Iran and Israel traded blows on Tuesday as new strikes hit the Iranian capital Tehran and other sites across the region. Planes and missiles rocked cities while diplomats scrambled to close doors and call home staff.
Israeli forces warned civilians to leave parts of the capital area, including sections near Payam Airport and industrial zones around Karaj. Local authorities said the strikes aimed at military targets, not shops or traffic, though civilians still felt the blast and the fear.
Multiple American diplomatic posts were put on high alert after attacks hit consulates and embassy compounds across the Gulf. The US State Department ordered non emergency staff and family out of Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Travel warnings followed for many countries in the region.
Getting out proved harder than the warnings. Much of the airspace was closed and flights were limited. A government source said more than a million Americans are believed to be in the region, with many stranded until transport can return.
President Donald Trump offered blunt forecasts and blunt comfort. He warned ‘the big one is coming’ and said ‘the big wave hasn’t even happened.’ Whether that soothed anyone is an open question. Reporters took notes and readers took deep breaths.
In Riyadh the U S Embassy sent a stark alert that began with a clear command. “Do not come to the US Consulate. Take cover immediately in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside,” the notice said. Some people did exactly that. Others wondered when a normal morning became a test of household safety.
Iran answered with drone and missile strikes aimed at American bases in the Gulf, including an assault on Al Udeid Air Base. The base hosts up to 10,000 troops and serves as a key forward headquarters in the region. Officials said damage appeared limited on first checks.
Casualties mounted quickly. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said at least 787 people died in Iranian areas struck by U S and Israeli raids. Iranian missiles and allied groups also struck inside Israel and Lebanon. The U S military confirmed six American service members killed and nations across the Gulf reported civilian deaths. Numbers varied as reports arrived.
President Trump pushed back on reports the U S was short of anti drone weapons and said America had ‘unlimited mid to upper tier weaponry.’ He also declared Iran’s military and leadership ‘is gone’ and noted that Tehran was asking for talks. ‘Too late,’ he wrote on Truth Social. The tone left little room for slow diplomacy.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesperson, Ali Mohammad Naini, warned in a state broadcast ‘The gates of hell will open more and more, moment by moment, upon the United States and Israel .’ Words like that do not ease the minds of people living near bases or in cities that were struck.
The fighting spilled into Lebanon and around the Gulf. Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel, and Israel sent forces into southern Lebanon. A senior Hezbollah official, Mohamoud Komati, said the group had no option but to fight. The region looked less like a place to do business and more like a place to brace.
The war has also hit world supply lines. Iran ordered the Strait of Hormuz closed and oil and gas markets jumped. The American Automobile Association said U S regular gasoline rose to $3.11 per gallon on Tuesday, up from just under $3 at the start of the week. For travelers and commuters that felt all too real.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
