LEILA FADEL, HOST:
After a weekend of the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran, around the world, there have been celebrations like this in the heart of Tehran.
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FADEL: And protests of the attacks in places like Iraq.
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A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
And as the U.S. and Israel continue to strike Iran, Iran is retaliating against countries that host American military bases, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and a British military base in Cyprus. The U.S. military says four American service members have been killed.
FADEL: And a new front is now open in Lebanon, with Israel pounding the country after Hezbollah fired rockets. In a moment, we'll hear from people inside Iran as the U.S. and Israeli attacks continue. We start, though, with the latest.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is here to bring us up to date. Jackie, tell us the latest.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Well, the U.S. and Israel say they are hitting hundreds of targets in Iran. And that includes key targets such as anti-aircraft defense systems, ballistic missiles and launchers, command and control centers. President Trump said the military had also sunk nine Iranian warships, although CENTCOM only confirmed one. Other targets include senior military and political figures in Iran, including the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Saturday.
Iran has responded with deadly strikes on Israel and attacking Gulf states. And last night, the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon launched rockets into Israel, which responded with airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, widening this war even further.
MARTÍNEZ: In Iran, what was the response to the killing of the supreme leader?
NORTHAM: Mixed. You know, NPR has spoken to a few people in Iran who say they're very happy about Khamenei's death. And we're seeing on social media statues of Khamenei being pulled down by Iranians. And people briefly took over a government building in one town. But there were also huge crowds at pro-regime rallies mourning Khamenei's death and shouting death to America. You know, in the wake of his killing, a temporary leadership council is being formed and will remain in place until a panel of Shia religious leaders makes a final decision on a new supreme leader.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, President Trump started this war. And he's now indicating there's a chance for diplomacy. He said Iran's new leadership wants to talk with him and that he plans to do so as well. So does that give us any sense of how Trump will try to end the war?
NORTHAM: Well, you know, Trump gave several justifications for attacking Iran - you know, preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons and indicating he wanted regime change. But he says the war will continue until his objectives are met. You know, it's clear Trump doesn't want to get mired down in a protracted conflict in the Middle East. And in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, he said the military intends to sustain its assault on Iran for, quote, "four to five weeks" if necessary.
I spoke with Richard Fontaine, who's the CEO of the Center for a New American Security. And he says Trump reopening negotiations would be a sign that Iran is less of a threat and the U.S. could get a better deal. Here he is.
RICHARD FONTAINE: On the other hand, if things are going well militarily and maybe it looks like there's some cracks here and there in the security forces or, you know, uprisings, he could keep this going potentially indefinitely, so as to play this out.
NORTHAM: You know, A, we're only three days into this war. And Iran appears to be digging in, you know, so there's still the potential that this war will further escalate.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, that's NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam. Jackie, thanks.
NORTHAM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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