Monday morning news: March 2, 2026

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Trump warns more U.S. troops “will likely” die in Iran strikes » President Trump says the U.S. will likely mourn the deaths of more members of the military as strikes against Iran continue for the next several weeks.

His comments came in a social media post Sunday afternoon honoring the first three U.S. service members killed in the campaign, known as Operation Epic Fury, and five others seriously wounded.

TRUMP: We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen. And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is- likely be more.

The three service members killed were part of a unit in Kuwait handling supplies and logistics to support the strikes.

The president says Operation Epic Fury is necessary to stop Iran from developing long-range missiles that could hit the U.S., to prevent Iran from resuming its nuclear program, and to end what he calls a decades-long “unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder” against the U.S.

The U.S. and Israel have bombed more than 1,000 targets in Iran since the operation started Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a total of four dozen top Iranian leaders in its first day.

Iran has since launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East on countries like Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, resulting in at least a dozen and a half deaths. The militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, also traded retaliatory missile strikes with Israel Monday morning.

Backstory: How CIA prepped for & executed attacks » Meantime, we’re learning details of just how the operation came together.

The CIA spent months tracking the movements of Iranian leaders and sharing intelligence with Israel. That information-sharing allowed the two countries to pull off a surprise initial flurry of devastating attacks in broad daylight: three strikes in three locations within a minute, killing dozens of Iranian leaders.

Now, President Trump is hoping such displays of force will convince Iran’s military and police to stop opposing the U.S. and Israel.

TRUMP: I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military, police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death.

Though there’s no clear successor to the Ayatollah, a three-member council has formed to temporarily lead Iran. President Trump says he’s open to dialogue with the new leadership.

Democrats insist on swift War Powers vote » Democrats on Capitol Hill are mostly criticizing the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran. They’re calling for a swift vote on invoking the War Powers Act this week.

Democrats like Virginia Senator Tim Kaine say the president should’ve asked Congress to authorize a military strike first, and that Iran did not pose an imminent threat.

KAINE: All of the intelligence I’ve seen in 13 years on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees tell me there was no imminent threat from Iran that justified sending our sons and daughters into war.

Kaine talking to Fox News Sunday.

On the same program, Republican Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick disagreed, saying Operation Epic Fury was needed to stop a dangerous adversary of America.

McCORMICK: There is no regime in the world that has more blood on its hands than Iran. It’s killed thousands of Americans… Through the previous operation we took out and set back their nuclear program significantly, but they have thousands of ballistic missiles, ballistic missile launchers.

McCormick referring to the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes of last year.

Invoking the War Powers Act would restrain the president’s power to further carry out the operation in Iran, giving him 60 days to withdraw troops or else ask Congress for further authorization.

With the GOP in charge on Capitol Hill, any such legislation is likely to fail.

In just a few minutes, Lindsay Mast and national security expert Bradley Bowman will dig deeper into the White House’s rationale and goals for Operation Epic Fury.

Fatal attack in Austin, Texas may be linked to Iran strikes » The FBI is looking into whether a fatal mass shooting early Sunday morning in Austin, Texas might’ve been an act of terror motivated by the situation in Iran.

A gunman wearing one shirt that said ‘Property of Allah’ along with another bearing an Iranian flag design drove by a bar in an SUV and opened fire, killing two people and wounding 14 more.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis:

DAVIS: At one point, he put his flashers on, rolled down his window, and began using a pistol shooting out of his car windows, striking patrons of the bar that were on the patio and that were in front of the bar.

Police returned fire and killed the shooter, a 53-year-old legal immigrant from Senegal.

Foreign leaders respond to Iran strikes » International reaction to the operation in Iran has been mixed.

U.N. leader Antonio Guterres condemned both the strikes from the U.S. and Israel, and the subsequent retaliatory strikes by Iran.

GUTERRES: We are witnessing a grave threat to international peace and security. Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the strikes over the weekend, but it ended with no resolution.

Meantime, U.S. adversaries have reacted negatively, with China calling the assassination of the Ayatollah a violation of the Iranian government’s sovereignty, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin characterizing it as “a cynical murder.”

In Karachi, Pakistan, 22 people were killed and more than 120 hurt as protesters tried to storm the U.S. Consulate there Sunday.

U.S. allies like Canada and Australia have expressed explicit support for the operation, while leaders of several European nations urged caution and restraint going forward.

Street celebrations in U.S., Iran in response to Ayatollah death » While there have been protests and gatherings of mourners across the world in response to the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, there’s also been a lot of celebrating.

AUDIO: President Trump! We love you! President Trump! We love you!

That’s the sound of people holding Israeli, Iranian, and U.S. flags near the U.N. Building in New York, celebrating the collapse of Iran’s government.

Hundreds of Iranians and Iranian-Americans joined them for a march to Times Square Sunday, where they danced and celebrated some more, while also demanding democracy and an end to oppression in Tehran.

Social media was saturated with similar videos of people celebrating on the streets of Iranian cities.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Military analysis of the U.S. strikes on Iran. And later, the economics of the attacks.

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