War Expands as US, Israel, Iran Ramp Up Strikes Across Region

The Israel Defense Forces said it’s conducting more airstrikes in Tehran, targeting the command centers of the Islamic Republic’s Interior Security and Ministry of Intelligence. The IDF blamed those institutions for “suppressing protests against the regime through violent measures.”

Speaking on national television Monday night, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has no quarrel with neighboring countries but is “taking on the American soldiers stationed there.” Saudi Arabia and the UAE have strongly criticized Iran for widening the conflict to their territories.

The State Department urged Americans to leave the Middle East, citing “serious safety risks” amid dangers from the war. It suggested US citizens in more than a dozen countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, depart by “available commercial transportation.”

That may prove challenging as nearly all civilian air traffic is closed across the Gulf after Dubai’s main airport, the world’s busiest aviation hub, was hit at the weekend. Emirates and Etihad Airways are planning to resume limited operations to ease some of the congestion.

The US said three fighter jets crashed in Kuwait due to an apparent friendly-fire incident, with aircrew ejecting safely.

The Trump administration will soon roll out a program to help mitigate rising energy costs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Washington. He said the campaign would only intensify.

“I’m not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military,” Rubio said.

US justifications for the initial strikes have been varied, with officials citing regime change, the threat of Iran’s nuclear program, its military capablility and the domestic crackdown on protesters.

On Monday, Rubio said the campaign was aimed at destroying Iran’s ballistic missile program and its navy, in order to prevent threats to global shipping. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a social media post that it was partly meant “to create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny.”

US intelligence officials have provided the administration with analyses of multiple potential scenarios following an attack on Iran, highlighting the uncertainty of what could unfold next.

Trump has called on the Iranian people to “seize this moment” and “take back your country”after the weekend killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but it’s unlikely that any political opposition group will try to seize power.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Sunday that he hopes a successor to Khamenei will be elected “within the next few days.”

The US-Israeli operation began after three rounds of talks with Iran over a deal to restrict Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Omani mediators said the discussions had been fruitful before the bombing started.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said Monday it’s frustrated by the collapse of diplomacy, adding that satellite images show Iran’s nuclear sites have been largely spared during the current round of strikes. The US and Israel targeted the facilities in a 12-day assault in June.

In the Islamic Republic, state media reported strikes on military and civilian sites, including one that killed over 140 people at a school in Hormozgan.

–With assistance from Jeff Mason, Kateryna Kadabashy, Alisa Odenheimer and Neil Munshi.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.