported by Axios, was held in the White House Situation Room, the official said, and it marked a defining moment that led to the exact timing of those initial strikes on Iran.
The call was one of several critical factors that led to Trump’s decision to strike Iran, the official said, adding that he also considered Iran's efforts to build nuclear weapons, the failure to achieve any progress in direct talks with the Islamic Republic and the expansion of its ballistic missile program.
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