What to know on the fifth day of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran
o Iran appeared to target a NATO member, Turkey, with its retaliatory fire for the first time, as Israel launched new strikes on Tehran and Lebanon Wednesday.

o The Iranian regime says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's three-day funeral is being postponed amid the continuing escalation of the war, which a U.S.-based organization says has killed more than 1,000 civilians in the country, including more than 180 children.

o Israeli officials said intelligence indicated Iran could have enriched uranium to 90%, or weapons grade, within two weeks if it had decided to do so before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes, but that Iran's weaponization group was "still far from producing a classic nuclear bomb."

Hegseth says "America is winning" on fifth day or war with Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Wednesday that "America is winning" at a news briefing at the Pentagon as the U.S. campaign against Iran entered its fifth day.

Appearing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Cain in their second briefing since the war began, Hegseth stressed that the operation is only four days old, noting that "metrics are shifting, dust is settling and more forces are arriving."

"It's very early, and as president Trump has said, we will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed," Hegseth said.

Sri Lanka says bodies recovered from Iranian warship off its coast following reported explosion
Sri Lanka's navy recovered "a few bodies" of Iranian sailors from an Iranian navy frigate that sank off the island's southern coast, after what crew members reported as an explosion, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The Reuters news agency cited three unnamed U.S. officials saying the warship had been hit in a U.S. strike, including one who told Reuters the attack was carried out by a U.S. submarine.

"We have found a few bodies from the area where the ship had gone down," local navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath told reporters in Colombo, adding that the search for others was continuing.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament earlier Wednesday that 180 people were aboard the IRIS Dena, which sank after issuing a distress message following an apparent explosion.

The U.S. and Israel have targeted the Iranian navy in recent days, largely in Iran's coastal waters. If it is confirmed that the Dena was struck by the U.S., some 1,000 miles from Iran in the Indian Ocean, it would be one of the most distant strikes against Iran's naval assets since the war began, highlighting the broadening nature of the conflict.

Qatar's state-run energy firm formally tells clients it can't meet gas contract obligations
QatarEnergy, the Gulf nation's state-run petroleum firm that handles all of its oil and gas business, said Wednesday that was declaring Force Majeure, a measure that relieves a company of its contractual obligations when it is impacted by circumstances beyond its control.

"Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers," the state-owned company said in a statement shared on social media, adding that it "values its relationships with all of its stakeholders and will continue to communicate the latest available information."

Qatar's economy relies heavily on its natural gas resources, and the shutdown of its LNG production will be a major blow not only nationally, but potentially impacting global markets.

Production was halted over the weekend as Iran started targeting Gulf states, and their energy infrastructure, in response to the blistering attacks launched Saturday by the U.S. and Israel.

NATO intercepts missile from Iran heading toward Turkey, defense ministry says
NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday, Turkey's defense ministry said.

Turkey is a member of the transatlantic NATO alliance, and the launch was Iran's first apparent attempt to target any of the alliance's members since the war began on Saturday.

The missile was detected after crossing Iraqi and Syrian airspace, the defense ministry said in a statement. NATO air and missile defense assets in the eastern Mediterranean engaged and neutralized the weapon.

"It has been determined that the ordnance that fell in Dörtyol district of Hatay province belonged to an air defense munition that intercepted the threat in the air. There were no casualties or injuries in the incident," the defense ministry said.

It warned "all parties to refrain from actions that would further spread the conflict in the region" and said it would continue to consult with NATO and other allies.

Turkey's foreign ministry said Minister Hakan Fidan held a call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, in which he stated that any steps that could lead to the conflict spreading should be avoided.

Israeli military reports another round of incoming Iranian missiles
The Israel Defense Forces issued another urgent warning to people in the country Wednesday, saying it had "identified that missiles were recently launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel."

Repeating warnings issued many times since Israel and the U.S. launched their attacks on Iran on Saturday, the IDF urged anyone who received alerts from the country's Home Front Command "to show responsibility and act according to the guidelines" and head for bomb shelters.

At least 12 people have been killed in Israel amid Iran's retaliatory missile and drone attacks since Saturday, including 10 civilians hit directly by the fire, an elderly person who died trying to reach shelter, and another individual who suffered a heart attack during an air raid alarm.

The United Hatzalah volunteer emergency medical service said there were no injuries immediately reported following the latest wave of missiles launched by Iran, but it was still assessing reports of impacts in the center of the country.

U.S. orders non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Qatar
The U.S. State Department has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Qatar "due to the threat of armed conflict." The U.S. Embassy in Qatar said Tuesday that a shelter-in-place order was in effect for emergency personnel who remain in the country, and it advised other Americans in Qatar to also shelter in place until further notice.

"If safe to do so, Americans should leave Qatar now," the alert added.

It is not possible to leave by air due to a closure of Qatar's airspace, and the U.S. embassy didn't mention any assistance it was providing for Americans to find transportation to leave the country.

It noted that a land border crossing to Saudi Arabia was open, but that "the U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety if you choose to depart using this option."

Israeli military urges residents in vast portion of southern Lebanon to evacuate
Israel's military called on thousands of people in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate their homes on Wednesday and move north to avoid an expanding Israeli military operation against the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.

Expanding on an order issued Tuesday for more than 80 communities to evacuate, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned Wednesday in a post on X that anyone south of the Litani River — an area home to an estimated 200,000 people before Israel's war with Hezbollah — should leave and head north.

Israel has hammered alleged Hezbollah sites across southern Lebanon and in the capital Beirut for days, and on Tuesday the military announced that troops were sent across the border into Lebanon.

Israeli officials say intel indicated Iran could have enriched uranium weapons-grade within 2 weeks if it chose to
Israeli officials told journalists Wednesday that intelligence indicated Iran could have enriched uranium to 90%, or weapons grade, within two weeks if it had decided to do so, before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes over the weekend.

They said, however, that Iran's weaponization group was "still far from producing a classic nuclear bomb."

In terms of risk management, the officials said there was a clear decision that they had to act when they did. Iran's nuclear capacity was not totally wiped out, and they "still maintained certain capabilities," according to Israel.

President Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to launch the war with Iran, saying there would have been a nuclear war without the intervention, and that Iran "would have taken out many countries."

Mr. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Monday that Iranian officials claimed during recent negotiations to have enough enriched uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs, before the U.S. and Israel launched their attack

Witkoff told Fox News that Iran's negotiators had told him before the strikes that the country had about 460 kilograms of uranium at 60% enrichment, echoing reports from the U.N.'s IAEA nuclear watchdog, but adding that it could have been enriched to weapons-grade within a week to 10 days.

Iran insisted right up until the war began that it would not seek to build a nuclear weapon, and the IAEA chief said 10 days before strikes started that the agency had seen no evidence of Iran working toward developing such a capability.

Iran is now preparing for three to four weeks of war and is preserving its weapons stockpiles, the Israeli officials said, adding that, "Israel did not drag the U.S. into the war."

Ship struck by projectile off UAE coast, U.K. authorities say
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center said it received a report Wednesday that another commercial vessel had been hit by a projectile seven nautical miles east of Fujairah, on the United Arab Emirates coast.

The projectile caused damage to the vessel's steel plating, but no fire or water intake was reported and all crew members were reported safe.

The UKMTO said the incident was being investigated, and that "vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity."

Fujairah sits just south of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for the transport of global oil supplies which has been virtually shut down since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Saturday.

Iran's military has vowed to attack any vessel attempting to transit the strait, and a number of commercial ships, including the U.S.-flagged Stena Imperative, have been hit in recent days.

11-year-old girl killed by shrapnel in Kuwait
An 11-year-old girl who was injured by shrapnel in a residential area of Kuwait died from her injuries, the country's ministry of health said Wednesday.

Attempts to resuscitate the girl were made and she was taken to the hospital but succumbed to her wounds. Four of her family members, including the girl's mother, were hospitalized and undergoing medical evaluation.

Kuwait, along with other Persian Gulf nations, has been hit by repeated Iranian missile and drone strikes as Tehran seeks to retaliate for the U.S.-Israeli assault by attacking perceived American allies.

The only U.S. casualties from the war so far have been six American troops killed in an Iranian strike that hit a military installation in Kuwait on Saturday.

Iranian state media says Ayatollah Khamenei's state funeral "postponed"
Iran's official state news agency Fars said Wednesday that the three-day state funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which had been set to begin later in the day, was being postponed until further notice.

"Due to the expected unprecedented attendance of mourners, the farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam of the Ummah has been postponed and the time will be announced soon," Fars said, sharing a video of a presenter making the announcement on state TV.

The announcement came not long after Israel announced a new and "intensifying" wave of strikes against the Iranian regime's security infrastructure in Tehran.

Iranian official says Assembly of Experts "close to a conclusion" on new supreme leader
Iran's 88 member Assembly of Experts ?is close to picking a new supreme leader to ?replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a ?member of the assembly told Iranian state TV on Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

"The ?Supreme Leader will be identified in the ?closest opportunity, we are close to a conclusion, however the situation in the ?country is ?a war situation," ?Ayatollah Ahmad ?Khatami ?told state TV.

The New York Times says his son Mojtaba Khamenei has emerged as a likely successor.

Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen on the fence about wading into the war
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebel movement, which controls a large portion of Yemen, was still mulling a decision on whether to engage directly in the war between its benefactors in Tehran and the U.S. and Israel.

On Sunday, the leader of the Houthis, a well-armed force long supplied with weapons and financial support by Iran's theocratic rulers, delivered a speech voicing solidarity with Iran and declaring a "general mobilization" of the group's armed forces, but offering no hints of any immediate plan to intervene in the war.

The group's leaders are likely torn between their loyalty to Iran and the potential consequences of wading into a conflict with two of the world's most powerful militaries.

Houthi political bureau member Hizam al-Assad, a powerful figure within the group, told the Qatari network Al Jazeera on Tuesday night that the decision to join the fighting remained "subject to assessments by the supreme leadership and the competent authorities monitoring developments on the ground and responding in accordance with their responsibilities."

"If American and Israeli aggression expands and reaches levels that threaten security and stability across the region more broadly, then every scenario will be on the table," he said.

Largest U.S. military base in Middle East hit by Iranian missile
The largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, was struck by an Iranian ballistic missile, Qatari officials said Wednesday.

No casualties were reported.

Qatar was targeted by two ballistic missiles fired from Iran, the country's ministry of defense said, but one was successfully intercepted.

"No to war," Spain's prime minister tells Trump
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back Wednesday at President Trump's criticisms of Madrid's refusal to let U.S. planes use Spanish bases to attack Iran.

"The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war," he said in a televised address, a day after Mr. Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain.

"We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation," Sanchez said.

"This is how humanity's great disasters start. ... You cannot play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions," Sanchez said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Israel says one of its F-35 fighter jets shot down an Iranian jet over Tehran
Israel's military said Wednesday that one of its fighter jets had shot down one of Iran's over the Iranian capital as Israel stepped up attacks on Tehran.

"An Israeli Air Force F-35I 'Adir' fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet a short while ago over the skies of Tehran. This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 'Adir' fighter jet," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement shared on social media..

The "Adir" is the Israeli variant of the U.S.-made F-35 II Lightning, which is heavily customized by Israel's military.

Israeli military announces new "broad wave of strikes" on Tehran
Israel's military announced Wednesday morning the beginning of a new "broad wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran."

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee said earlier that Israeli strikes were targeting dozens of military sites across Iran's capital, including headquarters of the notorious Basij paramilitary force linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. He said missile launchers and defense systems were also being hit, along with supply and logistics facilities "affiliated with the regime's ground forces."

Adraee said the IDF would "intensify their strikes" on the Iranian regime's infrastructure.

Iran's semi-official student news agency ISNA reported loud explosions in eastern Tehran on Wednesday.

Israeli military warns residents of strikes in Lebanon's capital, on "facilities affiliated with Hezbollah"
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned residents in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Wednesday to evacuate an area near a specific building he said was affiliated with the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

"Urgent Alert for Those Present in the Southern Suburbs of Beirut, Especially in the Haret Hreik Neighborhood," Adraee said in a social media post, sharing a map with a building highlighted in red. He said anyone in or within 300 meters (about 300 yards) of the building was "required to evacuate these buildings immediately and stay away from them."

Israel has hammered alleged Hezbollah sites in Beirut and across southern Lebanon for days, and on Tuesday the IDF warned people in at least 80 southern Lebanese cities, towns and villages to evacuate and not return as it announced that troops had been sent across the border into the neighboring country "to create an additional layer of protection for our towns."

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Rescuers carry a stretcher at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the town of Aramoun, south of Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2026.
FADEL Itani/AFP/Getty
Video from the AFP news agency showed an airstrike had hit Hezbollah's longtime stronghold in the southern Beirut suburbs, after a series of deadly raids that killed at least 11 people, according to local authorities.

Three-day state funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei to begin
Iran will hold a three-day state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Saturday in the first wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran's official IRNA news agency said Wednesday.

"The faithful will be able to pay a final homage to the body of the martyred guide of the nation, by visiting the Imam Khomenei grand mosque" in Tehran, IRNA said, citing a statement from the country'sIslamic Development Coordination Council.

Khamenei will be buried in his home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran. Arrangements for the funeral procession to Mashhad will ?be announced when ?they are ?finalized, state media added, according to the Reuters news agency.

The three day funeral was to begin Wednesday evening.

U.S.-based activist group says more than 1,000 civilians killed in Iran, including 181 young children
At least 1,097 civilians have been killed in Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched their strikes on Saturday, sparking the ongoing war, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Wednesday.

"According to aggregated data since the outbreak of the conflict on February 28, the total number of reported civilian deaths has reached 1,097, including 181 children under the age of ten," the organization said. "An additional 880 reported deaths are currently under review for verification and classification. The number of reported civilian injuries since February 28 has reached 5,402, including 100 children."

CBS News' producer in Tehran, Seyed Bathei, said there were unconfirmed reports circulating inside the country of thousands of fatalities as early as Sunday.

The U.S. military declined again on Tuesday to respond to CBS News' request for information on reports that dozens of the youngest victims of the war in Iran were killed in a strike that hit a girl's elementary school in the southern city of Minab.

Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told CBS News that the IDF had not "found any connection to our operations," when asked about the alleged school strike.

Asked by CBS News' Matt Gutman if he was saying the claim of a strike on the school was Iranian misinformation, Shoshani said he was suggesting "caution when using information that's provided by a regime that massacres their own people."

New York Times says former Iranian supreme leader's son Mojtaba Khamenei may replace father
The New York Times reported, citing unnamed Iranian officials, that former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, had emerged as a front-runner to replace his father, with a decision by the country's Assembly of Experts expected as soon as Wednesday morning.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that any new supreme leader who carries on with Iran's "plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States" and to "suppress the Iranian people," will be an "an unequivocal target for elimination."

On Tuesday, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency issued a similar warning with a post on social media, in Iran's primary Farsi language, that it did not "matter who is chosen today; his fate has been decreed. Only the Iranian nation will choose their future leader." The message was accompanied by a graphic depicting senior Iranian clerics being toppled as dominoes.

The Reuters news agency cited two Iranian sources on Wednesday as saying Mojtaba Khamenei survived the most recent round of attacks on Tehran.

Elon Musk's X platform says it will crack down on misleading AI content related to war
The head of content for Elon Musk's X said Tuesday that the company would bar for 90 days members of the social media platform's revenue-generating plan if they post "AI-generated videos of an armed conflict — without adding a disclosure that it was made with AI."

"Today we are revising our Creator Revenue Sharing policies to maintain authenticity of content on Timeline and prevent manipulation of the program. During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground. With today's AI technologies, it is trivial to create content that can mislead people," said X product chief Nikita Bier in a post on the platform.

"Starting now, users who post AI-generated videos of an armed conflict—without adding a disclosure that it was made with AI—will be suspended from Creator Revenue Sharing for 90 days. Subsequent violations will result in a permanent suspension from the program."


An injured Iranian sailor receives treatment at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka, March 4, 2026, after his frigate, the IRIS Dena, sank off Sri Lanka's coast. Ishara S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty


Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. Mohamed Azakir/REUTERS


People carry a casualty of an Israeli or U.S. strike on a police station in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. Majid Khahi/ISNA/WANA/REUTERS


Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, Oct. 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/via Reuters


A woman gestures as she reacts following a strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA


Rescuers carry a stretcher at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the town of Aramoun, south of Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. FADEL Itani/AFP/Getty

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