Overview
- Israeli and U.S. strikes hit sites tied to Iran’s leadership selection, with officials saying the Assembly of Experts offices were targeted to disrupt choosing a successor to the slain supreme leader.
- Iran launched drone and missile attacks that struck U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, prompting closures and broad evacuations of American personnel and citizens across the region.
- President Trump rejected claims that Israel drove the timing of the operation, said most succession candidates had been killed, and forecast sustained operations despite offering no fixed end date.
- Stocks fell and oil prices jumped after Iran sought to choke the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. prepared naval escorts for tankers and ordered political risk insurance to back Gulf shipping.
- Pentagon staffers and lawmakers voiced concern about rapidly depleting interceptors and munitions, even as Trump asserted the U.S. has a virtually unlimited supply and can fight indefinitely.