The war between the United States and Iran has entered its fourth day with escalating intensity. President Donald Trump, who initially set a one-week timeframe when launching airstrikes, now says "it doesn't matter how long it takes" and has signaled a "bigger blow" is coming. As Iran has held out stronger than expected, the US appears poised to launch another major offensive. Iran has absorbed US-Israeli attacks while striking military bases, embassies, and energy facilities in neighboring countries with low-cost drones, signaling a shift to prolonged warfare.
"We haven't even started hitting them hard yet," Trump said in a CNN interview on May 2 local time. "Something bigger is coming soon." However, Trump's statements on ground troops wavered throughout the day—refusing to rule out deployment in the morning, then saying it "won't be necessary" in the afternoon—acknowledging the dilemma of a full-scale war with enormous political costs.
The US vowed retaliation after suffering multiple casualties in an unexpected Iranian surprise attack. US Central Command announced that six American troops were killed in an Iranian attack on Shuaiba, a port city in southern Kuwait. According to CNN sources, the attack occurred around 9 a.m. local time on May 1. The troops were at a temporary command post in a civilian port when an Iranian projectile penetrated air defenses and directly struck the center of the building. The attack was so swift that there was no time to issue evacuation warnings.
Trump outlined war objectives: destroying Iran's missile capabilities, annihilating its naval forces, eliminating its nuclear weapons capacity, and removing its ability to support terrorist organizations. This represents a narrowing from the "regime change" rhetoric immediately after the initial strikes, which could have been interpreted as either government replacement or ending the theocratic system entirely. CNN cited senior US officials saying the next phase will focus on destroying missile production facilities, drones, and naval capabilities. Tyler Stapleton, director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested the expanded US action "could include airstrikes on Iranian nuclear, enrichment, uranium mining, and storage facilities." The US has urged its citizens to leave the entire Middle East region in preparation for prolonged conflict. However, the US Embassy in Jerusalem announced it is "not in a position to directly assist departing Americans"—indicating how unexpectedly urgent the situation has become.
The US and Israel continued airstrikes targeting Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group allied with Iran. The US, leading with air power to destroy Iran's ballistic missile facilities, announced it had destroyed 11 Iranian warships as of the previous day, completely weakening Iran's naval forces. The Israeli military claimed it bombed the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB building in Tehran early that morning, followed by strikes on the Iranian presidential office and Supreme National Security Council building in Tehran. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran's Natanz nuclear facility was also recently attacked. Israeli forces also struck Hezbollah command posts and weapons storage facilities in Beirut, Lebanon.
Iran has been attacking key wartime facilities in Gulf states using low-cost drones and stockpiled older missiles, depleting expensive interception systems. It has simultaneously focused attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia, which has aligned closely with the US in this war. Iran has particularly targeted US embassies in Gulf states.
Iran launched another ballistic missile attack targeting Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities starting at dawn. In the Saudi capital Riyadh, explosions were heard and flames spotted near the diplomatic quarter early that morning. A Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said two drones had attacked the US Embassy.
Iranian media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked the US Arifjan base in Kuwait using 10 drones. Kuwait said it was intercepting Iranian missiles and drones. The United Arab Emirates also announced it was using air defense systems to repel ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
Islamic resistance forces in Iraq said they conducted 28 operations against "enemy bases" in Iraq and nearby areas using rockets and drones starting early that morning. British security expert John Phillips told Al Jazeera: "Iran's strategy is to survive the intense US-Israeli pressure, maintain second-strike capability even if it absorbs initial damage."
Regarding the future outlook, Swiss private banking group EFG International estimated a 65% probability that the Iran war will remain in a stalemate.
As the conflict takes on characteristics of prolonged warfare, Trump's statements have fluctuated. In a video message immediately after the war began, Trump said bombing would continue for one week, then suggested four weeks on May 1, and mentioned even longer on May 2—as the US increasingly sinks into a Middle Eastern quagmire. This could cause isolationist factions within the MAGA movement, who oppose foreign intervention, to distance themselves from Trump. A CNN poll released that day showed 59% of Americans do not support the decision to attack Iran.