President Trump offers new rationale for U.S. attack on Iran

Updated March 3, 2026 at 10:11 PM CST

President Trump on Tuesday said the United States began striking Iran over the weekend because Iran was "going to attack first."

Trump had previously said the U.S. launched strikes on Iran because it was close to having missiles that could reach the U.S.

His remarks in the Oval Office came on Day 4 of a war for which U.S. and Israeli officials have offered a variety of reasons and objectives.

The war has now widened to include more parts of the Middle East, with Iranian drones striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia and Israel now deploying ground forces into Lebanon.

The U.S. and Israel have kept up their attacks in Iran, where the death toll rose to 787 on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

The war has killed six U.S. service members, according to the Pentagon, which warns that more casualties are expected.

Ten people in Israel have died since Iran began retaliating with missile attacks there.

Here are more of the key updates NPR is reporting on.

To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:

Americans stranded| U.S. soldiers identified | U.S. evacuations | Trump reasoning | Lebanon | U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran | Strait of Hormuz | Global natural gas

Americans — urged to leave the Middle East — ask 'How?'

The Trump administration says it is working to arrange military aircraft and charter flights to help evacuate Americans who've been stranded in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war. Thousands of U.S. citizens have been frustrated that other foreign nationals are being flown out, while Americans can't even get through to a help line.

Evelyn Mushi, 52, is one of them. She was headed from Chicago to Bali for what was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime with her 82-year-old mother, and a group of other family and friends. But she arrived in Abu Dhabi to catch a connecting flight, only to realize she had landed in what was quickly becoming a war zone.

"I heard a bombing and I heard a noise and then everything started hitting, and I understood later that they were attacking the airport," she said in an interview from Abu Dhabi.

She was bussed to a hotel, where she says things got even scarier.

"I saw in the air missiles and lights and all that and everyone got on their knees and started praying," she said. "We just kept on praying and praying."

Mushi says she repeatedly called numbers provided by The State Department for days, but was left on hold for hours. As instructed, she also signed up for State Department security updates, but those weren't much help either. Mushi says the emails she received were the same message as officials were posting on social media, imploring Americans to "DEPART NOW."

"Yeah, but how?" Mushi was left wondering. "Where do you leave? Where? What do I do? This is cold to write me this email."

Mushi says she supports the U.S. military action in Iran, but calls it unacceptable for the administration to not have solid evacuation plans in place.

"I'm just very shocked and upset that I see other nations getting their citizens out and we're just stranded here," she said.

The State Department said Tuesday that it was facilitating charter flights from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and that the government would cover the cost. In a statement, a spokesperson said government call centers have been in touch with almost 3,000 Americans, and more than 9,000 have managed to leave on their own.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday why evacuation plans were not in place sooner, President Trump suggested it was because the U.S. decided to strike sooner than expected.

"It happened all very quickly," Trump said. "I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked."

In a separate briefing with reporters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said evacuations were going to take time "because we don't control airspace closures."

For her part, Mushi says she's trying to remain optimistic, but she's running low on patience.

"I want to get out. I want to leave this place," she said. "I need to get somewhere safe."

— Tovia Smith

Four U.S. soldiers killed have been identified

The Pentagon released the names of four of the six U.S. soldiers that have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. They were in the Army Reserve and died on Sunday during a drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

• Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.
• Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.
• Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.
• Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa,

All four soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. The department said the attack is under investigation.

— Ayana Archie

U.S. embassies hit, Americans urged to leave region "NOW"

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday urged Americans to avoid the compound after the Saudi Defense Ministry said the embassy had been attacked by two drones. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry called it a "flagrant Iranian attack" in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Defense Ministry said the drone strikes caused "limited fire and minor damage" to the U.S. Embassy.

Later Tuesday, the authorities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said a fire resulting from a "drone-related incident" had broken out near the U.S. Consulate.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancellery building" in Dubai and set it on fire. There were no injuries.

This comes after an Iranian attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait on Monday.

In Jordan, the State Department said Tuesday it had evacuated its large embassy in the Jordanian capital, Amman, after threats against it. Rubio said the department had also drawn down personnel at U.S. embassies in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Irbil.

Mora Namdar, the State Department's assistant secretary for consular affairs, wrote on X that Americans need to "DEPART NOW" from more than a dozen countries and territories in the Middle East because of the conflict. That was even as options to leave have narrowed, with flight cancellations and airport closures.

Rubio said Tuesday afternoon that the State Department has been helping Americans evacuate from the Middle East for the last 72 hours, using military, commercial and chartered flights. He said at the time that 9,000 Americans had left the Middle East and that more than 1,500 had requested help in leaving.

"We've had a couple instances in which we have planes in the air and on the way and, unfortunately, the airspace gets closed and they have to turn back around," Rubio said. "So we're working through those challenges."

He added: "But rest assured, we are confident that we are going to be able to assist every American."

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is telling Americans that it is not in a position to help them leave Israel. Officials there are suggesting that Americans cross into Egypt by land.

"Americans seeking to depart the Middle East through Egypt can do so via commercial flights out of the region from Cairo," the State Department said on X.

Iran has been striking Gulf countries that are normally considered safe in retaliation for U.S. attacks that started Saturday. Iran has also hit commercial targets after warning that it would attack American interests across the region.

Amazon said Monday that two of its data centers in the UAE and one of its centers in Bahrain were hit by drones, affecting their operations.

— Jane Arraf, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Michele Kelemen

Trump: "They were going to attack first"

President Trump shared a new reason why the U.S. began striking Iran over the weekend: "It was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack if we didn't do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that," he said in the Oval Office Tuesday. He did not cite any intelligence to that effect.

Trump had previously said the U.S. launched strikes on Iran because it was close to having missiles that could reach the United States.

He also pushed back on claims that Israel pressured the U.S. to act. If anything, Trump said, it was the other way around.

"I might've forced their hand," Trump said about Israel. "It was my opinion that these lunatics [in Iran] were gonna attack first."

The president's new rationale conflicted with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks a day earlier, suggesting that the U.S. had followed Israel into war.

"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," Rubio said Monday.
 

The U.S. and Israeli strikes began Saturday following weeks of a U.S. military buildup in the region — even as negotiations to try to reach a deal with Iran were ongoing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday Operation Epic Fury has a focused mission: "Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure and they will never have nuclear weapons."

On Tuesday, Trump touted the success of the mission thus far.

"They have no navy. It's been knocked out. They have no air force, has been knocked out. They have no air detection that's been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out, and just about everything's been knocked out," he said.

He said he has not outlined how he sees the war ending — but did say that "lots of people" are coming forward to negotiate a resolution.

— Deepa Shivaram, Alex Leff

Israel resumes strikes in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah

The Israeli military said soldiers were "operating in southern Lebanon" as it continues strikes against Hezbollah, including in the Lebanese capital.

Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire in November 2024, but Israel has continued almost daily strikes since then. Iran-backed Hezbollah had refrained from attacks until Sunday, when it launched strikes in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli military said Tuesday it targeted what it called Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut's southern suburbs.

"Let me be clear: this is not a ground maneuver into Lebanon. It is a tactical step to create an additional layer of security for the residents of northern Israel," said Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani describing the Israeli troop movements.

Thousands of Lebanese streamed out of Dahya, the suburb where Hezbollah, a political party as well as paramilitary group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and some other Western countries, is based.

They joined what the government says are at least 30,000 Lebanese fleeing Israeli strikes in south Lebanon and in Beirut. Shelters were so over-crowded some families resorted to laying out blankets on sidewalks of the corniche, Beirut's sea-side.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said 50 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the past two days.

— Jane Arraf and Jawad Rizkallah

U.S. and Israel continue to strike Iran

In the Iranian capital, residents heard the sound of explosions overnight. There were no immediate reports of what had been hit.

Israel's military said it struck Iran's intelligence ministry and state broadcaster. The Israeli authorities also said that they are now focusing on targeting Iran's missiles and launchers.

Israel also attacked a building where Iranian clerics are due to meet to elect a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian media. The building was empty at the time.

An 88-member panel of experts will decide who will replace Khamenei. Among the contenders are hard-liners, moderates and even Khamenei's son.

Iranian missile strikes on Israel have significantly decreased. Israel says Iran may be rationing munitions gearing up for a long war.

An official in the region who spoke on condition of anonymity tells NPR Israel thinks it can achieve its war goals in two weeks total. Israeli officials say they want to create the conditions for Iranians to topple their government.

In Iran's southern city of Minab, a mass funeral was held for 165 people — most of them young girls — killed in an attack on a girls school Saturday. Many of the bodies had been buried under rubble.

The U.S. military said it was looking into reports of missiles hitting the school. The Israeli military said it was unaware of its forces operating in the area.

Some in the large crowd attending the funeral chanted "Death to America," "Death to Israel" and "No surrender."

Iran's Red Crescent Society said Tuesday at least 787 people have been killed in attacks on 153 cities across the country.

Ten people have been killed in Israel since the start of the conflict, according to Israeli officials.

Secretary of State Rubio said Tuesday, "You're going to really begin to perceive a change in the scope and in the intensity of these attacks as, frankly, the two most powerful air forces in the world take apart this terroristic regime."

President Trump said Monday that the war could last four to five weeks, but could go longer than that.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News it would not lead to an "endless war."

— Daniel Estrin, Jane Arraf and Jackie Northam

Iran says it closed the Strait of Hormuz

Iran continued to threaten ships near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway vital to Gulf oil exports.

"The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Anyone who wants to pass, our devotee heroes in the IRGC navy and the army will set those ships on fire," security official Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, said Monday. "Don't come to this region."

In a sign of the vast repercussions of the war, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told an Iranian envoy that Iran must reopen the waterway.

Global natural gas supplies greatly reduced

In addition to the effect of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on oil supplies, about 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) is shipped through the Strait. On land, Iranian strikes hit Ras Laffan, the world's largest LNG export plant in Qatar. State-owned QatarEnergy says it has shut down LNG production.

Many countries are somewhat insulated from the disruptions in oil flows because they have oil in strategic reserves. But natural gas is a different story, says Anne-Sophie Corbeau,  a global research scholar at the Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. Gas storage levels are particularly low because it's the end of winter.

" This is absolutely massive," Corbeau says. "It's going to impact everybody who is importing LNG."

Oil prices have risen since trading opened Monday, and so have natural gas prices in Asia and Europe. Energy experts say that higher gas prices and reduced LNG flows out of the Persian Gulf is highly profitable for LNG exporters elsewhere, including in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the U.S. The U.S. is the biggest exporter of LNG and is set to open a new LNG terminal in Texas soon.

— Julia Simon

President Trump says U.S. will escort, insure oil tankers 

Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, and attacked several ships that attempted passage. Traffic through the strait has come to a halt, blocking the flow of one-fifth of the world's oil and sending prices surging. Insurance companies have played a big role in that slowdown; even if ships are willing to risk the passage, insurance companies won't cover them.  

President Trump is attempting to address that problem, posting on Truth Social on Tuesday night that he has ordered the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, or DFC, "to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance" to all ships in the Gulf. The U.S. Navy will also escort ships if necessary, he added. 

The DFC, established under the first Trump administration, can provide insurance to companies working in risky places. Asked for comment, DFC pointed NPR to this statement saying it "will offer support" to shipowners and insurers.

William Henagan, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, says it is likely that the DFC could underwrite some companies in this case. But they'd have to prove they meet a number of legal requirements related to their location, environmental standards and business practices.

The agency also has a finite budget, which Congress recently declined to increase.

"Political risk insurance during wartime is very expensive. It's not a cheap thing to underwrite," Henagan says. "So DFC doesn't have the financial firepower to achieve the president's objective, even if it was able to legally use funds in this way … I'll be very surprised if a lot of ships get insured."

— Camila Domonoske

Jane Arraf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi reported from Amman, Jordan; Daniel Estrin reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Tovia Smith from Boston; Julia Simon from San Francisco; Jawad Rizkallah from Beirut; Jackie Northam from Maine; Michele Kelemen, Camila Domonoske, Deepa Shivaram, Ayana Archie and Alex Leff from Washington.

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