March 4 (Reuters) - Several people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a four-storey residential building in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, the state news agency NNA reported early on Wednesday.

Rescue teams were working to pull families from beneath the rubble, NNA said.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

From menstruation mishaps to a meditation on old age, and the challenges faced by Arab-Israelis in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, one Oscars category is nothing if not varied.

"The live action short category, it's particularly diverse in its genres," Julia Aks, nominated alongside Steve Pinder for their satire "Jane Austen's Period Drama," told AFP.

"That makes me very hopeful that the Academy, the pinnacle and the barometer of the industry, is broadening."

President Donald Trump and his team scrambled Tuesday to reclaim the narrative on why he decided to attack Iran, after his top diplomat suggested the US struck only after learning of an imminent Israeli strike.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio alarmed Democrats -- who say only Congress can declare war -- as well as many of Trump's MAGA supporters on Monday when he said: "We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action."

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent military efforts, five people familiar with the plan told Reuters.

Explosions rocked the Lebanese capital and Israel said it was launching a new wave of strikes on Iran, as the war engulfing the Middle East continued into Wednesday.

Here are the latest developments:

- US commander says 2,000 targets hit in Iran -

Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US military forces in the Middle East, said in a video message that nearly 2,000 targets had been struck so far in Iran.

"We have severely degraded Iran's air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran's ballistic missiles, launchers and drones," he said.

March 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory, citizens and residents, the state news agency reported early on Wednesday, citing a cabinet statement.

An Iranian attack targeted the U.S. embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday amid ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes on Gulf states that host U.S. bases, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Nia Williams)

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Tuesday identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran.

The U.S. Army Reserve soldiers, from the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines, Iowa, were:

* Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.

* Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.

* Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.

* Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese)

March 3 (Reuters) - Authorities have put down a limited fire in the vicinity of the U.S. consulate in Dubai due to a drone strike and no injuries were reported, Dubai's media office said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Chris Reese)

Energy prices have surged dramatically since the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran Saturday, and that will almost certainly translate into bigger profits.

But the question remains whether the new war in the Middle East also leads to increased oilfield investment.

- What does the Middle East war mean for US oil industry profits? -

Geopolitical crises lift oil industry profits if a supply disruption causes commodity prices to spike. That's what happened after Russia invaded Ukraine.

March 3 (Reuters) - Scores of people have been killed across the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with Gulf states that host U.S. military bases and personnel and Lebanon quickly drawn into the conflict.

Here are the death tolls from the war so far as reported by involved countries as of March 3, the fourth day of the war. Reuters has not independently verified these deaths.