Trump calls Strait of Hormuz 'something that we don't need'
Trump told reporters that he is talking to countries about policing the Strait.
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 in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.
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.
(Read previous Iran live updates here.)
Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Key Headlines
- IRGC declares it continues efforts to 'pursue and kill' Netanyahu
- CENTCOM calls Iranian claims US targeted Gulf countries a 'lie'
- War with Iran ‘will certainly’ end in next few weeks: Secretary Wright
- Pentagon identifies 6 Air Force airmen killed in KC-135 refueling aircraft crash
- Trump repeats calls for other countries to help with Strait of Hormuz
Trump says US has 'won' war in Iran but has to 'finish the job'
President Donald Trump said the U.S. has "won" the war in Iran but has to "finish the job," during remarks in Kentucky on Wednesday.
"We've won. Let me tell you, we've won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won," Trump said. "In the first hour it was over. But we won."
After the president declared victory, he noted that the U.S. has to finish the job, saying that America cannot "leave early."
"We gotta finish the job, right?" Trump said.
-ABC News' Emily Chang, Noah Minnie and Michelle Stoddart
Conflict sees significant escalation between Hezbollah, Israel
The ongoing fire between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up significantly Wednesday night.
Hezbollah announced a new operation, notably called al-Asf al-Makool, named in reference to a verse in the Quran that talks about an enemy army defeated by divine intervention.
Dozens of Hezbollah rockets were subsequently fired south, and Israel is responding with its most intense bombardment of the Beirut suburb of Dahyeh since those strikes started nearly a week ago, according to the IDF.
The Israel Defense Forces also issued a new evacuation order from the Israeli military for Dahyeh and ramped up airstrikes across the south in Lebanon.
-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz, Brandon Baur and Matt Rivers
State Dept scaling down charter flight, ground transport options from the Middle East
The State Department said it would begin scaling down charter flight and ground transport options to help regular American citizens leave the Middle East due to dwindling demand.
Consular officers have reached nearly 9,000 Americans in the UAE about charter flights, but flights departing the country on Wednesday still left with some empty seats, Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said in a statement.
More than three dozen of these flights had been carried out, safely transporting thousands from the region, Johnson said.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston
Fire at Abu Dhabi International Airport under control, UAE says
A fire that broke out at Abu Dhabi International Airport after debris fell due to an air defense interception is now under control, according to UAE officials.
The UAE said earlier that it was intercepting missile attacks and incoming drones originating from Iran on Wednesday.