What to know about the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran

The war in the Middle East expanded on multiple fronts Monday as attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed militias struck Israel and Arab states as well as U.S. military targets in the region.

The U.S. military said Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” three American fighter aircraft during a combat mission, though all six pilots ejected safely and were in stable condition.

READ MORE: Hegseth insists the Iran conflict is ‘not Iraq’ and is ‘not endless’

Israel and the United States continued to strike Iran while Israeli forces responded to attacks from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group by hitting targets in southern Lebanon where at least 31 were killed and 149 injured.

The war began on Saturday with the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike that reverberated around the globe. Reaction to Khamenei’s death ranged from jubilation to condemnation, while the escalating conflict has caused canceled flights, deadly protests, suspended shipping and soaring oil prices.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society on Monday said that attacks on 131 cities have killed at least 555 people so far in the Islamic Republic. Strikes in Tehran apparently took Iran’s state television off the air.

The joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran stoked fears of a wider war and damage to the world economy. Meanwhile, Iran has expanded its attacks to regional oil infrastructure, directly targeting the lifeblood of the region’s economy.

Citing the war and attacks on its facilities in Qatar, state-owned firm QatarEnergy said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market.

Three U.S. service members were killed in the Saturday attack on Iran, while another died on Monday from injuries sustained during the initial operation, according to U.S. Central Command.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon on Monday that the U.S.-Israeli campaign was the “most precise aerial operation in history,” and decried Tehran’s “expansionist and Islamist regime.”

In a video posted Sunday, President Donald Trump said that the operation in Iran — which he described as “one of the most complex, most overwhelming military offensives the world has ever seen” — will continue until “all of our objectives” are achieved.

Iran to name new supreme leader

In the wake of Khamenei’s death, Iran’s provisional governing council is expected to name a new supreme leader. Even before the weekend’s deadly strikes, Iran’s theocracy had struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests over the economy that morphed into anti-government demonstrations. Activists say Iran’s crackdown on the protests killed thousands.

Israel said it had worked with the United States for months to plan the attacks. The U.S. military said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.

One of the first strikes hit near the offices of the 86-year-old Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989 and held ultimate power. Iranian state media reported Khamenei’s death but did not provide details. Israel said that it also killed dozens of other top Iranian military officials, and that its subsequent strikes in Lebanon had killed a Hezbollah intelligence official.

The Trump administration has asserted that Iran had been rebuilding its nuclear program, though Tehran has insisted it has not enriched nuclear fuel since June and that its program is for peaceful purposes.

Iran strikes Israel and U.S. bases in retaliation

Iran has launched retaliatory missiles and drones targeting Israel and nearby Arab Gulf countries hosting U.S. forces.

Iran’s foreign minister has suggested his country’s military units are acting independently from any central government control after being pressed about attacks on Gulf Arab nations that have served as intermediaries for Tehran in the past.

READ MORE: War in Middle East widens as Israeli and U.S. planes pound Iran and Tehran and its proxies hit back

Several ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil passes and where Iran has threatened attacks. Shipping companies suspended their vessels’ traffic through the Suez Canal, adding to fears the strikes could rattle global markets.

Elsewhere, a drone targeted an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing one crew member, the sultanate said. Fire and smoke poured out of the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait after an Iranian attack on the small Mideast nation, which also reported that debris had fallen on one of its oil refineries.

In Bahrain, the island kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, one person was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted missile. Bahrain says it has intercepted 61 missiles and 34 attack drones launched against it, though some fire has gotten through, striking buildings and the naval base.

In Israel, 11 people have been killed as loud explosions caused by missile impacts or interceptions could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israel’s rescue services said that nine people were killed and more wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh.

An Iraqi Shiite militia claimed a drone attack Monday targeting U.S. troops at the airport in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack Monday from drones, the kingdom’s defense ministry said, with authorities downing the incoming aircraft.

Israel warns of prolonged conflict in Lebanon

Hezbollah launched several rockets and drones toward Israel overnight — though there were no reports of injuries or damage — and Israel responded by striking dozens of targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon. Israel also recommended that residents of 53 villages in southern Lebanon evacuate, causing massive traffic jams.

Israel’s Chief of Staff says the military has launched an offensive campaign in Lebanon that could include “many prolonged days of combat ahead.” Israel’s military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said Israel is keeping “all options on the table” for a possible ground operation in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government said it considers Hezbollah’s military activities illegal and that the militant group should hand over its weapons. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said only the state can decide on matters of war and peace.

At least 22 people were killed in clashes with police in northern Pakistan and in the southern port city of Karachi after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate there, authorities said.

There were global repercussions from disrupted air travel in the region, with hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace.

The United Arab Emirates said it is shutting the country’s main stock exchanges for the start of the trading week.

Klug reported from Tokyo, Charlton from Paris. Brian Melley in London; Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Radjy in Cairo, Matthew Lee in Washington and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.