Live updates: Iran war spreads as U.S. jets crash and Israel trades fire with Hezbollah

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has announced a ban on all security and military activities by Iran-backed Hezbollah after the group fired missiles at Israel, which launched attacks on Lebanon in response.

In a statement, Salam said Hezbollah’s military activities were “illegal,” calling for the group “to surrender its weapons to the Lebanese state and confine its activities to the political sphere within constitutional and legal frameworks, thereby enshrining the state’s monopoly on the use of force.”

The Lebanese state, Salam said, declares its “absolute and unequivocal rejection of any military or security actions launched from Lebanese territory outside the framework of its legitimate institutions,” adding that decisions on war and peace rests exclusively with the state.

Salam said the country’s military and security agencies will take measures to prevent any military operation, missile launch or drone attack from Lebanese territory, and to detain violators.

A former commander in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard we spoke to this morning told us that some units of the powerful militia are acting autonomously after losing contact with leadership.

"If you cannot contact directly to the base and headquarters, you can use the forces against the enemy according your decision," Hossein Kanani Moghadam told NBC News by video call from Tehran.

"So some IRGC units are firing missiles without contact with the leadership. They are just using strategy they’ve been given," added Moghadam, who maintains close links with the Iranian government.

While this dynamic raises fears that the war will spiral, he says targeting the territory of neighboring countries is part of Iran’s strategy. 

Travel chaos caused by the spiraling war in the Middle East continues to grow, as flight cancellations pile up and travelers find themselves stranded amid air space closures. 

Airports, including a major connecting hub in Dubai, have been targeted by Iranian strikes in recent days, affecting their operations. All flight operations at Dubai International remain suspended "until further notice," while Hamad International Airport in Doha also remains closed due to the temporary closure of Qatari airspace.

Major airlines were suspending flights for days to come.

Emirates planes parked on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport today. Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images

Emirates has temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai, until at least Tuesday afternoon local time, while German airline Lufthansa said it has suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil, Dammam and Tehran until Sunday as the Associated Press reported about 30,000 German tourists are currently stuck on cruise ships, in hotels or at closed airports in the Middle East and cannot get back home because of the conflict.

An oil tanker was targeted by an unmanned boat in the Gulf of Oman, northwest of Sultan Qaboos Port, Oman's Maritime Security Center said in a statement on X.

It said the tanker’s crew of 21 people had to be evacuated after a fire broke out on board, but one Indian crew member was killed by an explosion in the engine room. 

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MKD YOM was carrying approximately 59,463 metric tons of cargo, the center said. 

A Royal Navy of Oman vessel is monitoring the condition of the damaged tanker and is issuing necessary warnings to vessels transiting the same maritime area, it added.

It comes amid tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, which Iran warned vessels not to travel though in light of U.S.-Israeli strikes, and concerns about elevated security risk for commercial vessels in the region.

The Pentagon said this morning that "apparent friendly fire" brought down three U.S. fighter jets over Kuwait during Operation Epic Fury, confirming an earlier report from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense.

CENTCOM said that three F-15D Strike Eagle planes were mistakenly shot down by Kuwait's air defense systems.

"During active combat — that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," it said.

"All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition," the Pentagon said. "Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation."

CENTCOM added that the cause of the incident was under investigation and that more information would be released in future.

In a sign of conflict spreading across the Middle East, Israel announced this morning that it has launched an offensive against Hezbollah, the militant Iranian proxy group in Lebanon, in response to the group launching missiles at Israel in retaliation for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing. 

The Israeli Army reported later this morning it has “precisely struck a senior Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut,” without elaborating.

The Israeli Army’s Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, said ealier that Israel “must prepare for many prolonged days of combat ahead.”

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, today. Hassan Ammar / AP

An apartment building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, today. Hussein Malla / AP

Meanwhile, the country’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah will pay a “heavy price” for attacking Israel.

“Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, who decided on the firing under pressure from Iran — is from this moment a marked target for elimination,” Katz said in a statement on X. “Whoever follows the path of Khamenei will soon find himself alongside him in the depths of hell, together with all those eliminated from the axis of evil,” he added.

Pakistani authorities deployed troops and imposed a three-day curfew before dawn today in the northern cities of Gilgit and Skardu after several people died and dozens were injured in violent protests following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes, officials said.

Thousands of Shiite demonstrators yesterday attacked the offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group, which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the U.N. Development Programme in the city of Skardu. Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials. At least 12 people were killed and 80 others injured, police in the Gilgit-Baltistan region said.

A burning armoured vehicle set on fire by Shiite Muslim protestors outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi yesterday.  AFP via Getty Images

Demonstrators in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi also stormed the U.S. Consulate yesterday, smashing windows and attempting to burn the building. Police responded with batons, tear gas and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured. One person was also killed in clashes in Islamabad during an attempted Shiite march toward the U.S. Embassy.

Read the full story here.

Masses of displaced people in southern Lebanon were pictured on highway links to Beirut this morning in heavy traffic, after Israeli military urged people in nearly 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of possible strikes.

Displaced people fleeing sit on a pickup truck today. Mohammad Zaatari / AP

Traffic on highway links to Beirut this morning. Mohammad Zaatari / AP

A girl sits in a van as displaced families fleeing Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon arrive in the southern port city of Sidon, early today. Mohammad Zaatari / AP

Displaced people fleeing Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon ride on a mini truck along a highway toward Beirut today. Mohammed Zaatari / AP

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said the Ras Tanura refinery in the kingdom's east was partially shut down after it was targeted by two drones this morning, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Crude oil storage tanks at the Juaymah Tank Farm in Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery in 2017. Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The ministry said the refinery sustained minor damage from falling debris after the drones were intercepted, according to SPA. This caused a small fire, and no injuries or fatalities were reported, it added.

As a precautionary measure, some operational units at the refinery were shut down, but the supply of petroleum and its derivatives to local markets was not affected, SPA said.

The Ras Tanura complex houses one of the Middle East’s largest refineries with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude.

DUBAI — When Sarah Mettee and her husband flew from Nashville to Dubai to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, she never thought that they would be caught in the middle of a war. 

“I never in a million years thought this would happen,” Mettee told NBC News in Dubai. “It’s like a bad dream.”

Sarah Mettee.  NBC News

Mettee was originally meant to fly from Dubai on Sunday and says that she doesn’t know when she will be able to return home. 

“I just want to get home to the kids,” says Mettee. “I miss them terribly.” 

The World Health Organization has called for the protection of civilians and health care facilities in the Middle East. 

“At a time of heightened tensions, the protection of civilians and health care must be absolute,” Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, wrote on X. 

“All parties must uphold international humanitarian law and ensure medical facilities remain protected,” Balkhy added. 

Black smoke was seen rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City today, according to an image from the AFP news agency.

Neither the embassy nor the Pentagon have commented.

AFP via Getty Images

SINGAPORE/LONDON — Oil surged 9% on Monday after retaliatory Iranian attacks disrupted shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz following the weekend’s bombing by Israel and the United States that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

A sustained jump in prices would threaten a global economic recovery, spur inflation and could push up U.S. retail gasoline prices, a risky result for President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections this November.

The price surge on the restart of trading after the weekend, however, was less than some analyst predictions.

The distinct buzz of a drone could be heard above the Lebanese capital this morning after residents were woken by gunfire to warn them of incoming Israeli strikes.

Local producer Roger Hanna, 53, who lives in the city, told NBC News that he was woken by shots just minutes before air strikes began, coming in three waves.

People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb neighborhood of Haret Hreik today. Ibrahim Amro / AFP via Getty Images

Debris surrounding a building damaged after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb neighborhood of Haret Hreik today.  AFP via Getty Images

He said he could feel his windows shaking in the intense noise and his three teenage children were scared. He said he told them: "The war is starting."

At least one U.S. warplane crashed inside Kuwait, NBC News analysis has shown.

A video captured on the western edge of Al Jahra in Kuwait, near the Ali Al-Salem Air Base and posted to Telegram, showed a plane falling straight down and spinning to the ground.

Video shows U.S. warplane crashing in Kuwait

00:36

Earlier, Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said several American warplanes crashed with all crew members surviving.

A Pentagon spokesperson said: “We do not have anything additional to share beyond the info on the CENTCOM and SecWar X pages at this time.” 

Drone footage from last night shows emergency services responding to an Iranian missile strike on a road in Jerusalem, which created a large crater in the ground.

Ilan Rosenberg / Reuters

We just reached a former commander for Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard who is in Tehran and still has close links to the government. As the war spreads across the region he warns there will be more strikes. 

“I know that we are, at this time, ready for more attacks by missiles and drone against the bases of Israel and United States” Hossein Kanani Moghadam told NBC News by video call. “We have a very good situation and equipment and logistic at this time for the defense of the Iran,” he said.

Despite the onslaught Iran is undergoing, he insists, “At this time everything is stable… and we haven’t had, this time, any security problem.”

We asked him about the prospect of replacing Iran’s supreme leader, with the IRGC likely to play an influential role moving forward. “It is very easy for the country to select the new supreme leader,” he says, because there are many "suitable" candidates.

He rejects President Trump’s assertion that many who might have replaced Ayatollah Khamenei are also dead. 

“This is a propaganda of Trump," he said. "No, this is not right.”

Iran's Red Crescent said 555 people have been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes since the beginning of the war on Saturday, state-run news agency IRNA reported.

The casualties are from more than 130 cities across Iran, the agency said.

Smoke rises as a series of explosions are heard in Tehran, Iran yesterday. Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Millions of people in Iran have been left without access to the Internet for over 48 hours, according to cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks. 

This isn’t the first time that an Internet shutdown has taken place in Iran this year, with a nationwide crackdown lasting for several weeks during anti-government protests in January.

00:32

The U.S. military released video on social media reportedly showing missiles striking Iranian ballistic missile threats. In a post accompanying the video, the U.S. said it is “taking bold action to eliminate imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime.”

China’s foreign minister criticized the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, as “unacceptable” in a call with his Russian counterpart.

“The blatant killing of a sovereign leader and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a call yesterday. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms of international relations.” 

People mourn the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran yesterday. Atta Kenare / AFP - Getty Images

China, which has close ties to Iran, says it is “deeply concerned” about the escalation and spillover of tensions in the Middle East, as Iran strikes Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks. At a news briefing today, the Chinese foreign ministry again urged all parties to stop military actions and resume dialogue.

A Chinese national was killed in Tehran during the attack on Iran, spokesperson Mao Ning said, and more than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from the country.

Protests had re-emerged across Iran in recent weeks after a deadly crackdown on unrest.

Student-led protests had been reported outside universities in the Islamic Republic in mid-February, with video circulating on social media and verified by NBC News appearing to show large crowds of demonstrators rallying outside institutions, including the Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran.

The fresh protests come on the heels of sweeping anti-government demonstrations last month in which rights groups say thousands of people were killed under a brutal crackdown on the nationwide unrest.

U.S. threats of military action on Iran had grown in the wake of those demonstrations, which marked the biggest flare-up of domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

U.S. officials say three American service members were killed in action in Kuwait in the military operation against Iran. Five others were seriously injured. The troops were part of a sustained unit in Kuwait. 

01:31

Iran will not negotiate with the U.S., the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council said.

Ali Larijani made the comments on X apparently in response to previous Wall Street Journal reporting, citing Arab and U.S. officials, that he had made a push through mediators to resume nuclear talks with the U.S.

Trump earlier told NBC News that Iranian officials were interested in continuing talks with the U.S.

LONDON — The United Kingdom's foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has defended an agreement to allow the American military to use British air bases to strike Iranian ballistic missile sites.

Her comments come after the runway of a Royal Air Force air base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian drone strike last night — Britain released few details of the strike but said there were no injuries. Families living at the base have been moved to another site on the island.

RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus in 2024.  MoD Crown via Getty Images file

Last night, Prime Minister Keir Starmer granted a request from the Pentagon for U.S. forces to use British bases on Cyprus and Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.

“I’ve spoken to foreign ministers across the Gulf who were frankly shocked and horrified at the way their countries were targeted by Iran over the weekend,” Cooper told Sky News this morning.

“This is a deeply malign regime that is posing a direct threat to our partners in the region and to British citizens who are currently sheltering in place and in hotels and that’s why we’re supporting this limited defensive action.”

Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said today that "several U.S. warplanes crashed this morning," but all crew members survived.

A statement posted to X by the Kuwaiti Army said the MOD "immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to the hospital for medical evaluation and treatment." The condition of the personnel was "stable."

The MOD said it was in contact with U.S. forces and that an official investigation was underway.

A Pentagon spokesperson said: “We do not have anything additional to share beyond the info on the CENTCOM and SecWar X pages at this time.”