Four days in, the Iran War is raging on and spiraling out, and though President Donald Trump has said the U.S. operation may only last weeks, there’s no way of knowing how long the widening conflict will last, or how far the political and economic fallout will reach. Our coverage of the first three days of the war is here. Here’s the latest on the war, along with collected commentary and analysis.

Fire at U.S. Consulate in Dubai has been contained

CBS News reports that a fire at the U.S. Consulate in Dubai has been contained, citing a report from Dubai’s media office. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Rubio told reporters that all personnel at the consulate have been accounted for.

State Department facilitating charter flights from UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan

In a statement, the State Department said that over 9,000 Americans have returned safely from the Middle East over the past few days. “The Department is facilitating charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan for American citizens, and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow,” the press release read.

Commercial aviation options remain available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Egypt, and the Department is actively helping American citizens book those tickets. For those in countries lacking commercial aviation availability, the Department is facilitating travel to third countries as conditions allow. That includes increasing ground transportation options for American citizens wishing to leave Israel.

Commercial aviation options remain available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Egypt, and the Department is actively helping American citizens book those tickets. For those in countries lacking commercial aviation availability, the Department is facilitating travel to third countries as conditions allow. That includes increasing ground transportation options for American citizens wishing to leave Israel.

Rubio said at least 1,500 Americans have requested assistance leaving Middle East

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was back on Capitol Hill as he was set to brief senators on the ongoing Iran conflict. In a gaggle with reporters, Rubio was asked if there was a plan in place to evacuate Americans in the region.

“That’s the plan we’re trying to carry out. The problem is or the challenge we are facing are airspace closures,” Rubio said, citing how the airport in Kuwait was hit by airstrikes. “So, if an airport’s been attacked or the airspace is closed, then we can have the planes lined up to go, but we can’t get them to land because we don’t have the permissions to land there.”

Rubio said that around 1,500 to 1,600 Americans have requested assistance leaving the region. “Rest assured, we are confident that we’re going to be able to assist every American,” he said.

‘I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he doesn’t believe Congress would need to authorize any further military action against Iran beyond a 60 day or 90 day window.

“No. I think the president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently underway there,” Thune told reporters Tuesday.

He continued, “As you know, there’s a lot of controversy around, questions around the War Powers Act. But I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interest by ensuring he’s protecting Americans and American bases and installations in that region as well as those of our allies.”

“Donald Trump has just gotten America into an endless war”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the Trump administration’s involvement in Iran, saying that the president promised that he would prevent the country from entering any more foreign wars.

“And yet Donald Trump has just gotten America into an endless war that he acknowledges and plans to be endless as was the case earlier today,” Jeffries said.

He continued, “And we have already tragically lost the lives of six American servicemembers because Donald Trump, without justification and without coming to Congress, has gotten America into a Middle Eastern war that we know will not end well based on what we’ve already seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, and, for that matter, in Vietnam as well.”

Jeffries appears to be honing in on the median Democratic response, critiquing the president’s exclusion of Congress and justification for the conflict. But as my colleague Ed Kilgore noted yesterday, reactions to the United States’s involvement in Iran vary across the party:

There is, however, a real division emerging among Democrats about the righteousness of the war itself, legality aside, and about the administration’s stated war aims of eliminating Iran’s nuclear-weapons program for good and toppling its theocratic regime.

There is, however, a real division emerging among Democrats about the righteousness of the war itself, legality aside, and about the administration’s stated war aims of eliminating Iran’s nuclear-weapons program for good and toppling its theocratic regime.

Trump says U.S. will offer insurance to ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz

So he says in his new Truth Social post:

Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH — More actions to come.

Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH — More actions to come.

The U.S. consulate in Dubai is on fire

The American consulate in Dubai is on fire after a reported Iranian drone attack. pic.twitter.com/ww8bJ6FrFA— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 3, 2026

The American consulate in Dubai is on fire after a reported Iranian drone attack. pic.twitter.com/ww8bJ6FrFA

The moment an Iranian Shahed hit the U.S. Consulate compound in Dubai. No casualties reported. https://t.co/PWJRRSkG9q— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 3, 2026

The moment an Iranian Shahed hit the U.S. Consulate compound in Dubai. No casualties reported. https://t.co/PWJRRSkG9q

Trump admin mulling military support for oil tankers traveling Strait of Hormuz

Politico reports that the Trump administration might soon provide military protection for gas and oil tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route to Iran’s south that has seen traffic plunge since the conflict began over the weekend:

“Military support for oil and gas supplies,” a person familiar with the discussion who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations said when asked about the potential for U.S. naval vessels to escort ships traveling through the strait. “It’s becoming a growing concern that the energy markets could face pressures in the coming days as the military campaign intensifies and expands in geographic scope. Access to the Straits of Hormuz is obviously vital for both natural gas and crude oil shipments, especially from Qatar and Saudi.” 

“Military support for oil and gas supplies,” a person familiar with the discussion who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations said when asked about the potential for U.S. naval vessels to escort ships traveling through the strait. “It’s becoming a growing concern that the energy markets could face pressures in the coming days as the military campaign intensifies and expands in geographic scope. Access to the Straits of Hormuz is obviously vital for both natural gas and crude oil shipments, especially from Qatar and Saudi.” 

Reuters reported Monday that a senior official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned that Iran would fire upon any ship passing through the strait.

Supreme leader selection is reportedly proceeding

Iran’s Assembly of Experts is holding a final vote to select a new Supreme Leader following the US-Israeli assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Fars News Agency says meetings are taking place remotely under a revised voting mechanism, with the constitutional process “fully…— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@Alihashem) March 3, 2026

Iran’s Assembly of Experts is holding a final vote to select a new Supreme Leader following the US-Israeli assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Fars News Agency says meetings are taking place remotely under a revised voting mechanism, with the constitutional process “fully…

Lining up behind Trump’s walk-back

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth cosigned Trump’s assertion during a morning press conference that he likely forced Israel’s hand in striking Iran and not the other way around.

“This is 100% correct,” Hegseth wrote, sharing a clip of the moment posted by the White House’s rapid response account.

Hegseth’s comment comes as the White House has attempted to correct the record after excerpts of Rubio’s remarks at a press conference on Iran suggesting the U.S. was following Israel’s lead when it struck the region made the rounds online. In one example, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a National Review piece with a blunt headline: “No, Marco Rubio Didn’t Claim That Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran.”

On X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote that the State Department is “actively working on plans to help Americans in the Middle East return home.”

She advised Americans abroad to register for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program or STEP at step.state.gov.

Assistant secretary of state Dylan Johnson confirmed Leavitt’s statement, saying that the department is securing charter flights and military aircraft for American citizens wishing to leave the region.

Again, it’s not clear why these plans weren’t made until now.

Defne Arslan, the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Turkey Program, notes the numerous stressors the Iran War has created for the Turkish government, including:

Refugee influx: Turkey’s primary fear is a mass migration wave. With over 3.5 million Syrian refugees already in the country, the prospect of hundreds of thousands of Iranians (and Afghans currently residing in Iran) fleeing toward the Turkish border is viewed as an existential threat to social stability. The Kurdish factor: Ankara is deeply concerned that a power vacuum in Tehran could embolden Kurdish separatist groups. Specifically, Turkish officials worry that the Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK (the Iranian wing of the terrorist-designated Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK) could gain autonomy in northwestern Iran, creating a new security vacuum similar to that in northern Syria. …Energy security: Iran currently provides approximately 15 percent of Turkey’s natural gas. Any damage to the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline or a halt in exports would cause immediate energy shortages, and spike heating and electricity prices during the remaining winter weeks. 

Refugee influx: Turkey’s primary fear is........

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