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State Department tells Americans worldwide to 'exercise increased caution'

PHOTO: This video grab taken from handout footage released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on March 12, 2026, shows what it says was the "launch of wave #41 of Iranian missiles."
3:37
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps via AFP via Getty Images
War with Iran enters 4th week
By Kevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: March 23, 2026, 7:54 AM

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes and his son Mojtaba Khamenei  was chosen to succeed him. Iran is responding with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Iran is also attempting to block some shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Key Headlines

  • Strait of Hormuz 'is not closed,' Iranian foreign minister says
  • Iran says Strait of Hormuz open to all except 'enemies,' state media, Iranian president say
  • 'Iran endangers the entire world,' Netanyahu says
  • Iran warns of retaliatory strikes if US attacks power plants, state media says
  • Trump threatens to 'hit and obliterate' Iranian power plants if Strait of Hormuz not opened in 48 hours
Here's how the news is developing.

Mar 23, 2026 7:54 AM

Israel launches new wave of strikes in Tehran

The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that it had launched "a widespread wave of attacks" against Iranian government infrastructure in the capital Tehran.

PHOTO: A car drives past a giant billboard in the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, on March 22, 2026.
-/AFP via Getty Images
A car drives past a giant billboard in the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, on March 22, 2026.
-/AFP via Getty Images

Mar 23, 2026 7:54 AM

State Department tells Americans worldwide to 'exercise increased caution'

In a notice on the U.S. State Department official website, the agency is advising Americans worldwide, "and especially in the Middle East," to "exercise increased caution."

"Americans abroad should follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate," the statement reads.

The State Department is warning that U.S. diplomatic facilities, including those outside of the Middle East, "have been targeted."

The agency warns that groups in support of Iran "may target other U.S. interests overseas or locations associated with the United States and/or Americans throughout the world."


Mar 22, 2026 11:56 PM

1 injured due to missile debris in Abu Dhabi

Officials in Abu Dhabi said in a statement that one person was injured due to falling debris from a missile attack in the Al Shoamkh area.

UAE air defences responded to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran, officials said.



Mar 23, 2026 7:54 AM

Israeli forces preparing to 'deepen the maneuver' in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it's planning to "deepen" its military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"We are now preparing to deepen the maneuver and strikes according to an orderly plan. We will not stop until the threat is removed from the borders and long-term security is ensured for the residents of the northern region," the IDF said.

"It is a long battle, and we are prepared for it," the IDF added.

Further details about the operation were not provided.


Mar 17, 2026 9:04 PM

Trump says most NATO allies won't join war, but US doesn't 'need' them

President Donald Trump said that "most of our NATO 'allies'" do not want to join the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran.

Trump claimed allies' refusal to join is "despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon," he wrote in a post on social media.

"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea .... WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" he said in the post.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2026, in Washington.
Yuri Gripas/EPA/Shutterstock
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2026, in Washington.
Yuri Gripas/EPA/Shutterstock

French President Emmanuel Macron said the country would never take part in operations to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, and that it is carrying on with work to prepare a coalition that could provide freedom of navigation once hostilities ended, according to Reuters.

"We are not party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context," Macron said at the start of a cabinet meeting to discuss the conflicts in the Middle East, according to Reuters.


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