As Iran retaliates, largest US military base in Middle East hit by ballistic missile, Qatar says

No one was injured, according to the Qatari Ministry of Defense.

ByJon Haworth, Jack Moore, Nadine El-Bawab, David Brennan, Kevin Shalvey, Meredith Deliso, and Leah Sarnoff
Last Updated: March 3, 2026, 10:02 PM EST

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Saturday, with daytime strikes in the joint U.S.-Israel attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

On Sunday, Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on Saturday.

Iran is responding to the U.S.-Israeli operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations. American diplomatic facilities have also been attacked.

In Lebanon, Israel is intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah militia.

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Mar 02, 2026, 11:12 AM EST

Khamenei was having breakfast meeting with aides during strikes, Trump tells Fox News

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran who was killed in Saturday’s strikes, was having a breakfast meeting with senior aides at the time, and they were “thinking they were safe because it was in broad daylight,” President Donald Trump told Fox News.

Mourners wave flags following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026.
Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock

Trump also told Fox News that 49 senior Iranian leaders were killed in the initial strikes. Over the weekend, Trump said 48 senior leaders were killed.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Mar 02, 2026, 11:00 AM EST

Trump signals 'big wave' to come in Iran: CNN

President Donald Trump told CNN on Monday that the U.S. military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran and the “big wave” is yet to come.

“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a phone call.

Mar 02, 2026, 9:47 AM EST

US intel did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch preemptive strike, sources say

Congressional staff were told by Trump administration officials in private briefings Sunday that Iran was not preparing to launch a preemptive strike against U.S. interests based on U.S. intelligence reports, four people familiar with the briefing told ABC News. CNN was the first to report this news.

This conflicts with what President Donald Trump and senior Trump administration officials said over the weekend.

The administration officials said there were indicators the Iranians could launch a preemptive attack against U.S. forces and allies in the region.

Trump said in his video address to the nation on Saturday, "Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime."

Smoke plumes rise following missile strikes in Tehran, March 1, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

Trump told ABC News on Saturday, “I think there was a threat."

"Had we not done 'Midnight Hammer,'" he said, referring to the U.S. strikes on Iran in June 2025, "which was one of the greatest things country has ever done, we would’ve been faced with a nuclear weapon within a month.”

-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Shannon Kingston, Ben Siegel, Luke Barr

Mar 02, 2026, 9:29 AM EST

Trump to discuss Iran strikes at 11 a.m.

President Donald Trump is expected to address Iran in remarks at the White House at 11 a.m. ET.

U.S. Central Command released a video of U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
U.S. Central Command

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