The U.S. shut its embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Beirut amid drone attacks as Iran retaliates across the Middle East. The U.S. also urged Americans in the region to "DEPART NOW!" and ordered nonemergency personnel in six Gulf states to leave.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is closing until further notice "due to ongoing regional tensions," the agency announced on social media. Around 86,000 Americans live in Lebanon, according to a State Department report from 2022.

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned of an "imminent missile" attack over Dhahran, an eastern city off the Persian Gulf that is home to an American consulate and the state oil producer Saudi Aramco.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday that a drone struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancellery building at the U.S. consulate in Dubai. "All personnel are accounted for," he added.

The CIA headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the compound of the U.S. Embassy, was struck by a suspected Iranian drone, a Gulf official told NBC News. No casualties were reported, the official said. A U.S. official confirmed the report, as well. The CIA declined to comment.

• Hundreds of people have died across the Middle East. Iran’s Red Crescent said nearly 800 people were killed in Israeli and American strikes. Six U.S. service members died in action and 11 people were killed in Israel as Iran fired back.

• Israeli attacks have killed at least 40 people and wounded another 246 in Lebanon over the past two days, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The death toll includes seven children, the ministry said.

• The United Nations' human rights office has called for an investigation into a deadly strike over the weekend on a school in southern Iran. The attack in Minab on Saturday that left 168 people dead, according to local officials.

• Three paramedics have been killed and six were wounded in the Tyre district of Lebanon as they were recovering victims after an airstrike, according to the World Health Organization's office in Lebanon.

President Donald Trump said the conflict could last weeks and wars can be fought “forever” with America's stock of munitions, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed the conflict would not be “endless.” U.S. operations will unfold in phases, starting at the edge of the country and moving inward, a source familiar with the campaign told NBC News.

The U.S. is "ahead of schedule" in its operation against Iran and will "unleash" on the country in "the next few hours and days," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters today.

The Israeli military said its forces were now operating on the ground in neighboring Lebanon, where they would "advance and seize additional" territory, escalating its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Israel also launched new airstrikes on Beirut and Tehran.

Trump says free charter flights can bring Americans home from Middle East

President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that free charter flights would be offered to Americans wishing to leave the Middle East.

"Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, more than 9,000 Americans have safely returned home from the Middle East," he wrote, noting that Americans should register on the State Department website or call their task force for help.

Trump added, "The Department will identify where you are, and provide travel options to you. We are already chartering flights, free of charge, and booking commercial options, which we expect will become increasingly available as time goes on." (Source: NBC News)

Story Date: March 4, 2026