Watch CNN's live coverage as Israel vows to kill Iran's next supreme leader as Tehran hits back
• Widening conflict: Israel said it was launching strikes across Tehran as well as against what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut. Separately, Iran launched a drone attack on an Amazon data center in Bahrain, a state-affiliated Iranian news agency said.
• Trump’s powers: Republicans rejected a resolution aimed at requiring that President Donald Trump seek congressional approval for future US military action against Tehran. Earlier, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the US would start “striking progressively deeper” into Iran.
• ID for US service members: The Pentagon identified two remaining service members who were killed in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday.
• Death toll rises: Inside Iran, more than 1,000 people have been killed since the US and Israel launched strikes this weekend, according to a US-based human rights agency.
Our live coverage of the war with Iran has moved here.
As the US State Department urges Americans in the Gulf region to leave immediately, US universities with campuses in the region have adjusted their operations.
American universities with outposts in Doha, Qatar’s Education City – a research hub located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Al Udeid Air Base – as well as other US schools with campuses in the United Arab Emirates, have transitioned to remote instruction until further notice. Here’s a look at how some universities are handling the ongoing conflict:
- Texas A&M University in Doha: More than two dozen Texas A&M University students were headed to Doha from Texas when the war began and were diverted to Istanbul, Turkey, a university spokesperson told CNN. The university’s building is currently locked down with no access for employees, students or visitors.
- Georgetown University in Doha: Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar has shifted to online instruction until further notice, according to an update posted on its website. The university’s interim president also said a group of graduate business students were set to begin a program in Dubai on March 1, but Georgetown has suspended the course and is working to bring students back home as soon as possible.
- Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Doha: VCU Arts Qatar’s dean said in a letter that faculty and staff can leave Qatar and teach remotely – a decision made “in the interest of flexibility and personal safety.” The letter said this option is available to all faculty and staff, not just US citizens, and will not affect their employment status. A university spokesperson told CNN there have been no reports of injuries among VCU Arts Qatar students, faculty or staff.
- New York University in Abu Dhabi: NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus is “assisting with the departure of any students seeking to leave the area by identifying and securing travel arrangements, though air travel remains challenging,” a university spokesperson told CNN, adding: “The safety of our students, staff and visitors is our utmost priority.”
At least 80 people have been killed after Iranian warship the IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lankan officials said, after a US submarine fired a torpedo.
The director of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital told CNN its mortuary had received 87 bodies as of last night.
The Sri Lankan Navy said 32 people have been rescued so far. 180 people were believed to have been onboard the vessel when the first distress call was received on Wednesday, according to the country’s foreign minister.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that a US submarine sank an Iranian vessel in international waters.
While Hegseth did not directly mention the rescue efforts by the Sri Lankan navy, his description of the strike appeared to match the location of the ongoing rescue effort.
Passengers stranded in Dubai for days are finally returning home, with flights touching down in places including Ireland, Bulgaria and Australia.
Dubai Airports resumed a limited number of flights from Monday evening, with priority given to earlier bookings, it said on X.
The US-Israel war against Iran previously sparked airport closures and flight cancellations in the region, stranding thousands of international travelers. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East. Its airport is one of the world’s busiest, serving as a home base for the airline Emirates.
Emirates flight EK163 conveyed more than 368 passengers to Dublin Airport, landing at 11 p.m. on Wednesday. The airport said on X that it was the first arrival from Dubai in almost five days.
Images show more passengers reunited with loved ones at Bulgaria’s Sofia airport on Thursday.
And in Australia, Emirates flight EK414 – the first plane from Dubai in four days – landed in Sydney just before 10.30 p.m. Wednesday, local time.
“It has been quite nerve-wracking, quite stressful, and very worrying,” Sheree, whose son was stranded in Dubai on his way to Rome, told CNN affiliate 9News.
“He was talking and he said ‘Mum, I’ve got to hang up. There’s bombs going off,’ and it was quite loud. But he’s coming home… it’s going to be fantastic.”
Virgin Atlantic, SriLankan Airlines, Air India and flydubai are also flying passengers out of the emirate, with limited routes to cities including New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Moscow, Colombo and New Delhi. However, dozens of flights remain canceled.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog commended US President Donald Trump on his “uniquely bold” decision to strike Iran, during an interview with CBS.
But asked if it was Trump’s decision, Herzog told the broadcaster that Israel doesn’t dictate anything to Trump and didn’t “drag America into a war.”
Herzog described the coordination between the US and Israel as “superbly close,” but stopped short of revealing further details as he said he was “not in the war room.” The Israeli president holds a largely ceremonial role removed from the executive decision-making.
Herzog said he understands “it’s not a popular war in America.”
“Usually people do not know the intricacies of the war, and they also compare it to previous and other wars,” he said.
“It’s a unique war. It’s a focused war. It is a war that comes in a time where you can really bring real change in the Middle East for the future.”
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of the initial decision to strike Iran, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS over last Saturday and Sunday.
Saudi Arabia has intercepted another drone approaching from the east, the country’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday morning on X.
The weapon was destroyed as it approached the northern Al-Jawf region, near the border with Jordan, the ministry said. It follows earlier reports this morning of three drones being intercepted.
Sen. Tim Sheehy forcibly removes protester Brian McGinnis from Senate hearing
A North Carolina man protesting US military action in Iran was forcibly removed from a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing and charged today after a chaotic scene that left both him and several officers injured, according to US Capitol Police.
Brian McGinnis, 44, a Green Party senate candidate whose campaign website says he is a Marine Corps veteran, is facing three counts of assault on a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest, Capitol Police told CNN in a statement Wednesday evening. Three officers were treated for injuries following the incident, police said.
“No one wants to fight for Israel,” McGinnis, wearing a Marine Corps uniform, yelled as officers dragged him out of the hearing room and he clung to the doorway, according to cellphone video of the incident.
GOP Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy, who was seen in the video assisting the officers, said later in a post to social media, “This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.”
CNN has reached out to McGinnis’ campaign for comment.
Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional buildings, USCP said.
Over the weekend, North Korean state media has condemned the United States and Israel for launching a “war of aggression” against Iran, but did not report the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with dozens of members of Iran’s top leadership.
