Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a recent press conference that the operation could last up to eight weeks. President Donald Trump himself said at a press conference on March 2 that the administration anticipated the operation would last four or five weeks, but “has the potential to last much longer than that.”
Iran has retaliated this week, attacking Israel, regional US embassies and military bases, and other sites in the Middle East. Iran has carried out hundreds of drone and ballistic missile attacks on neighboring countries since the operation began. While many of these have been stopped, there have been casualties in the area and many buildings have been damaged, including luxury hotels in Dubai, US military bases and embassies, and international airports and sea ports.
Israel has also started bombing Lebanon after the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah attacked the country.
The Trump administration has provided multiple, and sometimes seemingly contradictory, justifications for military action, ranging from a potential “nuclear threat” to unverified claims that Iran attempted to interfere in the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections. As of March 5, Congress, which has the sole power to declare war in the US, has not done so.
The attacks have already disrupted supply chains, creating uncertainty for the oil and gas and fertilizer industries as key infrastructure has been targeted or shut down out of caution. Shipping traffic on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route, has halted.
As the conflict escalates and spreads, WIRED is tracking which countries are affected and how. This article was last updated on March 5.
iran
As of March 4, Iranian state media estimated that more than 1,000 people had been killed in the country since the US-Israeli attacks began. According to Al Jazeera, several schools and hospitals have been affected. The Israeli Air Force says it has struck Iran with more than 5,000 weapons since the start of the operation.
israel
Israel has had to face retaliatory attacks from Iran. According to Al Jazeera, as of March 4, at least 11 people have died and more than 40 buildings have been damaged in Tel Aviv.
Azerbaijan
On 5 March, Azerbaijan said that drone strikes launched from Iran crossed the country’s borders and damaged an airport building and injured two civilians. According to Reuters, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said the country’s military forces “have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate countermeasures”. According to Al Jazeera, Iran has denied responsibility for the attacks.
bahrain
According to the BBC, missile and drone attacks have targeted various locations in Bahrain, including a US naval base. On March 2, Amazon reported that a drone attack occurred close to one of its data centers in the country. CNBC later reported that Iranian state media said Iran had targeted the data center because of the company’s support of the US military.
Cyprus
According to Reuters, on March 2, a drone attack hit a British airport in Cyprus. It caused limited damage and no injuries. According to Bloomberg report, Greece, UK and France have given defensive support to the country.
Iraq
There have been reports of several Iranian attacks targeting a US military base near Erbil International Airport since February 28, according to the non-profit monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data.
Jordan
Jordanian armed forces have destroyed dozens of missiles since the conflict began. At least one Iran-backed terrorist group in Iraq has claimed responsibility, according to the Associated Press. On March 2, the US Embassy in the country announced that all of its staff had temporarily left.
Kuwait
Kuwait has endured several waves of Iranian missile and drone attacks since February 28. On March 2, US Central Command said in a statement that three US warplanes were accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses during an attack that involved Iranian aircraft, missiles and drones.
lebanon
Israel attacked southern Lebanon after the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah launched rocket and drone attacks against it. According to Al Jazeera, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam subsequently imposed restrictions on Hezbollah’s military and security activities.
oman
According to Al Jazeera, there have been several drone attacks on Oman’s Duqm commercial port. Omani officials have said at least one oil tanker has been attacked at the country’s Khasab port in the Strait of Hormuz.
Queue
On March 2, QatarEnergy posted on Twitter that it would cease production of liquefied natural gas following a military attack on its operating facilities in the country. In this, no particular country was held responsible for the attack. On March 3, it posted again and said it would also stop production of additional products including urea, polymers, methanol and aluminium.
saudi arabia
Infrastructure in Saudi Arabia has been targeted with projectiles. On March 3, the US Embassy in the country’s capital Riyadh was damaged after an attack. On March 4, Reuters reported that one of the largest domestic refineries of majority state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco was targeted by an attempted drone attack.
Syria
Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, says civilians and civilian infrastructure were under attack in several countries, including Syria.
turkey
On March 4, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that NATO had intercepted ballistic weapons launched from Iran, and that fragments of ammunition had fallen in Hatay, a province that borders the Mediterranean Sea and Syria. Iran has denied any missile launches towards the country.
united arab emirates
As of March 4, UAE Defense Ministry officials say the country has intercepted hundreds of drone and missile attacks from Iran. Despite the relatively high rate of interception, debris generated by the fall still damaged areas of the country. In Dubai, the luxury hotel Burj Al Arab was hit by debris, as well as the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island home to high-end hotels and apartments. On March 2, Amazon Web Services announced that two of its facilities in the country were directly affected, causing “increased error rates and reduced availability.”
countries evacuating citizens
On March 2, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on Twitter urging Americans to depart from several Middle Eastern countries due to “serious security risks”. On March 4, Reuters reported that the US military has offered seats on military transport planes to Americans trying to leave the area.
More than a dozen countries, including Britain, Ireland, Germany and Italy, have announced they will evacuate their citizens from the region or sponsor repatriation flights.
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