Everything we know on Day 5 of the US and Israel’s war with Iran
Everything we know on Day 5 of the US and Israel’s war with Iran
Jessie Yeung, Rhea Mogul, CNNWed, March 4, 2026 at 4:10 AM UTC
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The latest Middle East conflict continues spiraling days after Israel and the US launched their joint operation on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes on Israel and neighboring Gulf states and plunging the region into fear and uncertainty.
US and Israeli leaders have issued confident pronouncements that Iran’s military has been battered and is on the back foot. But Iranian missiles and drones keep coming – targeting US assets, energy infrastructure, and urban centers across the region.
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The war has disrupted global travel, stranded foreign nationals and families, and spiked global commodity prices. Meanwhile, the number of civilian deaths and casualties in Iran and Lebanon is climbing.
Here’s what to know on day five.
What’s happening in Iran?
Thick smoke rises over western areas of Tehran following continued US and Israeli strikes on the Iranian capital in Tehran, Iran, on March 3, 2026. - Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images -
New strikes: Additional US-Israel strikes targeted another set of Iranian leaders, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. He praised the operation, claiming Iran’s military installations had been essentially “knocked out,” from its navy to its air force and more. Satellite images taken on Tuesday showed significant damage at Iranian government and military facilities, as well as a hospital.
Death toll climbs: More than 1,000 people, including children, have been killed in Iran since Saturday, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The group said its report is preliminary, and the number could rise.
New supreme leader: A group of senior Iranian officials has been meeting virtually to select a new supreme leader after the initial US-Israel strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among a small handful of clerics tipped as likely successors. But it’s unclear where they are, or even if they are alive.
Traffic cameras: The Financial Times has revealed new details about that operation – including that Israel had hacked Tehran’s street security cameras, using them for years to build a complex surveillance system.
What’s happening around the region?
Firefighters inspect destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on March 3, 2026. - AFP/Getty Images -
Attacks on Lebanon: Israel is also striking Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and issuing evacuation orders for dozens of villages.
Iran strikes back: Arab states in the Persian Gulf are bearing the brunt of Tehran’s ferocious retaliation. Countries such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have intercepted hundreds of missiles and drones in recent days – raising questions about how long their air defenses can keep up, and how many more weapons remain in Iran’s depleted arsenal. For decades, these countries have prepared for such a potential attack, arming themselves with American weapons and hosting American troops – even as they urged the Trump administration just weeks ago not to strike Iran.
US facilities targeted: The US has closed embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon, after several were hit with Iranian strikes. A CIA station in Saudi Arabia, and a US military base in Qatar – the largest in the Middle East – were also hit. Non-emergency US government personnel in several Middle Eastern countries have been ordered to leave.
Toll on US forces: Six American service members have been killed by Iranian strikes since Saturday, a number Trump already warned is likely to increase.
Stranded travelers: Travel disruptions have sparked chaos among thousands of tourists and expats, who have few options to flee. Much of the region’s airspace is still closed, with thousands of flights canceled. Trump said on Tuesday there had been no evacuation plan for Americans in the Middle East before they launched the strikes, but that his administration is working to secure flights to help those stranded. European nations have also scrambled to evacuate citizens.
Oil trade rocked: Oil and natural gas prices are jumping while stock markets are tumbling. The Middle East is a major producer of both oil and natural gas, but its energy exports have now been largely cut off from the rest of the world by an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Why did the US and Israel attack Iran?
An Iranian woman walks past a view of Tehran's research reactor in Tehran, Iran, on February 26, 2026, the final day of Iran-US talks that are currently held in the city of Geneva. - Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images -
US and Israel’s claims: Officials from both countries have put out different statements in recent days over why they launched their attack – including the need to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and the claim they were responding to potential preemptive attacks by Iran.
Fact check: The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has countered these claims – telling CNN that Iran was not days or weeks away from having atomic weapons. Trump himself has repeatedly said that Tehran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” by US strikes on Iran last summer. And US intelligence suggests Iran would need until 2035 to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, if it chose to pursue one.
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Source: “AOL General News”
