Everything we know on the fifth day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran

By CNN

Published March 4, 2026 4:16 am

CNN

By Issy Ronald, Jessie Yeung, Rhea Mogul, CNN

(CNN) — The latest Middle East conflict continues spiraling days after Israel and the US launched their joint operation on Iran, killing more than 1,000 people, triggering retaliatory strikes on Israel and neighboring Gulf states and plunging the region into fear and uncertainty.

Here’s what to know on day five.

What are the main headlines?

US sinks Iranian ship: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s navy said it has recovered “several bodies” but the toll is not yet clear.
Turkish interception: NATO air defense systems shot down an Iranian missile that was traveling towards Turkey’s airspace, the Turkish presidency said. This is believed to be the first time NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile traveling towards a member country’s airspace since the conflict in the Middle East broke out over the weekend.
Fresh strikes: The Israeli military said it again attacked Tehran, the tenth wave of strikes since the conflict began. US President Donald Trump has praised the joint operation, claiming Iran’s military installations had been essentially “knocked out,” from its navy to its air force and more. More strikes are expected; Hegseth said the US operation is still in its “early days.”
Markets roiled: Asian stocks fell sharply Wednesday, with a record selloff in Seoul, as investors fretted about rising oil prices in a region heavily dependent on imports from the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point, is effectively shut off. But oil prices paused their recent surge while US and European stocks rebounded.
In the US: The Senate is set to vote today on whether to consider a resolution that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to continue military action in Iran without congressional approval amid the rapidly escalating conflict. The White House has given contradictory accounts on why the US attacked Iran. A Democrat senator emerging from a briefing said he had “no idea” what the US objective was.

What’s happening in Iran?

Fresh Israeli strikes: Tehran residents again woke up to the aftermath of Israeli strikes. “They hit quite hard last night, it was a bad night,” a resident said. The Israeli military said one of its jets shot down an Iranian jet, in what it described as the first air-to-air combat kill of a piloted aircraft.
Death toll climbs: More than 1,000 people, including children, have been killed in Iran since Saturday, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The group said its report is preliminary, and the number could rise. Iran has been under an internet blackout for more than 100 hours, making it difficult for Iranians to communicate with the outside world.
Next supreme leader: Senior Iranian officials have been meeting virtually to select a new supreme leader after the initial US-Israel strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – and his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among a small handful of clerics tipped as likely successors. But timings are unclear. Israel warned that any new leader would be “an unequivocal target for elimination.”
Funeral cancelled: The mourning ceremony for Khamenei, set to begin Wednesday evening, has been postponed, state media reported. Three days of mourning had previously been announced and the cancellation is a blow for a regime trying to project an image of stability and continuity.
Ships destroyed: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the US aims to completely eliminate Iran’s navy. To that end, Leavitt claimed that the US “destroyed more than 20 Iranian ships, including their top submarine.”
Arming the Kurds: The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN. Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border and some have hinted at imminent action.

What’s happening around the region and beyond?

Attacks on Lebanon: Israel is also striking Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and issuing evacuation orders for dozens of villages. At least 74 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 437 people have been injured since Israeli forces launched attacks on Monday, the country’s Ministry of Public Health said Wednesday.
Iran strikes back: Arab states in the Persian Gulf are bearing the brunt of Tehran’s ferocious retaliation. Countries such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have intercepted hundreds of missiles and drones in recent days – raising questions about how long their air defenses can keep up, and how many more weapons remain in Iran’s depleted arsenal. The volume of Iran’s missile launches and drone strikes has dropped by 86% and 73% respectively since the first day of the war, top US general Dan Caine said Wednesday.
US facilities targeted: The US has closed embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon, after several were hit with Iranian strikes. A CIA station in Saudi Arabia, and a US military base in Qatar – the largest in the Middle East – were also hit. Non-emergency US government personnel in several Middle Eastern countries have been ordered to leave. And a CNN satellite image analysis of more than 60 bases has found Iranian strikes on US military bases and facilities across the Arabian Peninsula have targeted and damaged communications, radar and intelligence equipment in an apparent effort to disrupt their connectivity with the outside world.
Foreign powers: China’s foreign minister called for an “immediate cessation” of the US and Israeli action in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, the ministry said. The country has lost two international allies this year through US action. France meanwhile has deployed Rafale fighter jets over the skies of the United Arab Emirates to protect its military bases there.
Senate vote: The US Senate will vote as soon as Wednesday on a resolution requiring Trump get congressional approval to continue the military campaign; the House will vote on a similar measure on Thursday. Six American service members have been killed by Iranian strikes since Saturday, a number Trump already warned is likely to increase.
Oil trade rocked: Oil and natural gas prices are jumping while stock markets are tumbling. The Middle East is a major producer of both oil and natural gas, but its energy exports have now been largely cut off from the rest of the world by an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Why did the US and Israel attack Iran?

US and Israel’s claims: Officials from both countries have put out different statements in recent days over why they launched their attack – including the need to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and the claim they were responding to potential preemptive attacks by Iran.
Fact check: The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has countered these claims – telling CNN that Iran was not days or weeks away from having atomic weapons. Trump himself has repeatedly said that Tehran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” by US strikes on Iran last summer. And US intelligence suggests Iran would need until 2035 to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, if it chose to pursue one.
Trump had a “good feeling”: The White House on Wednesday added that Trump had a “good feeling” that Iran was about to attack US assets in the region and that to “sit back and watch” would have been unacceptable.

This story has been updated.