Donald Trump wants to increase attacks on Iran.Image: keystone
Everyone involved wants to intensify their attacks in the war, the Americans seem to have agreed on a narrative – which Benjamin Netanyahu contradicts. The night update on the war over Iran.
03/03/2026, 07:2303/03/2026, 07:55
Republicans with a new justification for war
Leading US Republicans are now increasingly focusing on Israel’s actions as justification for their own attack on Iran. “Israel was determined to act in its own defense here, with or without American support,” said Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters: “The immediate danger was that we knew that if Iran was attacked – and we expected it would be attacked – it would immediately move against us.”
More about the new common narrative of the Americans:
Netanyahu: Attack on Iran was inevitable
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US television channel Fox News: “The reason we had to act now” is that Iran began building “new facilities, underground bunkers” after the bombing of its nuclear facilities and missile arsenal last year. Netanyahu claimed that the missile and “nuclear bomb program” would otherwise have been unassailable “within months.” If you hadn’t acted now, “you wouldn’t have been able to do anything in the future.”
When asked by Fox News whether he had “dragged” US President Donald Trump into the war, the Israeli leader laughed and said it was “ridiculous.” «Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. “He’s doing what he thinks is right for America,” Netanyahu said. In doing so, he indirectly contradicted the Republicans’ statements.
Israel had already attacked Iran in June last year. Almost a week later, the US military joined its ally and bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities. “You would think they had learned their lesson, but they haven’t, because they are incorrigible. “They are completely fanatical about their goal of destroying America,” claimed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on US television channel Fox News.
The current developments in the war in the live ticker:
JD Vance thinks changes in power are irrelevant
Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that in a “perfect world” the US would welcome someone who was willing to cooperate with the US coming to power in Iran. Trump’s primary goal is that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. Ultimately, what happens to the leadership in Tehran is irrelevant, he said.
Israel continues to attack in Iran and Lebanon
According to its own statements, the Israeli army had previously bombed the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB in the capital Tehran in another wave of attacks. The head of the station confirmed the attack, but at the same time emphasized that broadcasting operations would continue. Nothing was initially reported about possible victims. Iranian authorities blocked the internet after Israeli-American airstrikes began on Saturday.
The Israeli army also attacked Lebanon again that night. The army said the target was the command centers and weapons depots of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militia in the capital Beirut. Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel the previous night in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, the Israeli military has been attacking targets in its northern neighbor, including Beirut.
The USA and Iran also announce an expansion of the attacks
The USA wants to significantly increase its own attacks in Iran after the words of US President Trump, as he announced: “We haven’t even started to hit hard yet,” he told CNN.
“The big wave is coming soon.”
He assumes the war will last around four to five weeks. If necessary, it could take longer. According to him, Iran would soon be able to hit US territory with its missiles.
Iran also announced an increase in attacks. The Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic’s elite military force, say they have fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and more than 700 drones at targets in Israel and at US military bases in the Gulf region since the start of the war.
US Embassy in Riyadh hit
According to preliminary Saudi information, the US embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh was attacked by two drones. A “limited fire” broke out, but there was only minor damage to property, the Defense Ministry said. Eight more drones were intercepted and destroyed near Riyadh and Al-Kharj, around 80 kilometers south. Because of the escalation, the US State Department is calling on its own compatriots in more than a dozen countries in the Middle East to leave immediately. (sda/dpa/con)