State Department tells Americans worldwide to 'exercise increased caution'

The war entered its fourth week on Saturday.

ByKevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Nadine El-Bawab, and Meredith Deliso
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.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Mar 20, 2026, 3:40 PM EDT

Treasury announces sanctions against alleged Hezbollah financing network

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against a network of 16 individuals and entities as part of an effort to cut off financing to Hezbollah, according to a Treasury Department official.

Alaa Hassan Hamieh, described as a Hezbollah "financier and former public investment official,” who the Treasury Department alleges oversaw a network that laundered and raised funds for group.

The Treasury Department alleged the network is estimated to have diverted more than $100 million since 2020 as part of a scheme to finance Hezbollah.

“Iran is the head of the snake when it comes to global terrorism, and its proxies, such as Hizballah, carry out Tehran’s mission to sow chaos and destruction beyond its borders,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.

Some of the individuals and entities allegedly involved in the scheme are located in Lebanon, Syria, Poland, Slovenia, Qatar and Canada, according to the Treasury Department.

-ABC News' Jack Date

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.

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