Israel strikes across Lebanon

The U.S. Central Command announced on Monday the death of two additional U.S. service members in the attacks against Iran, bringing the total number to six, reported Xinhua.

"As of 4 pm ET, March 2, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region," the command said in a post on X.

In another post earlier in the day, the command said the U.S. forces have sunk 11 Iranian naval vessels operating in the Gulf of Oman.

The United States and Israel began massive airstrikes against Iran on Saturday morning. Iran confirmed on Sunday that its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the airstrikes the previous day.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the military campaign against Iran has "capability to go far longer" than four to five weeks.

Democratic lawmakers have lashed out at the military operation, arguing that there was no imminent threat and the attack was not authorized by Congress.

Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote in a post on X on Sunday that he was "heartbroken by the loss of life of multiple service members in the Middle East."

"No more American heroes need to die because of a reckless decision to go to war. Congress must act this week to restrain this President," said Jeffries.

Meanwhile, Trump said that he is not ruling out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran if necessary.

"I don't have the yips with respect to boots on the ground -- like every president says, 'There will be no boots on the ground,' I don't say it," Trump told New York Post in an interview.

"I say 'probably don't need them,' (or) 'if they were necessary,'" he said.

Trump claimed that the military campaign launched on Saturday morning was "way ahead of schedule" in terms of killing dozens of senior Iranian officials.

On Sunday, Trump told The New York Times that he estimated the war would last four to five weeks.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Saturday and Sunday found that some 43 percent of U.S. citizens disapproved of the strikes and just 27 percent approved. Another 29 percent said they were not sure.

"I think that the polling is very good, but I don't care about polling," Trump said in the interview.

On Monday, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said the country is prepared for a long war.

"Iran, unlike the United States, has prepared itself for a long war," Larijani said in a post on social media platform X.

"As in the past 300 years, Iran did not start this war, and our brave Armed Forces have not engaged in any attacks except in defense. We will fiercely defend ourselves and our six thousand years old civilization regardless of the costs and will make the enemies sorry for their miscalculation," he said.

Meanwhile, Trump said he is "very disappointed" in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for blocking him from using the military base in Diego Garcia to carry out strikes on Iran, according to British media on Monday.

Britain's previous refusal to let U.S. forces use the base was unlike anything that had "happened between our countries before," Trump said.

In a statement on Sunday night, Starmer accepted the U.S. request to use the base for "specific and limited defensive purpose." But Trump said Starmer "took far too long" to change his mind.

The Chagos Archipelago houses a key U.S.-British military base. Britain in 1965 detached the archipelago from Mauritius, then a British colony, and leased Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago, to the United States as a joint U.S.-British military facility in the following year.

Under a deal announced in May 2025, Britain agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while leasing back Diego Garcia for 99 years at 101 million pounds (136 million U.S. dollars) annually.

Trump last month called the lease a "big mistake," noting that it "may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia" if nuclear talks with Iran fail.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes hit the Jnah and Bir Hassan areas in Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday evening, the first strikes near central Beirut since a ceasefire in November 2024, local broadcaster al-Jadeed reported.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah official but gave no further details.

Israeli strikes across Lebanon killed at least 52 people and wounded 154 on Monday, the government said, updating an earlier toll of 31 dead and 149 injured. The bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs displaced more than 28,500 people, the government's disaster management unit reported.

Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad, who heads the group's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, criticized a government decision declaring all armed activity outside state control illegal. He said the move targets groups confronting Israeli attacks while failing to halt what he described as ongoing aggression.

Raad's statement came hours after social media reports claimed he had been killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahieh. His remarks appeared to refute those claims.

He said Hezbollah's response to Israeli escalation signaled rejection of "submission" and the idea that reconciliation with Israel is the only path to security.

Earlier Monday, Lebanon's Cabinet declared all military and security activity outside state authority illegal, affirming that decisions on war and peace rest solely with state institutions. It ordered security agencies to prevent rocket or drone launches from Lebanese territory, called for restricting weapons north of the Litani River, which runs roughly parallel to the frontier, and urged intensified diplomatic efforts to stop Israeli attacks.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Monday night it completed a wave of strikes in the heart of Tehran targeting the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and the Basij headquarters, on the third day of the U.S.-Israel joint operation against the Islamic republic.

The Israeli Air Force struck "dozens" of headquarters belonging to the government's internal security bodies. Among the targets were over 10 headquarters of the Ministry of Intelligence -- Iran's primary intelligence body -- along with numerous Quds Force facilities.

The military specifically highlighted strikes on regional command centers and Basij headquarters, adding that it will continue to target Iran's official systems.

In addition to the command centers, the air force continued to target surface-to-surface missile launchers, weapons production sites, and various Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' Air Force assets.

The strike in the Iranian capital follows a day of heavy escalation, which included the mobilization of 110,000 Israeli reservists and intensive strikes in Lebanon, including in Beirut, after the Iran-aligned Hezbollah fired missiles and drones toward Israel.

Qatar says downs two Iranian warplanes, intercepts missiles

Qatar shot down two Iranian Su-24 military aircraft Monday evening and intercepted multiple missiles and drones in what officials described as a coordinated attack, the country's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Air defense systems, working with the Qatari air force and navy, intercepted seven ballistic missiles and five drones during the assault, the ministry added in the statement. All missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets, preventing casualties and major damage.

The ministry said Qatar's armed forces "possess the full capabilities and resources necessary to protect the country's sovereignty and territory and to respond decisively to any external threat."

In a joint statement on Monday, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and the U.S. denounced strikes targeting the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, including Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

The attacks "targeted sovereign territory, endangered civilian populations and damaged civilian infrastructure," the statement said, calling the strikes "unjustified and reckless."

Israel and the United States launched large-scale strikes on Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior officials. The attacks, which hit most Iranian provinces, have killed more than 550 people, according to Iranian media.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel and U.S. military bases across the region. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tehran seeks to maintain friendly relations with its neighbors and that its attacks are aimed only at U.S. military assets.