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, 3:10 PM EDT

NATO Mission Iraq relocates all personnel to Europe

NATO Mission Iraq announced it is relocating all its personnel from the Middle East to Europe.

The last NATO Mission Iraq personnel departed the country on March 20. NATO Mission Iraq will continue from Joint Force Command Naples, according to NATO.

Mar 20, 2026, 2:06 PM EDT

1,021 dead in Lebanon

At least 1,021 people have been killed and 2,641 have been injured in Lebanon as Israeli strikes continue, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz

Mar 20, 2026, 2:02 PM EDT

UK ‘working closely' with international partners to develop 'viable' plan for Strait of Hormuz

The United Kingdom said its ministers are "working closely with international partners to develop a viable plan to safeguard international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz" without getting drawn into the wider conflict, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

Ministers who met on Friday said they "condemned Iran’s expansion of its targets to include international shipping. They agreed that Iran’s reckless strikes, including on Red Ensign vessels and those of our close allies and Gulf partners, risked pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the economic impact being felt in the UK and around the world," according to the spokesperson.

Mar 20, 2026, 12:40 PM EDT

Iran's supreme leader praises Iranians bravery

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei praised Iranians for their "unparalleled bravery" in a new message marking Persian New Year known as Norwruz and the Muslim holiday of Eid, according to Iranian State Media.

"The enemy thought that after a day or two, it would be the people who would overthrow the Islamic system. But with the vigilance of you, the people, the unparalleled bravery of Islam’s fighters, and the many sacrifices, the indications of desperation and destitution soon appeared in it," Khamenei said of the joint strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel last June.

The statement also read on Iranian television described "three military and secret wars" experienced by the Iranian people in the last year.

"This war took place ... with the illusion that if it martyred the head of the regime and a number of influential military figures, it would create fear and despair in you, our dear people, and cause you to leave the arena, and in this way, it would realize the dream of dominating Iran and then disintegrating it," Khamenei said.

"But in this holy month, you combined fasting with jihad and provided a vast defense line, as wide as the country, and strong fortifications, as numerous as the squares, neighborhoods, and mosques," Khamenei said.

Khamenei has not been seen since the start of the war. Israel and the U.S. have said he was injured in the war.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said last week said that Khamenei was likely "disfigured."

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