SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It is astonishing what can happen in a week.
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DETROW: It was sunrise Saturday in Tehran when the U.S. and Israel launched the first strikes of a war that over the past seven days have spread throughout and now beyond the Middle East.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Over the course of the first 24 hours of the operation, the two countries struck more than 1,000 targets. The most significant, said President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Through interpreter) Your suffering and your sacrifice will not be in vain. We promised you the help, and the help has arrived.
UNIDENTIFIED ENGINEER: We even saw one of the explosions from our office window around downtown Tehran.
SUMMERS: This engineer is one of many we talked to in Iran this week who asked NPR not to use his name for fear of government retribution.
UNIDENTIFIED ENGINEER: Suddenly, we heard cheers from our neighbors. And to be honest with you, the moment I heard the cheers, I knew what had happened.
DETROW: Iran's foreign ministry called the air strikes a gross violation of its national sovereignty and vowed to respond decisively. They struck back, firing drones and missiles at U.S. bases in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, where the strikes killed six American service members.
SUMMERS: On Monday, Iran continued attacks on targets as far afield as Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon launched its own attacks on Israel, its first in more than a year.
DETROW: Two Iranian drones damaged the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia on Monday, and the day after, an Iranian drone targeted the U.S. consulate in Dubai. Hundreds more targeted U.S. troops in Iraq and elsewhere, and President Trump warned of more casualties.
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TRUMP: Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That's the way it is.
SUMMERS: As the U.S. and its allies responded, confusion sometimes set in. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three U.S. fighter jets.
DETROW: Oil prices spiked on Monday when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to fire on ships. Here's energy analyst John Kilduff of Again Capital.
JOHN KILDUFF: So this is becoming a - very much a real supply problem for this market in real time, like a slow-motion traffic accident coming to fruition here.
SUMMERS: The war strained relations between the United States and its Western allies.
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PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Through interpreter) These operations were conducted outside of international law, which we cannot condone.
SUMMERS: That was France's president, Emmanuel Macron. Other European countries like Germany struck a more conciliatory tone.
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TRUMP: Spain has been very, very uncooperative, and so has U.K.
DETROW: Trump blasted the two countries when they refused to let U.S. troops use military bases in their countries to attack Iran. Spain held firm. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer eventually allowed use of its bases for defensive purposes. Still, he made an impassioned speech in Parliament, saying Britain does not believe in regime change from the skies.
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PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons.
SUMMERS: By Wednesday, the conflict spread even further. A U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka, carrying about 180 people. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
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PETE HEGSETH: It was sunk by a torpedo, quiet death, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.
SUMMERS: The strike set off ripples of anxiety across South Asia. Sushant Singh, a former Indian military officer, worries the strike will test Chinese dominance over the Indian ocean.
SUSHANT SINGH: If the U.S. Navy is doing this here, it really sends a signal which obviously Chinese are likely to take more seriously.
DETROW: On Thursday, more fronts opened. An Iranian drone struck an airport in Azerbaijan, a U.S. ally. NATO intercepted a missile headed for Turkey.
SUMMERS: Secretary Hegseth warned yesterday the war will only expand in the coming days.
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HEGSETH: The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically.
SUMMERS: President Trump says there will be no deal except, in his words, unconditional surrender.
DETROW:
For more about how allies are viewing the war, NPR's diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen joins us now. Hi there.
SUMMERS: Hi, Juana.
DETROW: Michele, the Trump administration says its airstrikes are only just picking up steam. They say this will degrade Iran's ability to threaten the region, but most countries have faced Iranian drones and missile strikes. Will they be drawn into this fight?
SUMMERS: Well, that's really a big concern and why some are calling for deescalation now. That includes the U.N.'s top humanitarian official Tom Fletcher. He calls this a perilous moment. He says about a billion dollars a day are being spent on this war, and he's worried about what he calls an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing.
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TRUMP: We're seeing a sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare. So too many warning lights are flashing on the dashboard right now.
SUMMERS: And he's also worried this could have ripple effects on markets and supply chains, which would have a devastating impact on the world's poorest people.
DETROW: What are world leaders and diplomats doing to keep this from escalating further?
SUMMERS: Yeah. I mean, the U.N.'s top - sorry, the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, met this week with counterparts from the Gulf states, and she says they're talking about what they can do to promote stability. And she says everyone's worried about what comes next inside Iran. Take a listen.
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NETANYAHU: Every time when, you know, we have seen these wars before in the Middle East, we have also seen that it doesn't go that easy - that, you know, one day there's war and the next day there's democracy. So clearly, the risks are there.
SUMMERS: And she means the risks of civil war. She's also worried about air defenses in the Gulf. And, you know, it's interesting, Juana, because Ukraine is actually offering Gulf states some help because it has experience in dealing with Iranian drone technology used by Russia.
DETROW: And speaking of Russia, Michele, The Washington Post is reporting that Russia has helped the Iranians with intelligence for its targets, and that's something that NPR has now been able to independently confirm. What role has Russia been playing so far?
SUMMERS: Well, it's called for the U.S. and - it called the U.S. and Israeli actions a violation of international law. China has too, but neither of them are really offering overt military support to Iran. They're both members of the BRICS group, which includes Iran. And, you know, India's in that too, but India has been pretty silent so far, even after the U.S. torpedoed that Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean. And that ship was there, Juana, at the invitation of India. It had participated in a multination naval drill that was hosted by the Indian navy.
DETROW: President Trump has said that after Iran's surrender - his words - allies and partners will bring Iran back from the brink. But from your point of view, will he have willing partners to do that?
SUMMERS: Well, we'll have to see. I mean, I will point out that it was just a couple of weeks ago that Trump brought together what he's calling this Board of Peace to rebuild Gaza and raise money for that. Indonesia now says that it's paused its talks with the board, though the State Department insists that Indonesia is still a member. It's really a key country because it's one of the few countries willing to offer troops for a stabilization force, so we'll have to see if it continues with that.
DETROW: Michele Kelemen at the State Department. Thank you.
SUMMERS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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