Summary: The article details an escalating military conflict between the U.S./Israel and Iran, along with its regional proxies. Key events include retaliatory strikes, attacks on ballistic missile sites and shipping, and a significant expansion of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, causing civilian displacement. The conflict is disrupting global energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and prompting international diplomatic and military responses.
Main Topics Covered:
1. Military strikes and retaliations between the U.S./Israel and Iran.
2. The expanding conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
3. Disruption to global oil shipping and economic concerns, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.
4. International diplomatic and security responses, including embassy closures and NATO involvement.
Iran War Maps: Tracking the Mideast Conflict
Maps show where U.S. and Israel have struck Iran, and where Iran has retaliated.
Major developments — March 5
NATO air defenses shot down an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Turkey, the United States sank an Iranian Navy ship in international waters and several European nations deployed military assets to the region to protect their interests. Here’s how the day unfolded.
Major developments — March 4
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTA senior Iranian military official threatened this week to “set on fire” any ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Vessels in the region have already come under attack since the conflict began on Feb. 28. Several oil and gas facilities have also been struck or affected by nearby shelling, though the damage did not initially appear to be catastrophic.
Tankers have been staying away from Hormuz since the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on Saturday. A prolonged conflict could ripple broadly across the global economy, threatening the energy supplies of countries halfway around the world and stoking inflation.
On Monday, just two oil and gas tankers appear to have crossed the strait, according to a New York Times analysis of shipping activity from Kpler, an industry data firm. On Tuesday, one tanker passed through.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTSince the U.S. and Israel jointly began attacking Iran on Saturday, destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities has emerged as a top objective for President Trump despite the unlikelihood that it can be accomplished without ground troops.
A New York Times analysis of satellite imagery shows how these sites have been targeted since the Pentagon’s most recent air campaign against Iran began on February 28.
Strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile sites
The State Department urged Americans to depart immediately from 14 Middle East countries, citing “serious safety risks.” Three U.S. embassies in the region ceased operations. Two of those embassies, one in Riyadh and one in Kuwait, were the subject of Iranian drone strikes in the first days of the conflict.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, striking Tehran, the capital, and other large cities in an assault that has since embroiled much of the region.
Iran responded with retaliatory strikes aimed at Israel and U.S. interests in the region, including U.S. facilities in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Officials in Jordan and Saudi Arabia said that they had intercepted Iranian attacks. Iranian proxy forces in Lebanon and Iraq also joined the fray, broadening the conflict.
The Israeli military told residents of dozens of towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate on Monday and Tuesday as it moved to seize more areas across the border in an escalating fight with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group.
Israeli forces on Monday told people within a few miles of the border to evacuate. They expanded the order on Tuesday to include more than 80 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, some more than 20 miles from the border, according to announcements posted to social media.
Tens of thousands of people in Lebanon have fled their homes, according to the United Nations. Attacks since Monday have killed at least 52 people there, Lebanon’s minister of social affairs, Haneen Sayed, told The New York Times.
Israel already controlled five military outposts inside Lebanon, close to the border. Its forces had refused to withdraw after reaching a cease-fire with Hezbollah in November 2024 following a year of fighting.
The latest rounds of attacks began when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel early Monday, prompting Israel to attack with a barrage of airstrikes targeting the group’s strongholds outside Beirut.
Israeli officials have said that the new advance is intended to better defend Israeli communities near the border, but military analysts said that Israel could be weighing a wider ground assault similar to the one it launched in 2024.
Meridiano
