Updated March 17, 2026 at 5:54 PM MST
Israel killed two top Iranian officials in Tehran, Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, dealing another blow to Iran's regime more than two weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war there.
The head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, became the first senior Trump administration official to resign over the war with Iran.
And President Trump said NATO countries are "making a very foolish mistake" after they declined to send naval ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade passage that's been closed off by Iranian retaliatory attacks and threats against vessels.
The human toll continued to climb. Health authorities reported about 1,300 killed in Iran, 912 in Lebanon and 14 in Israel since the start of the war on Feb. 28. U.S. Central Command has said 13 U.S. service members have been killed and roughly 200 troops wounded.
Here are updates on the situation in the Middle East.
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Trump official quit | Top Iranian officials killed | Lebanon war | Europe's response to Trump | U.S. Embassy in Baghdad | Strikes across the Gulf
A top counterterrorism official quits over Iran war
Joe Kent announced his resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday citing his objection to the Trump administration's war with Iran. He is the first senior official to quit over the war.
"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," Kent wrote in a social media post, where he attached his resignation letter.
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
President Trump reacted to the news, saying in the Oval Office he thought Kent was "very weak on security" and insisting "Iran was a tremendous threat."
Israel killed two top Iranian leaders in Tehran
Israel says it killed two senior Iranian officials: Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and public policy adviser to the supreme leader, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of Iran's paramilitary Basij forces.
Iranian state media later confirmed both deaths, which were the highest-profile killings in Iran since Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leadership on the first day of the war.
Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, described the killings as part of an ongoing effort to eliminate the regime's main figures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video statement, touted the killings, saying they show that Israel has risen into a formidable power in the region.
Larijani had a long career in the Iranian political upper echelons, having served as parliament speaker and a top adviser to the assassinated supreme leader. Many believed that after the ayatollah was killed, Larijani might end up running Iran.
He was also was involved in talks with the Trump administration before the war.
"He seemed to be the one person who the international community could talk to and now with him having apparently been killed it's difficult to see how one speaks to in the IRGC," said Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, a former Jordanian ambassador to the U.S. who is president of the International Peace Institute. IRGC are the initials for Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Soleimani led the Basij forces for seven years. They're a volunteer paramilitary militia, a branch of the Revolutionary Guard, which Israel says was responsible for violently suppressing street protests against the Iranian government earlier this year.
Israel says the airstrike that killed him was on a makeshift tent headquarters for the Basij and other commanders were killed too in that attack.
Katz said the military would continue to target Iranian government figures.
Western leaders warn against a ground offensive in Lebanon
In a joint statement, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. warned that a significant Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon could have "devastating humanitarian consequences" and risk a protracted conflict. They called for immediate de-escalation and urged meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese representatives toward a political solution.
The warning came as Israel deepened its operations against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Israel's military issued a fresh evacuation warning for residents in the village of Arab al-Jal, telling people to leave a specific building and adjacent structures ahead of what it said would be an imminent strike on Hezbollah infrastructure.
The warning is the latest in a pattern of pre-strike notices as Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah sites across Lebanon while trying to limit civilian casualties.
Israel's assault in Lebanon has killed 886 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government's disaster management office.
Europe and some Asian countries rebuff Trump's call for help in the Strait of Hormuz
European Union countries have largely rebuffed President Trump's call for help to open the Strait of Hormuz, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying there was "no appetite" among member states.
President Trump expressed his disappointment.
"The United States has been informed by most of our NATO 'Allies' that they don't want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, 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 on Truth Social. He added that the U.S. did not need or desire their assistance anyway.
Trump later told reporters NATO is "making a very foolish mistake."
Several European officials made their objection clear.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "we will not be drawn into the wider war." German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said "It's not our war, we didn't start it." Spain and Italy also said they would not send ships to police the strait.
Estonia, an EU and NATO member, was one of the few to express a willingness to consider the request. "We are always ready to hold discussions with the United States, including now in connection with the situation in the Strait of Hormuz," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.
President Trump has previously mentioned several other countries including China, South Korea and Japan he believed should help secure the strait.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said that any deployment of the nation's warships to the Middle East would require parliamentary approval. He told a parliamentary defense committee that his ministry has not received any official requests to send warships, and he doesn't consider Trump's social media posts an official request.
Earlier this week China said it was in communication with different parties in the conflict to de-escalate the situation, but did not say it would send ships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
And Japan's government had not made a decision about sending ships, as it needed to assess if that could be done within the country's strict legal limits on overseas military deployments.
U.S. Embassy in Baghdad targeted again
The Iraqi government said Tuesday that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad came under attack again, along with an iconic hotel and oil field, amid continued exchanges between the U.S. military and Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
The Iraqi interior ministry said a drone hit Baghdad's Rasheed Hotel, used by Iraqi officials and visiting foreign delegations, causing some damage but no casualties.
Tanker hit near Fujairah; Pakistani national killed in UAE from falling shrapnel
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center reported that a tanker near Fujairah, located on the Gulf of Oman, was struck by an unidentified projectile on Tuesday, causing minor structural damage. Authorities said they were investigating, and ships were advised to transit with caution.
In Abu Dhabi, authorities said a Pakistani national was killed after shrapnel fell during the interception of a ballistic missile.
Carrie Kahn and Daniel Estrin contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel, Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Beirut, Rebecca Rosman from Paris and Alex Leff from Washington.
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