Now in its second week, the conflict has drawn in Hezbollah in Lebanon, brought fire into Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and — according to two U.S. officials speaking anonymously — prompted Russia to begin sharing intelligence with Tehran that could help it target American warships and aircraft in the region. Death tolls reported by officials from the affected countries stood at at least 1,230 in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon, approximately a dozen in Israel, and six U.S. military personnel.
Explosions lit the western Tehran skyline early Saturday as Israel said it had launched a broad new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital, and Iran responded with a fresh volley of missiles toward Israel. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Saturday that the conflict’s most intense bombardment had not yet begun. President Donald Trump approved a new $151 million arms sale to Israel the same day, and posted on social media that there would be “no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender.”
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said his country would “take all necessary measures” to defend itself, according to the Associated Press. A video filmed by AP correspondents showed explosions flashing and smoke rising over western Tehran after Israel announced the attack wave. The Israeli military said it was mobilizing to intercept a fresh Iranian missile barrage.
The conflict’s stated objectives and timelines have shifted repeatedly since it began; the White House has at times indicated it seeks to install new Iranian leadership, AP reported. No diplomatic resolution appeared near.
US warns of escalation
Bessent said in a television interview that the war’s “biggest bombing campaign” had not yet occurred. Israel said it has spent the past week striking an extensive underground bunker that Iranian leaders had planned to use during hostilities.
Trump also wrote on social media that after Iran’s surrender and “the selection of excellent and acceptable leader(s),” the United States and its allies would help rebuild Iran. He told reporters separately that he believes he should have a role in selecting a successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump described Mojtaba Khamenei — considered one of the leading candidates to succeed his father — as “insignificant.”
Iravani condemned those remarks and said Iran “does not accept and will never allow any foreign power to interfere in its internal affairs,” according to AP.
Iranian state television reported that a leadership council had begun deliberating on how to convene the Assembly of Experts, the body that will select the new supreme leader. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that “some countries” had begun mediation efforts, without elaborating.
Russia sharing intelligence, officials say
Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence that could help Tehran target U.S. warships, aircraft, and other military assets in the region, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, cautioned that U.S. intelligence had not established that Russia was directing Iran on how to use the information.
The disclosure represents the first reported sign that Moscow has moved to become involved in the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone Friday with Pezeshkian, with the Kremlin saying Putin expressed condolences for Khamenei’s death.
School bombing evidence points to US strikes
New evidence indicated that a Feb. 28 explosion at a school in the Iranian city of Minab — roughly 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southeast of Tehran — was probably caused by U.S. airstrikes. Iranian state media reported that more than 165 people were killed, most of them children. The evidence included satellite imagery, expert analysis, a U.S. official, and public disclosures by U.S. and Israeli military forces. An adjacent complex linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was also struck, according to the evidence.
Iran has attributed the explosion to Israel and the United States. Neither country has accepted responsibility. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this week that Washington is investigating.
Economic warning; oil above $90
Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, warned in a Financial Times interview that the war could “bring down the world’s economies,” forecasting that widespread closure of Persian Gulf energy exports could push oil to $150 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark crude price rose above $90 a barrel on Friday for the first time in more than two years.
Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
Israel has carried out waves of airstrikes against southern Beirut suburbs where Hezbollah operates, areas that also house hundreds of thousands of civilians. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 217 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Monday and 798 have been wounded. Two Beirut hospitals evacuated patients and staff as roads in the capital filled with people seeking to leave.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported early Saturday that local fighters clashed with an Israeli force that landed near Nabi Chit, a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon. No casualty information was available. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain early Saturday in connection with an Iranian attack. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed drones aimed at its Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile directed at Prince Sultan Air Base, which is home to U.S. forces.