State Department tells Americans worldwide to 'exercise increased caution'

The war entered its fourth week on Saturday.

Last Updated: March 22, 2026, 8:29 PM EDT

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.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes and his son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed him. Iran is responding with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Iran is also attempting to block some shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

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

Mar 20, 2026, 12:27 PM EDT

Iran warns Israeli, US officials will be unsafe worldwide

Iran’s top military spokesman, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned that "Iran is monitoring enemy officials, commanders, pilots and soldiers," according to the semi-official Iranian News Agency, Mehr.

He also warned "that based on information available to Iran, recreational areas, tourist destinations and leisure centers around the world would no longer be safe for them," according to Mehr.

Shekarchi criticized the repeated assassinations of Iranian officials and armed forces commanders, saying it was not a sign of enemy strength but rather reflected helplessness, desperation and malice.

Mar 20, 2026, 12:25 PM EDT

Trump says US has no Iranian leadership to talk to, ‘We like it that way’

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. strikes against Iran have eliminated several layers of the country’s leadership, and added that it was making it difficult to find members of the government for the U.S. to talk to.

“Their leaders are all gone. The next set of leaders are all gone. And the next set of leaders are mostly gone,” the Trump said as he spoke before a crowd of Naval Academy midshipmen who gathered in the East Room to celebrate their football team winning the Commander in Chief's Trophy.

“And now nobody wants to be a leader over there anymore. We're having a hard time. We want to talk to them and there's nobody to talk to. We have nobody to talk to. And you know what? We like it that way," Trump said.

This comes despite Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifying before Congress Wednesday that “the regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded by Operation Epic Fury.”

Mar 20, 2026, 11:52 AM EDT

232 American troops wounded in Iran war

Since the start of the war in Iran, 232 U.S. troops have been wounded, according to a U.S. official.

The majority of those injuries are traumatic brain injuries.

Of that, 207 have been returned to duty, 10 are considered “seriously wounded.” Seriously wounded is defined in Defense Department medical policy as when death from the injury is possible.

-ABC News' Steven Beynon

Mar 20, 2026, 11:46 AM EDT

Jerusalem Old City hit during Iranian missile attack

The Red Crescent in Jerusalem said it is treating several injuries after shrapnel of an Iranian missile landed in the Old City. Those who are Injured are being transferred to the hospital.

It is unclear if the shrapnel is from direct missile hits or if it is interception debris.

Security personnel inspect the damage in Jerusalem's Old City after Iran launched missiles towards Jerusalem, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, March 20, 2026.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Emergency services inspect the damage in Jerusalem's Old City after Iran launched missiles towards Jerusalem, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, March 20, 2026.
Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters

-ABC News' Nasser Atta

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