Trump warns monthlong Iran campaign as drones hit U.S. embassy in Riyadh
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump warned Monday that the U.S. assault on Iran could extend beyond a month as Tehran’s retaliation rippled across the region, including drone strikes that hit the U.S. embassy compound in Saudi Arabia and missile-and-drone attacks that forced Qatar’s state-run energy firm to halt liquefied natural gas production.
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“From the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,” Trump said at the White House, adding the operation was running “substantially” ahead of schedule. He vowed the United States would retaliate “soon” for the incident in Riyadh but did not elaborate.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted multiple drones in two cities, including the capital, and confirmed two struck the U.S. mission in Riyadh, causing a limited fire and minor damage. The embassy advised Americans in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dharan to shelter in place. Earlier, the United States urged its citizens to leave Middle Eastern countries “from Egypt eastward,” and ordered nonemergency staff and families to depart Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq.
Inside Iran, powerful overnight explosions shook windows in Tehran as fighter jets roared over the capital, AFP journalists reported. The Pentagon said U.S. forces had achieved air superiority. Trump for the first time laid out core objectives: destroy Iran’s missiles, navy and nuclear program and halt its support for armed groups across the region. He did not include regime change among the goals, despite urging Iranians on Saturday to rise up after a U.S. strike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran vowed to choke one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes as it ramped up retaliation beyond its borders. Qatar, which maintained comparatively better ties with Iran before the war, said it shot down two Iranian bombers — the first time a Gulf Arab state has hit Iranian aircraft, according to Doha.
The conflict broadened on Israel’s northern frontier. For a second day, the Israeli military struck targets in Lebanon, saying it hit Iran-backed Hezbollah after the group launched rockets and drones toward Israel in response to Khamenei’s death. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran would continue but would not become “an endless war.” “It may take some time, but it’s not going to take years,” he told Fox News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a new account of how the war began, saying the United States moved only after learning Israel was poised to strike Iran. Iran, he said, was preparing to hit U.S. forces in the region if Israel attacked, prompting a U.S. “pre-emptive” intervention alongside Israel. Rival Democrats expressed disbelief. Sen. Mark Warner called it “uncharted territory” for the United States to be drawn into war by an ally’s perceived threat. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, rejected Rubio’s account, posting on X that the United States had entered “a war of choice on behalf of Israel.”
Lebanon’s government said at least 52 people were killed in Israeli strikes that hammered Beirut’s southern suburbs and the south. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced an “immediate prohibition” of Hezbollah’s military activity and urged the group to hand over its weapons — an unprecedented step amid spiraling violence.
U.S. Central Command said six American service members have been killed so far. Inside Iran, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported 101 casualties on day three of the war, including 85 civilians and 11 military personnel. Iranian media reported hundreds of deaths, including at a girls’ school. Independent verification of the tolls was not immediately possible.
In Tehran, residents weighed fear of further bombings against a fragile hope that the government’s days might be numbered. AFP journalists saw people dragging suitcases through unusually quiet streets as some prepared to leave the city.
With Washington signaling more action “soon,” Iran threatening maritime disruption and Israel striking across its northern border, the risk of a wider regional war deepened. Officials across the Gulf braced for further reprisals as the U.S. and its allies weighed how — and where — to respond next.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
