Why did US and Israel attack Iran and how long could the war last?

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Conflict across the Middle East continues to rageafter the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader on 28 February.

Iran has responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.

The fighting has escalated quickly, spreading to Lebanon, with casualties and damage mounting on all sides.

Follow the latest with our live updates

What has been happening in Iran?

Watch: Huge flames in Tehran after Israeli strikes on oil refineries

The US and Israel first attacked Iran on 28 February, targeting its missile infrastructure, military sites and leadership in the capital, Tehran, and across the country.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had led the country since 1989, was killed during the first wave of strikes. Israel’s military said dozens more senior figures in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were also killed.

Following Khamenei’s death, on 8 March his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was appointed as his successor.

The US and Israel have also targeted key sites linked to Iran’s nuclear programme - which Iran insists is entirely peaceful - and Iranian oil refineries. The US has focused on Kharg Island, home to a major terminal that is considered Iran’s economic lifeline.

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader?

On 17 March, the US-based group Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) reported 3,114 people had been killed in Iran – including 1,138 military personnel and 1,354 civilians, of which at least 207 were children. Another 622 fatalities were “unclassified” (civilian/military).

Iran accused the US and Israel of launching an attack on a girls’ school near an IRGC base in southern Iran on 28 February, saying 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed.

The US said it was investigatingthe incident, while Israel said it was “not aware” of any military operations in the area.

Expert video analysis shows a US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near the school, BBC Verify has reported.

Access to Iran for international journalists is limited, and internet connectivity in the country has been almost entirely restricted.

Outside its territory, an Iranian warship was also sunk by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean near the coast of Sri Lanka on 4 March. At least 87 people were killed.

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Where has Iran attacked?

Iran has described the US and Israeli strikes as “unprovoked, illegal and illegitimate”, and has carried out widespread missile and drone attacks in response.

The IRGC said it had targeted Israeli government and military sites in Tel Aviv and elsewhere.

As of 18 March, Israeli authorities said 14 people – all civilians – had been killed by missile fire since the start of the war.

There have also been strikes in countries hosting US bases – Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait – and US-allied Oman and Saudi Arabia.

As of 13 March, 13 US service members had been killed.

Iran has also been accused of attacking oil facilities, shipping and civilian sites, such as hotels in Dubai.

At least 20 people have been killed across the Gulf so far, most of them security personnel or foreign workers.

Eightpeople have been killed in the UAE and six in Kuwait, while Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have all reported two deaths in each of their countries.

In northern Iraq, a French soldier was killed by a drone at a Kurdish military base.

Also in Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) - formed in the last decade to fight the Islamic State group - said 27 of their members had been killed. Iran supports militias under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), which are part of the PMF.

One person was also killed after a foreign fuel tanker was hit by an explosion near the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, Reuters and CNN reported.

Turkey said Nato air defences have shot down three Iranian missiles over its airspace.Azerbaijan also accused Iran of attacking an airport with drones.

The US and its Arab allies issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s attacks, saying “the targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilising behaviour”.

On 14 March, the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza urged Iran to stop attacking Gulf states, in a rare appeal to its key ally.

Elsewhere, a British military base in Cyprus was struck by a drone, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Western officials later said the drone was not launched from Iran.

On 7 March, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian broadcast a video message on Iranian state television apologising to neighbouring countries that were attacked **and saying **leadership had issued an order that “from now on” the military should not attack neighbouring countries “unless attacked first”.

‘All red lines have been crossed’: Gulf states weigh response to Iranian strikes

What’s happening in Lebanon?

AFP via Getty Images

A new front in the war opened in Lebanon on 2 March when the Iran-backed group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli positions, saying it was seeking to avenge Khamenei’s assassination.

Israel launched attacks in response, hitting southern and central Beirut and parts of southern and eastern Lebanon.

Israel’s defence minister said on 3 March that ground troops would “advance and seize additional strategic areas in Lebanon” in order to stop attacks from Hezbollah.

As of 18 March, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks had killed 912 people, including 111 children.

More than a million people - roughly one in every six in the country - have been displaced from their homes, Lebanon’s government said.

The Israeli military also reported two of its soldiers had been killed as of 8 March.

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Why have the US and Israel attacked Iran?

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the first attacks on 28 February as a “pre-emptive strike” to “remove threats against the state of Israel”, although he did not explain why there was a need to take military action at this time.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 2 March the US knew there was going to be Israeli action, which meant America had to act “pre-emptively” in the face of expected Iranian attacks on American forces.

But there are also underlying reasons.

Israel and the US – its closest ally – have been arch-foes of Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979. The Iranian leadership has consistently called for Israel’s elimination and denounced the US as its greatest enemy.

The two countries have led Western opposition to Iran’s nuclear programme, claiming Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb - something Iran has vehemently denied.

They attacked Iranian nuclear and military sites in June 2025 in a war which lasted for 12 days.

Since then, they have claimed Iran has been trying to rebuild its nuclear programme and develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Israel considers Iran a threat to its existence and wants the complete removal of Iran’s nuclear and missile programme, as well as regime change.

The US first openly talked in January about potentially attacking Iran when its security forces cracked down on protesters with deadly force.

But the US and Iran began negotiations and appeared to be making progress until Trump said he was “not happy” with the way the talks were goingon 27 February.Hours later, the US and Israel began attacking.

How is the war affecting the economy and energy prices?

Instability in the Middle East has begun to impact the global economy.

Iran has been accused of attacking ships in the Gulf, forcing the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a key artery accounting for about 20% of global oil supply.

Attacks have also been reported on major oil and gas hubs. The strikes have prompted some of the world’s largest producers of oil and gas to suspend production - leading to a rise in oil prices.

Strait of Hormuz: What happens if Iran shuts global oil corridor?

What on earth is going on with the oil price?

Is it safe to travel to the region and how long could the war last?

On 9 March, Trump said the war was “very complete, pretty much”, adding: “We’re very far ahead of schedule.” But later that day he suggested the US would “go further”.

Trump has laid out an expansive mission for the war, with the goal to ensure that Iran could not develop weaponry to target the US, Israel or any American allies “for a very long time”.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously suggested the war could last up to six weeks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the war that the campaign would “continue as long as it is needed”.

The war has prompted one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the Covid-19 pandemic. Some airlines have carried on operating or have resumed limited flights.

The UK foreign office said anyone planning to travel to the Middle East should check its website for advice relating to their destination.

Additional reporting by Mallory Moench, Raffi Berg, Emily Atkinson, Olivia Ireland, Robert Greenall, Hafsa Khalil, Gabriela Pomeroy, and BBC Persian

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