The director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has announced his resignation, saying he " cannot in good conscience" back the Trump administration's war in Iran. Kent said on social media that Iran "posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."
Earlier Tuesday, Israel's defense minister said the Israeli military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike. The Israeli military also announced it killed Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force.
Gulf Arab nations came under renewed missile and drone fire Tuesday from Iran, which has been targeting regional oil infrastructure and vowed not to relinquish its stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Israel also launched new strikes on Iran and Lebanon.
The war has killed at least 1,300 people in Iran, more than 880 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. The U.S. military says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and about 200 wounded.
Here is the latest:
Trump says Iran’s leaders ‘are gone’ after apparent killing of top security officials
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, the president said two top Iranian officials were killed, including one he said was responsible for the deaths of 32,000 Iranian protesters in recent weeks.
“Their leaders are gone,” Trump said. “It’s an evil group.”
He made the comments after Israel said its overnight strikes killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force. Iran did not immediately confirm either death.
Trump said leaving NATO 'is certainly something that we should think about’
As Trump expressed his disappointment with NATO allies, he was asked by a reporter if he is rethinking the U.S. relationship with the military alliance or getting out of it.
“It’s certainly something that we should think about. I don’t need Congress for that decision,” Trump said, adding: "I have nothing currently in mind but I’m not exactly thrilled.”
Trump says the resigning head of the National Counterterrorism Center is ‘weak’ on security
The president said Joe Kent was a “nice guy” but “I always thought” he was “very weak on security.”
Trump said that Kent leaving his post was “a good thing” since he disagreed with Kent’s assessment on the threat from Iran. “We don’t want those people,” he said.
15 vessels transited through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 3 days
The vessel-tracker MarineTraffic said Tuesday that the ships included eight bulk vessels, five tankers and two liquified petroleum gas carriers.
Iran has nearly halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil typically sails from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
Top EU diplomat says nations won’t be dragged into Iran war
The European Union’s top diplomat says the 27-nation bloc bloc rejects Trump’s demand to send warships to the Straits of Hormuz.
“This is not Europe’s war. We didn’t start the war. We were not consulted,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told lawmakers on Tuesday, a day after chairing talks among the member countries about Trump’s warship demand.
“We don’t know what are the objectives of this war,” Kallas said. “The member states do not have the wish to be dragged into this.”
White House rebuts counterterrorism official’s reasons for resignation
In a lengthy statement on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt aggressively disputed Kent's argument that Iran did not pose an imminent threat.
“As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” Leavitt said. “This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.”
As for the allegation that Trump acted against Iran under the influence from Israel, Leavitt called it “both insulting and laughable.”
Days after launching the war, Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S.
Smoke and booms in southern Lebanon as Israel ramps up operations
Israel’s military has ramped up operations near the Lebanon-Israel border since Hezbollah began firing rockets southward in the early days of the Iran war.
Although Israel has maintained a presence and carried out strikes in the area since a 2024 ceasefire, in recent weeks it has deployed tanks and intensified strikes it says are aimed at neutralizing the Iran‑backed Lebanese militant group, in what it has called a “limited and targeted operation”
The fighting has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed at least 886, according to Lebanese authorities. In northern Israel, residents have endured a steady stream of Hezbollah rocket fire from Hezbollah, sowing destruction and closing businesses already crunched by years of conflict.
Macron says France could help secure Hormuz only after bombing stops
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country is ready to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but only as part of a mission separate from the current Middle East war.
“We are not a party to the conflict, and therefore France will never take part in operations to reopen or liberate the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron said, responding to Trump’s call for European nations to send warships to the Persian Gulf.
Speaking ahead of a security meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, he stressed any mission would require “discussions and de-escalation with Iran” and must be “entirely separate from the ongoing military operations and bombings.”
House Speaker Johnson urges US allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz
The Republican leader insisted the military operation against Iran would be winding down quickly.
But Johnson, who is close to Trump, said at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol that securing the strait remains an issue.
“We ask our allies to step up and acknowledge that reality, and help us out,” Johnson said.
He dismissed concerns being raised that Trump administration officials have failed to appear for public hearings in Congress to explain their war strategy, saying members of Congress have had adequate access to private classified briefings.
The air war continues with missiles and drones launched by Israel, US, Iran and Hezbollah
Israel: Israel’s military warned of a new barrage of missile fire from Iran on Tuesday, with air defenses firing and explosions heard. Sirens sounded in Jerusalem. Israel’s military said it began new airstrikes Tuesday targeting Iran’s capital, Tehran. It announced strikes against the Basij force, which long helped suppress dissent in Iran.
Iran: Civilians are paying “a heavy price,” according to Vincent Cassard, head of the Red Cross delegation in Iran. “The heavy loss of life is alarming,” he said, noting that the war has damaged schools and hospitals, as well as facilities of the Iranian Red Crescent.
Lebanon: The army said 2 soldiers riding a motorcycle were killed, hours after another airstrike killed one soldier and wounded four in the southern village of Kfar Sir. The Israeli military said it only targets Hezbollah members, not Lebanese troops or civilians. The Health Ministry said another strike Tuesday killed one person and wounded nine outside Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
UAE: The United Arab Emirates reported a missile and drone attack and urged residents to remain in safe locations. A missile alert sounded in Dubai, warning people of incoming Iranian fire. And a Pakistani national was killed by falling debris in Abu Dhabi following the interception of an incoming missile, Pakistan’s embassy said, the third announced death of a Pakistan national in the Emirates. The government said its air defenses responded to 10 ballistic missiles and 45 drones Iran fired Tuesday.
Qatar: Air defenses were heard Tuesday afternoon by an Associated Press journalist in Qatar.
Bahrain: The Defense Ministry tallied 129 missiles and 233 drones fired by Iran since the start of the war. It’s an increase of nine drones since Monday.
Kuwait: Two medics were injured when shrapnel fell on an ambulance center. The Health Ministry said they were in stable condition.
Trump says his pitch to NATO and allies to help secure the strait has been broadly rejected
Trump, who has been pressing allies to help safeguard the critical waterway, fumed that the U.S. is not getting support “despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot” be allowed to secure a nuclear weapon.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street,” Trump added in a post on social media. “We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.”
More than 900 killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes
The number of people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the outbreak of the new Israel-Hezbollah war two weeks ago has risen to 912, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. That’s up from 886 killed as of Monday.
The death toll includes 111 children and 67 women. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the conflict.
The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched missiles across the border into Israel on March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, triggering the widening war in the Middle East.
US House speaker says takes issue with Kent after the top counterterrorism official resigned
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is taking issue with Joe Kent, who said Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S.
“I got all the briefings. We all understood that there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability and they were building missiles at a pace no one in the region could keep up with,” said Johnson, who was asked about Kent’s resignation at a press conference Tuesday morning.
Johnson said he is convinced that if the president had waited “we would have mass casualties of Americans, service members and others, and our installation would have been dramatically damaged.”
Days after launching the war, Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S.
More details on the Iranian leaders Israel says it killed
Families displaced to Iran’s north by the war will celebrate Persian New Year with ‘no joy’
Iran’s northern resort towns host thousands of families each year for the holiday. But now, many who regularly vacation near the Caspian Sea are there seeking respite from heavy bombardment in Tehran.
“This year has been a terrible year for all Iranians,” a 23-year-old university student who headed north with his family told The Associated Press.
Speaking on condition of anonymity out of security fears, the student described a national “trauma,” with the war following the shootings of thousands of anti-government protesters in January. “Prices are destroying us,” the student added, calling the soaring inflation “backbreaking.” Even before the war, Iran's economy had been crippled by international sanctions.
The U.N. refugee agency says hundreds of thousands of Iranian households have been displaced during the war, with most fleeing north or into rural areas to escape intense strikes on major cities.
— By Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo.
Lindsey Graham got a war with Iran. What will it cost the country and his party?
More than three decades after Lindsey Graham first arrived in Washington, he has everything he could ever want. The senator from South Carolina has Trump's ear, a war in Iran and a well-funded path to reelection.
Now it’s just a question of what those things will cost the Republican Party — and the rest of the United States — in this election year when control of Congress hangs in the balance. The conflict is already deeply unpopular with no clear endgame, as oil prices rise and fighting spreads throughout the Middle East.
But Graham, now running for a fifth term, defended pushing the U.S. toward war. “We haven’t underestimated Iran at all,” he said. “We’re crushing them.”
White House is mum so far on counterterrorism resignation
A spokesperson for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also did not immediately respond to questions about the resignation of Kent, who said Tuesday that the Trump administration started the war against Iran “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Before entering Trump’s administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state. He also served in the military, seeing 11 deployments as a Green Beret, followed by work at the CIA.
Democrats strongly opposed Kent's confirmation, pointing to his past promotion of conspiracy theories and ties to far-right figures including Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, and Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer. Democrats also grilled Kent on his participation in a group chat on Signal that was used by Trump's national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.
Iran broadcasts a warning against anti-government protests
Iran began airing footage of Tuesday's pro-government demonstrations on state television, which include images of some men in plainclothes branding assault rifles and shotguns on the back of motorcycles — a rarity in such demonstrations and a sign of the government wanting to warn any protesters off the streets.
“Chaharshanbe Souri,” or the Festival of Fire in Iran, is to be marked on Tuesday night. There had been some fears from authorities any gathering could spark new protests against the theocracy.
Poland won’t send troops to Iran to support Israel and the United States
“Poland has other responsibilities within NATO,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.
“This applies to our land, air and naval forces, which are still, I would say, under development. The naval assets at our disposal must serve the security of the Baltic Sea,” he said. “And our allies, including the Americans, understand this very well.”
Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war, says the country posed no imminent threat
Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from the Trump administration.
Kent said he “cannot in good conscience” back Trump’s war in Iran.
Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent posted on social media Tuesday.
Kent is a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists who was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote.
World Central Kitchen distributes food to displaced people in Lebanon
The food charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés has 10 kitchens in different parts of Lebanon offering about 25,000 meals a day.
Since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, more than 1 million people, or about 20% of the country’s population, have been displaced.
The war this year comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from before sunrise until sunset.
World Central Kitchen is providing iftar, or fast-breaking meals, that displaced people staying in schools or shelters can have after sunset.
“We are not only giving food. We are giving people hope and a smile,” World Central Kitchen member Aline Kamakian told The Associated Press Tuesday.
Iran authorities seek to quench any protests during Festival of Fire
Iranian hard-liners planned demonstrations late Tuesday afternoon in squares across the country, likely to counter any possible unrest as the country was set to celebrate its ancient fire festival.
The demonstrations were called to confront Israel and other enemies. Witnesses said in the Iranian capital, Tehran, there was a heavy security force presence around the Grand Bazaar, including heavy, truck-mounted machine guns being deployed.
"Chaharshanbe Souri," or the Festival of Fire in Iran, is to be marked on Tuesday night. The festival comes just days before Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which starts Friday evening. There had been some fears from authorities any gathering could spark new protests against the theocracy.
Netanyahu says Israel is trying to help Iranians overthrow their government
In a statement announcing the killings of Larijani and Soleimani, the Israeli leader said the attacks were aimed at weakening the government.
“We are undermining this regime to give the Iranian people the opportunity to remove it. It won’t happen quickly or easily, but if we persist, they will have the chance to take their destiny into their own hands,” he said.
The world isn’t ready for a new Middle East refugee crisis, UN migration agency says
Humanitarian groups are bracing for crisis as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and its proxies displace millions across the Middle East, said International Organization for Migration Brussels director Lukas Gehrke.
In Lebanon, more than a million people are displaced, and about 100,000 people, mostly Syrians, have fled into Syria, where the IOM is expects 250,000 refugees might soon need food and medicine, he said.
Inside Iran, Gehrke said fighting has damaged about 55,000 civilian structures including 30,000 homes, pushing people to shelter within Iran, with IOM tracking more than half a million cars headed north. Meanwhile the war has disrupted global supply chains, and funding cuts have hit aid agencies hard.
“We need to keep in mind how far we can go with the available funds,” Gehrke said. “It’s certainly a big test for everybody.”
UN food agency fears record global hunger if war continues
The World Food Program says the Middle East conflict is upending its supply chains like rarely before and could push 45 million more people into acute hunger if the war lasts through June. That would be up from 319 million today.
“This would take global hunger levels to an all-time record. And it’s a terrible, terrible prospect,” WFP deputy executive director Carl Skau told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
Spiking food and fuel costs could price millions of families out of stable access to foods, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. As a result, he said the WFP could be “on the brink of the most severe disruption since Covid and the Ukraine war back in 2022.”
Markets slip as oil prices continue climb
U.S. markets inched lower early Tuesday with a retreat in oil prices proving to be short-lived.
U.S. benchmark crude climbed 3.5% to $96.80 per barrel after dipping to about $93 on Monday, just its second decline since the Iran war began a little more than two weeks ago. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.2% to $103.43 a barrel.
And yet, the S&P 500 climbed 1% Monday for its biggest gain in five weeks. Markets have moved polar to oil prices, which have spiked almost 40% since the war nearly halted a fifth of the world's oil supply. Markets have a track record of bouncing back relatively quickly from military conflicts. Many professional investors are expecting a repeat, if oil prices don't go too high for too long. That has helped keep U.S. stock prices near record levels.
Tanker hit by debris off coast of UAE
A tanker anchored off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates was hit by debris early Tuesday morning as the nation came under several waves of Iranian attacks.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, reported the incident, saying the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman off Fujairah. It said the tanker sustained “minor structural damage” and no one was hurt.
The UKMTO later said it appeared falling debris from an interception hit the tanker, rather than the tanker being targeted itself.
Since the Iran war started, some 20 vessels in the region have come under attack as the Iranian fire effectively halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas trade passes.
China offers humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq
China is offering emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran and three other countries because of the war. “The ongoing conflict has caused a grave humanitarian disaster for the people of regional countries, including Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing.
He did not provide any details on the amount or nature of the assistance.
China earlier said it would provide $200,000 to support the parents of the students killed in a missile strike that hit an elementary school in Iran.
Albania Parliament declares Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization
Albania’s Parliament adopted a resolution Tuesday declaring Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, with 79 lawmakers from Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party voting in favor of the measure.
The resolution also labels Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.
Taulant Balla, head of the Socialist parliamentary group, said the resolution aims to denounce state support for terrorism, the use of proxy groups for destabilization and hybrid tactics including cyberattacks on sovereign institutions.
“For Albania, this is not just a distant geopolitical issue,” Balla said, noting it has been a target of cyberattacks.
Albania blamed Iran’s Foreign Ministry for a July 2022 cyberattack that disrupted government information technology systems and shut down online public services for several days.
Officials said the attack was likely retaliation for Albania hosting members of an Iranian opposition group. Albania’s government then severed diplomatic ties with Iran.
Israel says it killed Soleimani in combat tent
Israel says it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, in a combat tent alongside other Basij commanders.
They were using the tent as makeshift headquarters due to concerns their regular bases could be targeted, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.
Israeli strike in Gaza kills 2 Palestinians and wounds 12
Two Palestinians were killed Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The strike hit a vehicle in the Muwasi, a tent camp area west of the southern city of Khan Younis, the Red Crescent said in a statement.
Twelve others were wounded in the strike and taken to a hospital run by the Red Crescent in Khan Younis, it said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel says top Iranian security official killed in overnight strike
Israeli defense minister said Tuesday that the Israeli military killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in an overnight strike.
The Israeli military also announced it killed Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force.
Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death. However, it said a message from Larijani’s office would be published shortly.
The killings again strip away top leaders from the Iranian theocracy after the Feb. 28 strike that killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated last night and have joined Khamenei, the head of the annihilation program, along with all those eliminated from the axis of evil in the depths of hell,” Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement.