President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The U.S. mission to Saudi Arabia is tracking “reports of threats against locations where American citizens gather," according to an updated security alert.
"We advise U.S. citizens that hotels and other gathering points including U.S. businesses and U.S. educational institutions may be potential targets,” the alert said.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh is continuing to direct American government employees remaining in the country to shelter in place. Non-emergency U.S. personnel were ordered to depart on March 8.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston
At least 348 U.S. troops have been wounded in the war with Iran.
Of those wounded, 315 have been listed as “returned to duty.” In some cases, that designation reflects a change in medical status, no longer requiring in-patient care, rather than a full recovery and some troops may still be dealing with significant injuries.
The data shows nearly 11 troops are wounded each day on average.
-ABC News' Steven Beynon
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued a warning to American companies in the Middle East, saying they are "considered legitimate targets."
The companies named by the IRGC include Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Planter, Nvidia, J.P. Morgan, Tesla, GE, Spire Solutions, G42 and Boeing.
"The IRGC warns the ruling regime of aggressive America: You ignored our repeated warnings about the necessity to stop terrorist operations, and today, in your terrorist attacks and those of your Israeli allies, several Iranian citizens were martyred," the IRGC said in a statement in Farsi.
"Since the main element in designing and tracking assassination targets are American ICT and AI companies, in response to this terrorist operation, from now on the main institutions involved in terrorist operations will be considered legitimate targets," the IRGC said.
President Donald Trump said he believes the Strait of Hormuz will “automatically open” when the U.S. exits, he said in a phone interview with the New York Post on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to be there too much longer. We’re obliterating the s--- out of them right now, it’s a total obliteration,” he told the Post.
Asked about the Wall Street Journal report that indicated he was considering ending the war without opening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump sidestepped but argued that the Strait will “automatically open” when the U.S. leaves Iran.
“I don’t think about it, to be honest,” Trump said, according to the NY Post. “My sole function was to make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. When we leave the strait will automatically open.”
Trump continued to shrug off responsibility to other countries to open the Strait.
“Well, I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever’s controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait," he said.
His remarks come despite his threats on Monday to bomb power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island and possibly, all of the country’s desalinization plants if the Strait of Hormuz did not “immediately” open.
“If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)" Trump wrote on social media.
George Stephanopoulos asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on "Good Morning America" about President Donald Trump’s assertion on Truth Social that the U.S. was "in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME” about ending the military operation against Iran.
Rubio responded, "Well, I'm not going to disclose to you who those people are, because it probably would get them in trouble with some other groups of people inside of Iran.”
Rubio did say that “there's some fractures" within Iranian leadership.
"And if there are new people now in charge who have a more reasonable vision of the future, that would be good news for us, for them, for the entire world,” he continued. "But we also have to be prepared for the possibility, maybe even the probability that that is not the case.”
When Stephanopoulos pushed Rubio for more clarity, he responded, "you have people there that are saying some of the right things privately.”
"But at the end of the day, we have to see if these people end up being the ones in charge, seeing if they're the ones that have the power to deliver. We're going to test it. We are hopeful that’s the case,” he went on. "There are clearly people there talking to us in ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past. ”
Rubio also said that Trump’s comments indicated that he “prefers diplomacy,” despite his threats of repercussions if the talks failed.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
