President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His successor is yet to be named.
Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
The State Department announced that it has suspended all operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait.
This is the first suspension of operations at a U.S. embassy since the conflict began.
The embassy itself was closed earlier in the week and struck by what was initially assessed to be an Iranian drone on Monday.
The embassy previously said it would provide "information on how American citizens in Kuwait may obtain an emergency passport for travel.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
Mar 05, 2026, 2:09 PM EST
1st flight from UAE lands in US
Emirates Flight 203, the first direct, commercial flight from the United Arab Emirates to the U.S. since the conflict with Iran began, landed safely in New York City on Thursday morning.
It’s not clear what, if any, role the U.S. government had in facilitating the flight.
Emirates previously announced that it had suspended its regularly scheduled flights through March 7, and the airline has since carried out a number of repatriation flights. The State Department announced Thursday night that a charter flight had left the Middle East and was on its way back to the U.S.
-ABC News’ Clara McMichael
Mar 05, 2026, 11:40 AM EST
Trump says he has 'to be involved in the appointment' of Iran's next supreme leader
President Donald Trump said that he has "to be involved in the appointment" of Iran's next supreme leader in an exclusive phone interview with Axios on Thursday.
Vehicles drive along an expressway against the backdrop of smoke rising after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran, March 5, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes.
"They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," Trump said, according to Axios.
But in a Saturday video Trump posted on social media after Operation Epic Fury began, he said to the Iranian people, "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take."
Axios also reported that Trump said he does not want another hard-liner in leadership, saying that would make the U.S. go back to war with Iran "in five years."
"Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said, according to Axios.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Mar 05, 2026, 10:24 AM EST
20,000 Americans have returned to US from Middle East: State Department
The State Department says it’s aware of 20,000 Americans who have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since Saturday. The department said its task force has helped 10,000 Americans.
The department also said it is expanding its crisis intake form -- which previously covered the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel -- to now include Bahrain and Kuwait.
People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, March 3, 2026.
Michael Probst/AP
The Trump administration has faced criticism for not having a plan in place to evacuate Americans in advance of the joint operation. The State Department on Monday urged Americans to depart from 14 countries in the region using commercial means, but there are significant disruptions in air travel.
In addition to the charter flight that left the Middle East Wednesday night, the department said it expects “additional flights and ground transports” to take place Thursday in order to move Americans out of the region.
