Skip to main content

Trump says US war supplies mean it can fight 'forever'

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever", as the Republican president and his administration continued their push to justify a broad, open-ended war on Iran with shifting aims and timeline.

In a social media post overnight, Trump said there was a "virtually unlimited supply" of U.S. munitions and that "wars can be fought "forever," and very successfully, using just these supplies."

"The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!!" he wrote.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

UK working with airlines to boost Oman evacuations

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Foreign minister Yvette Cooper said on Tuesday that Britain was working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat, Oman to prioritise the evacuation of vulnerable British nationals.

Cooper, addressing lawmakers in parliament, said she was in close contact with her counterparts in the Gulf countries, where 130,000 British citizens have now registered their presence in the region.

"We are also working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat for British nationals, with priority for vulnerable nationals," Cooper said.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper leaves following a cabinet meeting at Downing Street, in London, Britain, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Russia raises alarm over conflict's impact on Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran

MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) - The Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran is under threat as a result of the escalating conflict, the head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Tuesday, according to the RIA state news agency.

"There is certainly a threat to the plant," Likhachev was cited as saying. "Explosions can be heard just kilometres away", he added, saying the plant itself was not being targeted.

Satellite image shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, in Bushehr Province, Iran, May 26, 2025. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS

Lebanon sucked deeper into war as Hezbollah, Israel trade blows

By Maya Gebeily, Alexander Cornwell and Jana Choukeir

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 3 (Reuters) - Lebanon was pulled deeper into the war in the Middle East on Tuesday as the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel for a second consecutive day and Israel sent troops into the south and carried out waves of air strikes.

Israel's neighbour to the north and the theatre of numerous conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon had avoided spillover from the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran until Monday, when Hezbollah opened fire with drones and missiles.

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

UK planning to send warship to defend Cyprus military base, Times newspaper says

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Britain is planning to send a warship to defend its Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus from Iranian attacks, the Times newspaper said on Tuesday.

An Iranian-made drone strike hit a runway at the Akrotiri base in the early hours of Monday, and Britain has said UK assets were targeted by Iran.

The Times report, citing three sources, said defence minister John Healey had a meeting on Tuesday with senior military figures, in which they discussed sending HMS Duncan to the region.

Entrance to the RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus, which was hit by an unmanned drone overnight, causing limited damage, after sirens sounded, in Cyprus March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Turkey says it's engaging with all sides to end Iran war, resume diplomacy

ANKARA, March 3 (Reuters) - Turkey is engaging with all parties to find a way to end the war in Iran and return to negotiations, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, adding that Ankara was also in talks with Oman on the matter as the Gulf nation works for the same goal.

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. The war quickly widened with Tehran striking Gulf states that host U.S. bases and Israel attacking Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

A woman walks on the street following an Israeli and U.S. strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Analysis-Trump's Asian allies fear Iran war will sap defences against China

By Tamiyuki Kihara, Ben Blanchard, Tim Kelly and Praveen Menon

TOKYO/TAIPEI/SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Japanese lawmakers reeling from attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel gathered on Monday at the ruling party's offices in Tokyo to question bureaucrats about evacuation plans, energy stocks and the legal basis for U.S. action.

But one query posed at the closed-door meeting, described to Reuters by a politician who attended, reflected a deeper fear haunting Asia's corridors of power since Trump's weekend attacks unleashed chaos in the Middle East.

The national flag of Iran flies in the wind as debris lies scattered in the aftermath of an Israeli and U.S. strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

US debuts suicide drone in Iran after fast-tracked Pentagon procurement

By Mike Stone, David Jeans and Joey Roulette

March 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. successfully debuted a low‑cost suicide drone in combat in Iran just eight months after its Pentagon unveiling, as the U.S. pushes to accelerate weapons programs.

The Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drone, manufactured by Arizona's SpektreWorks, was showcased in July 2025 when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walked the Pentagon's inner courtyard with more than a dozen companies competing to supply the military with new equipment.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

Putin will convey Arab concerns to Iran about attacks on oil infrastructure, Kremlin says

MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will convey to Iran concerns among Arab leaders about Tehran's strikes on oil infrastructure in the region, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, as the Iran conflict continued to widen.

Putin held a flurry of phone calls on Monday with four Arab Gulf state leaders, offering to use Moscow's ties to Tehran - with which it has a strategic partnership - to try and defuse tensions in the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus in Moscow, Russia February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool

UN urges investigation into 'horrific' attack on Iran school

GENEVA, March 3 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights office urged the "forces" behind an attack on a girls' school in Iran to investigate and share insights into the "horrific" incident, without naming them.

"The High Commissioner (Volker Turk) calls for a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation into the circumstances of the attack. The onus is on the forces that carried out the attack to investigate it," U.N. human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a Geneva press briefing, describing the incident as "horrific".

Graves are being prepared for the victims following an Israeli strike on a school in Minab, Iran, March 2, 2026. Iranian Foreign Media Department/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS