A week into the latest Middle East conflict, US attacks on Iran continue ramping up and Israeli strikes in Lebanon are spurring panic.
The war has killed more than 1,320 people, according to Lebanese and Iranian state media, and the Trump administration warns it will soon escalate. NATO allies are reluctantly getting pulled into the conflict, while Iran warns European countries that they will be considered “legitimate targets” if they join on the side of the US and Israel.
Here’s what you need to know.
What are the main headlines?
-
US and Israel intensify attacks: US-Israeli strikes against Iran and Lebanon have ramped up, with explosions heard across Tehran and Beirut overnight into early Friday. Some of Tehran’s residents described it as the “worst night” since the war began while a CNN team on the ground witnessed heavy strikes just before dawn.
-
UN expresses concerns: UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for serious diplomatic negotiations to stop the fighting, warning “the situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control.” Meanwhile, in Lebanon, two Ghanian soldiers with the UN peacekeeping mission there were “critically injured” after their position came under missile fire on Friday. It’s unclear whose missiles caused the injuries. The UN mission says it is investigating.
-
The Russian connection: Russia is providing Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft, according to multiple sources, the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war. On Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone call and “agreed to continue contacts,” Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the Kremlin.
-
Trump’s comments: President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social there can be no deal with Iran “except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.” He told CNN’s Dana Bash he’s not worried whether Iran becomes a democratic state as long as the new leader treats the US and Israel “well.” He also claimed the US has sunk 25 of Iran’s battleships and played down surging gas prices.
-
Europe drawn in: Countries including Britain, France and Spain have agreed to provide military support to protect the interests of their allies. In Cyprus, British helicopters armed with counter-drone equipment began arriving on Friday. But many are also critical of the war. Even as Italy sent defensive weapons to the Persian Gulf, its defense minister said the US-Israel attack on Iran had violated international law. Spain struck a similar tone, calling the war an “extraordinary mistake.” Iran has warned that European countries that join the war are “legitimate targets.”
-
Energy supply concerns: Shipping giant Maersk became the second shipping company to suspend its operations in the Middle East. Oil storage tanks are filling up across the region, analysts say, since exports have all but stopped due to the Iranians effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. That means there is a growing risk oil production will have to halt. US oil prices and Brent crude, the international benchmark, have surged 31% and 24%, respectively, this week. Meanwhile, oil prices continue to rise, reaching $91 a barrel for the first time since October 2023.
What’s happening in Iran and Lebanon?
-
More Israeli strikes: Israel is moving to the “next phase” of the war, its military chief said late Thursday, after carrying out 2,500 strikes with more than 6,000 weapons. He added that the Israel Defense Forces would push deeper into Lebanon. Meanwhile in Iran, Israel began a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on key regime infrastructure in Tehran early Friday.
-
Beirut targeted: New Israeli strikes have targeted the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, areas it considers a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. On Friday, the IDF announced that it struck an Iranian “command center” in Beirut as the death toll in Lebanon exceeded 200 people. Evacuation orders on Thursday covering entire neighborhoods home to more than half a million people caused mass panic as people rushed to leave. Pictures show displaced families sleeping rough and residential buildings in ruins. Lebanon’s government said over 109,000 people are in displacement shelters.
-
Growing toll: The US-Israel strikes have killed more than 1,200 people in Iran and more than 217 in Lebanon since the latest conflict began, according to Iranian state media and the Lebanese health ministry. The strikes have damaged more than 3,000 homes across Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iranian strikes have also killed dozens of people in other countries around the region.
-
Girls’ school bombing: The White House has not ruled out that US military carried out a strike which hit a girls’ elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on Saturday, killing at least 168 children and 14 teachers, according to state media.
-
Pro-regime rally: A crowd of thousands gathered in Tehran after Friday prayers to decry the US-Israeli bombing campaign across Iran. While those who attend prayers in Tehran are usually religious hardliners, it shows the government is still able to mobilize large crowds.
-
Iran and Hezbollah attack Israel: Iran said it launched a hybrid drone and missile attack at Tel Aviv on Thursday night. CNN teams on the ground saw what appeared to be a cluster warhead in the skies above central Israel. Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded by Hezbollah fire on Friday, according to the IDF.
-
Strikes in the Gulf: Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said Friday three drones had been intercepted east of the capital Riyadh, while its air defenses intercepted three ballistic missiles targeting a base south of the capital the night before. In Bahrain, a hotel, two residential buildings and an oil refinery were hit by Iranian strikes. Iran’s armed forces said Friday it had launched another wave of drones targeting US bases in Kuwait.
-
US-made radars targeted: Satellite images from key military bases in the Arabian Peninsula suggest that Iran is trying to weaken THAAD air defense systems by destroying US-made radars that detect incoming missiles and drones.
-
Theater widens: Iran is also accused of attacking Azerbaijan, in the first strikes on the country since the beginning of the conflict – which Iran denies.
-
Embassy warns US citizens: Hours after the US Embassy in Baghdad warned Americans to leave Iraq, saying that hotels in Iraqi Kurdistan could be targeted by pro-Iranian militias, a drone exploded near a hotel in Erbil. A pro-Iranian Islamist militant group claimed responsibility, warning American troops and contractors that it would continue to target hotels across the country.
-
NATO gears up: NATO member states have increased their defense posture after a suspected Iranian missile was shot down while traveling toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday. Iran has said did not fire any missiles toward Turkey, per state media.
-
Impact on sport: Iran’s women’s national soccer team was forced to salute and sing its national anthem, sources told CNN Sports, ahead of a Women’s Asia Cup match just days after the squad refused to do so. Iran will not compete at the Winter Paralympics since its lone para athlete cannot travel safely.
-
Kurdish group attacked: An Iranian Kurdish militant group said its base in Iraq was struck by missiles and drones on Friday, wounding four fighters. Since CNN reported that the CIA intends to use Iranian Kurds in leading an invasion of Iran, strikes on Kurdish groups in Iraq have increased in frequency and intensity.
-
Unconditional surrender, decided by Trump: What will it look like for Iran to deliver an “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” as President Donald Trump demanded Friday? The president will decide, his spokeswoman said a few hours later.
-
Next supreme leader: That’s not the only arena where Trump is apparently calling the shots: the president said he must be “involved in the appointment” of Iran’s next leader and dismissed the prospect of Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
-
Cost of the war: The war is costing the US about $891.4 million per day, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies which analyzed information the Pentagon shared about targets it struck and the assets involved. Trump said on Friday that the defense contractors his administration met with earlier in the day have agreed to “quadruple production” of some weaponry.
-
War stories: A federal judge expressed skepticism with a restrictive press policy rolled out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year. “Isn’t it even more important than ever that the public have information and a variety of views on what their country is doing?” senior US District Judge Paul Friedman asked a Justice Department attorney defending the policy.
