Up First from NPR - US Israeli War With Iran, Trump's War Address, Gulf Countries Bear The Brunt

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

It is day three of the U.S. Israeli war with Iran as the fighting widens with Tehran launching retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, and Israel trading fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.President Trump says the strikes will continue “at full force” and warns Americans there will likely be more U.S. casualties, as the White House still hasn’t spelled out the war's objectives or how long it could last.And Iran’s retaliation is hitting America’s Gulf partners hard, with missiles and drones turning places like Doha, Bahrain and Dubai into battle zones.Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by James Hider, Tina Kraya, Andrew Sussman, Miguel Macias, Olivia Hampton, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ana Perez, and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.(0:00) Introduction(01:20) Pentagon Update on Iran (07:18) US Israeli War With Iran(10:39) Gulf Countries Bear The BruntTo manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Middle East is being engulfed by the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth insists that the conflict would not be endless. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars. I'm Lila Faldi with A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. Four U.S. service members were killed by Iranian strikes. President Trump has said this about Americans dying. And sadly, there will likely be more.

Before it ends, that's the way it is, likely be more. He warned the U.S. military campaign could stretch for four or five weeks. And America's Gulf allies are taking the brunt of Iran's retaliation. Waves of missiles and drones are turning expat cities such as Doha and Dubai into battlefield. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. The U.S. military says Kuwait shot down three U.S. fighter jets, in an apparent friendly fire incident

and that all crew members survived. It's part of a widening war against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel over the weekend. Iran is striking back, retaliating against countries that host American military bases. U.S. military officials say four service members have been killed so far.

This morning, Secretary of Defense, Pete Higset and Dan Kane, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, updated reporters on the unfolding operation. And for more on that, we go to NPR National Security Correspondent, Greg, Myrie, Greg, what was learned this morning? Yeah, we learned a few more details of the operation.

And what was really significant here is this is day three of this combined U.S. Israel air campaign in Iran. We hadn't heard from U.S. officials in terms of answering questions. President Trump released a video as it was beginning on Saturday morning. He's spoken individually to a couple journalists, but we hadn't seen U.S. officials talk really about why they were going to war, about what the goals were. So this was significant with this press conference at the Pentagon with Hegseth and General Kane.

Here's Hegseth describing some of the goals. The mission of Operation Epic Fury is laser-focused. Destroy Iranian offensive missiles. Destroy Iranian missile production. Destroy their Navy and other security infrastructure. And they will never have nuclear weapons. So that was a pretty clear, concise laying out of the goals, but then, of course, how do you do this and how will it be accomplished? Some of the things like the offensive missiles, that's a big job that we don't know exactly how many missiles Iran has, but it has fired off.

It seems a couple hundred of them. There are estimates that they may have 2,000 or more. The Iranians put these on mobile systems so that they can move them around. So this, again, points to what could be an extended operation, but at least we have a pretty clear, concise listing of what they're hoping to try to achieve. Okay. Now, did Secretary Hegseth lay out the shape of this campaign? Any more on that? Yeah, so he framed this very much as a strictly military mission. He didn't get into some of the larger political goals. And in fact, he seemed to be somewhat dismissive of them. Let's hear a little bit more of what. he had to say. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars. So he's drawing a real contrast here with what the U.S. is trying to do

in Iran versus what it tried to do in Afghanistan or Iraq. But of course, that leaves some questions about what they will do after if and when the military goals are accomplished. Do they consider it? They've knocked out several Iran's supreme leader and other top leaders. So will that be sufficient? Will the U.S. try to help install somebody else? So he did leave open a lot of questions about what the goals are. Now, President Trump has called for Iranians to sort of shelter where they are now because it's so dangerous, but then plan to rise up and take over. And he told the New York Times in a brief interview that this war could take four to five weeks. Okay, now we do know there are some American casualties so far. What else do we know about that? Yeah, that's right. Four Americans have been killed in an apparent

Iranian missile strike at a U.S. base. They haven't released many details about this. There are U.S. bases all around the region, and these were troops that were ground base. These were not U.S. forces on ships or airmen. So that's certainly a vulnerability and will continue to be a vulnerability because there are so many U.S. military targets. And on a related note, the military has said three F-15 fighter jets have been lost and they said it was due to friendly fire. It seems the Kuwaitis who were trying to protect their own territory, where the U.S. does have forces, it seemed the Kuwaitis shot down these three American planes by mistake. So it just shows you've got other countries getting involved, lots of confusion and the fog of war, and all of the American pilots were able to eject and are safe,

but these three planes were lost to friendly fire. Now, we heard from Secretary Hagseth. What about the chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Kane? What do we find out from him? Yeah, he offered us a few more details about the planning that this was going on for weeks. And here's what jumped out at me was talking about just before the attacks began on Saturday, that cyber warriors were able to take down parts of the Iranian communication system and blind Iran effectively for their network so they couldn't see or communicate. And he noted, as we've known, this was a daylight strike. And he gave a little bit of explanation. He said this was based on U.S. intelligence and an Israeli strike. And what he was referring to was that the Americans found out these senior Iranian leaders were meeting on Saturday morning, which is the first day of the work week there.

And so that's why the Israelis struck on this Saturday morning, you'd expect a nighttime attack, but it was a daytime attack. And they knocked out all of these leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Hamenei, the Supreme Leader, Israel says they killed about 40 top Iranian leaders. First, to be clear, as the Secretary said, this is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives at SACOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses. So General Kane is also saying that this is going to be an extended campaign, not something quick. All right, that's NPR National Security Correspondent.

Greg, Mike, Mike, thanks a. After a weekend of the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran, around the world, there have been celebrations such as this one in the heart of Tehran. And protests like this one in Iraq. And as the U.S. and Israel continue to strike Iran, Iran is retaliating against countries that host American military bases. U.S. military officials say four service members have been killed, and a new front is now open in Lebanon with Israel pounding the country after Hezbollah fired rockets. NPR's International Affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is here to bring us up to date. Jackie, tell us the latest. Well, the U.S. and Israel say they are hitting hundreds of targets in Iran, and that includes key targets such as anti-aircraft defense systems, ballistic missiles and launchers, command and control centers. President Trump said the military had also sunk nine Iranian warships, although Centcom only confirmed one.

Other targets include senior military and political figures in Iran, including the killing of Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hamini Saturday. Iran has responded with deadly strikes on Israel and attacking Gulf states. And last night, the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon launched rockets into Israel, which responded with airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, widening this war even further. In Iran, what was the response to the killing of the Supreme Leader? Mixed.

You know, NPR has spoken to a few people in Iran who say they're very happy about Hamani's death. And we're seeing on social media statues of Hameini being pulled down by Iranians. And people briefly took over a government building in one town. But there were also huge crowds at pro-regime rallies mourning Hamei's death and shouting death to America. You know, in the wake of his killing, a temporary leadership council is being formed and will remain in place until a panel of Shia religious leaders makes a final decision on a new supreme leader. Okay. Now, President Trump started this war, and he's now indicating there's a a chance for diplomacy. He said Iran's new leadership wants to talk with him and that he plans to do so as well.

So does that give us any sense of how Trump will try to end the war? Well, you know, Trump gave several justifications for attacking Iran, you know, preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons and indicating he wanted regime change. But he says the war will continue until his objectives are met. You know, it's clear Trump doesn't want to get mired down in a protracted conflict in the Middle East. And in an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, he said the military intends to sustain its assault on Iran for, quote, four to five weeks if necessary. I spoke with Richard Fontaine, who's the CEO of the Center for New American Security. And he says Trump reopening negotiations would be a sign that Iran is less of a threat and the U.S. could get a better deal. Here he is.

On the other hand, if things are going well militarily, and maybe it looks like there's some cracks here and there in the security forces or, you know, you know, uprisings. He could keep this going potentially indefinitely so as to play this out. You know, we're only three days into this war and Iran appears to be digging in, you know, so there's still a potential that this war will further escalate. That's NPR's International Affairs correspondent Jackie Northam. Jackie, thanks. Thank you. Iran is retaliating against the U.S., targeting its Arab neighbors where U.S. troops are based. The country's hit include Saudi Arabia.

the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and even Oman, which had been mediating nuclear talks. We're joined now by NPR International Correspondent Ayyabatrawi in Dubai. So tell us what it's been like where you are. Yeah, so here in Dubai, my apartment rattled with the sound of loud booms on Saturday. To say that this was unexpected is an understatement. Dubai is built as a safe haven, a luxury destination. And it's never been targeted by missiles like this before. But drones have also been launched by Iran. neighbors. I want you to have a listen to what that sounded like in Bahrain, where a drone struck a residential building there over the weekend. So that was one of several verified videos online of that one attack. And, you know, despite these

hits, the numbers of casualties have actually been very low at this point with most drones and missiles intercepted. But this morning, Kuwait's defense ministry says several U.S. warplanes crashed and that crews were safe after ejecting, but the circumstances around that are still unclear. And this comes after three U.S. troops, as you heard already, were killed in five seriously, wounded as part of a ground support team in Kuwait over the weekend. And Iran's missiles also got through defenses, and they hit an airbase in Qatar where there are thousands of U.S. troops and hit the U.S. Navy's fifth fleet in Bahrain, according to state media there. But I also want to say that civilian areas have suffered.

You're talking about luxury hotels in Dubai and across the Gulf and sea ports. That is how this region imports the bulk of its food. But Dubai's airport, which is the world's busiest for international transit, connecting Europe to Asia and Africa, was also struck by a drone. And flights there remain suspended now since Saturday. So this war has engulfed the region. Yeah, it really has. And another overnight development was the Iran-backed Hezbollah group getting involved. Tell us what's happening in Lebanon.

So, you know, there was a ceasefire there for about the last 15 months, although Israel would continue to strike, Hezbollah. Hezbollah had not struck back. However, all of that changed last night. Israel says a few rockets and drones were launched, landing in open spaces. Now, that's in response to the Israel killing the supreme leader of Iran. Now, the military ordered 50 villages in Lebanon and in southern suburbs of Beirut to be evacuated, and then airstrikes pounded those areas in Lebanon, killing more than 30 people already in wounding 150, according to Lebanon's health ministry. And Paris producer in Beirut, Joad Draskala, spoke with families fleeing to school,

shelters with their kids and lugging mattresses. Of course, this is all happening in Ramadan as people are fasting. And everyone who spoke to said they were exhausted that the scene is being repeated again. So, okay, a lot unfolding as we speak. What can we expect they're going forward? All right. So if Gulf Arab states continue to get hit, they have said that they reserve the right to strike back to defend their national security. So that could happen and that would obviously widen the scope of this war dramatically. also we've heard the UK France and Germany saying they will take steps to defend their interests and those of their allies in the region. And some of those interests are about oil. You know,

Saudi Arabia says one of its largest oil refineries was targeted today by Iranian drones sparking a fire and temporarily shutting down production there. We've already seen oil prices spiking today on trading. You know, the straight of Hermuz in the Gulf, that narrow shipping lane where a fifth of the world's oil passes from the Gulf to China and India and beyond has effectively been shut down since Saturday. Shipping insurance firms are concerned about naval attacks. So the scale of the fallout of this war really depends on how long the U.S. and Israel continue this war. That's NPR international correspondent. Ayabathrae in Dubai. Thank you very much.

Thank you, A. And one thing really quick, if you enjoy starting your day with a burst, please consider signing up for MPR Plus. Your subscription will help keep the NPR network strong and support local public radio stations through a recurring monthly donation. And you get some cool perks with it, too, such as ad-free listening bonus episodes and early access to some NPR content. Visit plus.npr.org to sign up. And that's up first for Monday, March 2nd. I'm A. Martinez. And I'm Leila Fald. Today's episode of Up First was edited by James Heider, Tina Craya, Andrew Sussman, Miguel Macel Macias, Mohameda Radisi, Olivia Hampton, and Alice Wolffley. It was produced by Ziyadh-Butch, Anna Perez,

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