![Smoke rises from Israeli air attacks in Dahiyeh after an Israeli strike, March 3, 2026 [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]](https://angelnetworknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26062198756848-1772518027.jpg "Smoke rises from Israeli air attacks in Dahiyeh after an Israeli strike, March 3, 2026 [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]")
Israel launched fresh strikes on Iran and Lebanon, where state media reported a residential building was hit on Wednesday, as Iran’s Guards said they had sealed off one of the world’s most vital shipping routes for energy.
Governments scrambled to evacuate citizens stranded in the Middle East, where Iran expanded a retaliatory missile and drone barrage on the fifth day of a war that sent stocks sinking.
With global energy prices already on the rise over the expanding war, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it has “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial chokepoint into the Gulf.
But Trump said the US had “knocked out” Iran’s navy, along with its air force and radar systems, and that the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the waterway through which one-fifth of global seaborne oil passes.
The US military said it has hit nearly 2,000 targets since first launching deadly strikes with Israel on Iran on Saturday that killed Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel kept up the bombardment, with its military announcing a “broad wave of strikes” after midnight across Iran, which in the hours before had launched three waves of missile barrages at Israel.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted two cruise missiles, while drones struck near the US consulate in Dubai, starting a fire, and against the US military base at Al-Udeid in Qatar.
The United States encouraged all Americans to leave the region if they could find commercial flights, even though air travel had been severely disrupted, while governments, including Britain and France, sent in chartered flights to get citizens out.
AFP
