Middle East Conflict Escalates as Iran Expands Strikes, Lebanon Army Redeploys and U.S. Signals Prolonged Campaign

BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Tuesday that the Lebanese army has begun evacuating some of its positions along the country’s southern border with Israel, redeploying troops to alternative posts as regional hostilities intensify. The move comes after the Israeli military announced that it is conducting operations inside Lebanese territory along the shared frontier, further widening a conflict that has already drawn in multiple nations across the Middle East.

The redeployment underscores growing fears that the confrontation between Iran, Israel and the United States is spilling beyond its initial flashpoints. Explosions were heard overnight in parts of southern Lebanon, including suburbs of Beirut, as Israeli forces launched additional strikes targeting Hezbollah positions. The Israeli military said its troops are operating in southern Lebanon in what it described as a forward defensive posture aimed at protecting communities in northern Israel near the border.

As tensions mounted in Lebanon, Iran expanded its campaign of retaliation across the Gulf. Early Tuesday, two drones struck the U.S. Embassy compound in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, igniting what Saudi officials described as a limited fire and causing minor structural damage. The embassy urged American citizens to avoid the compound area.

The drone strike followed a separate incident targeting the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. The diplomatic mission there announced it would close until further notice. The U.S. State Department subsequently ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family members from Kuwait and extended similar precautionary measures to Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar and Jordan. American citizens were advised to depart more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to heightened security risks, although widespread airspace closures have left many stranded.

The escalation comes amid sustained airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian territory. Overnight blasts echoed across Tehran as aircraft were reported overhead, though Iranian authorities did not immediately confirm specific targets. Iranian state television said two explosions struck a broadcasting facility in the capital early Tuesday but reported no casualties.

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that the military campaign against Iran is likely to continue for four to five weeks and could extend beyond that timeframe if necessary. In public remarks and social media posts, Trump asserted that the United States has pre-positioned high-grade weaponry and possesses a virtually unlimited supply of munitions, signaling a determination to sustain operations for as long as required.

Iranian officials have condemned the strikes, maintaining that their nuclear program is peaceful. Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said airstrikes targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment site and dismissed allegations that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons as false. Neither Washington nor Jerusalem has formally acknowledged a strike on Natanz in this latest round of hostilities, though Israel has repeatedly stated it is targeting Iran’s leadership and nuclear infrastructure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised interview that Iran was rebuilding underground facilities for atomic weapons development, though he provided no public evidence to support the claim. Satellite imagery analyzed prior to the latest escalation had shown limited visible activity at two Iranian nuclear sites, with analysts suggesting Tehran may have been assessing earlier damage and salvaging infrastructure.

The violence has exacted a growing human toll. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said at least 555 people have been killed in Iran since the campaign began. In Israel, 11 people have died following missile strikes attributed to Iran. In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah have killed at least 52 people and wounded more than 150, according to Lebanese authorities.

The conflict has also disrupted strategic economic corridors. Iran has targeted energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and struck vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime passageway through which roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil transits. Iranian Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, declared the strait closed and warned that ships attempting to pass would face attack, a statement that sent global oil and natural gas prices sharply higher.

Private sector infrastructure has not been spared. Two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates were hit in recent strikes, and a drone impact near another facility in Bahrain caused damage, according to the company.

The widening conflict has also revealed operational hazards. During an Iranian barrage involving aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American fighter jets, according to the U.S. military. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely. Separately, the U.S. military confirmed the deaths of six American Army soldiers assigned to a logistics unit in Kuwait.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Proxy forces aligned with Iran have also intensified their involvement. Hezbollah launched missiles toward Israel, while claiming drone strikes targeting an Israeli air base. The Israeli military said it intercepted two drones. An Iranian-linked militia in Iraq claimed responsibility for strikes against U.S. military facilities there, further broadening the theater of operations.

International organizations have voiced concern over the humanitarian consequences. Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, warned that continued military escalation could displace more families and compound civilian suffering in a region already grappling with widespread displacement.

Despite the growing instability, Israeli officials said there are currently no plans to evacuate residents from border communities. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army’s repositioning along the southern frontier signals mounting apprehension that the country could be drawn more deeply into a protracted and potentially transformative regional war.