Skip to main content

Saudi Arabia to take all necessary measures to defend its security, cabinet says

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)

Vehicles ply along a road, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Pentagon identifies first US soldiers killed in Iran war

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)

A still image released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which accompanied a press release describing the operation dubbed "Epic Fury", an attack by the United States and Israel on Iran, shows a rocket launch from a ship, in this picture obtained from social media released on February 28, 2026. US CENTCOM via X via REUTERS

Will US oil companies be the big winners from the Iran war?

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.

This video grab shows the Palau-flagged oil tanker Skylight, under US sanctions, engulfed in flames after being struck off the coast of Oman during the Middle East War

Factbox-How many people have been killed in the US-Israel war on Iran?

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.

People carry coffins as they attend the funeral of the victims following an Israeli strike on a school, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Minab, Iran, March 3, 2026. Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

France deploys aircraft carrier to Mediterranean over Iran war

France is sending its flagship aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the widening conflict in the Middle East, President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday.

"I have ordered the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, its air assets, and its escort of frigates to set course for the Mediterranean," he said in a televised speech a day after he warned of the risk of the conflict spilling over Europe's borders.

Macron said the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was heading to the Mediterranean

Trump's national security team comes to convince Congress to back Iran war

By Patricia Zengerle, Michael Martina and David Morgan

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's top national security advisers were to spend much of the day on Tuesday making the case to members of Congress for the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, as Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans clamored for more information.

Police vehicles are parked outside the US Capitol building in Washington, U.S., January 2, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

France sending aircraft carrier to Mediterranean, Macron says

PARIS, March 3 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France was sending its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean and working to build a coalition that would help secure maritime traffic imperiledby the escalating crisis in the Middle East.

In a televised address to the nation, Macron said that action needed to be taken with the Straits of Hormuz closed and the Suez Canal and Red Sea shipping routes threatened by the widening conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech next to the submarine 'Le Temeraire'  (The Temerarious) at the nuclear submarines Navy base Ile Longue in Crozon, France, March 2, 2026. Yoan Valat /Pool via REUTERS

Trump says US will cut all trade with Spain over military bases, defence spending

By David Lawder and Victoria Waldersee

WASHINGTON/MADRID, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States would cut off all trade with Spain after the European country refused to let the U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.

"Spain has been terrible," Trump told reporters during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, adding that he had told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all dealings" with Spain.

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Syria sends thousands of troops to Lebanon border, sources say

By Feras Dalatey , Timour Azhari, Laila Bassam and Mahmoud Hassano

DAMASCUS/BEIRUT, March 3 (Reuters) - Syria has reinforced its border with Lebanon with rocket units and thousands of troops, eight Syrian and Lebanese sources said on Tuesday, as conflict spread in the region including between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The sources included five Syrian military officers, a Syrian security official and two Lebanese security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Syrians living in Lebanon wait at the Ministry of Interior Immigration and Passports Department, at the Syrian-Lebanese border, as they return to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar