The briefing for Wednesday, March 4.

The United States has ordered its citizens to immediately leave 14 Middle Eastern countries and is sending charter flights to evacuate Americans as the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran widens across the region. The State Department urged Americans to 'depart now' from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE, and Yemen due to 'serious safety risks.' The agency said it has contacted nearly 3,000 Americans directly and helped 9,000 return home so far, with military aircraft and charter flights being arranged for those unable to find commercial options.

Many flights from the region have been cancelled or suspended since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday, leaving between 500,000 and one million Americans estimated to be in the Middle East with limited exit options. Iran responded to the strikes by firing missiles and drones at U.S.-allied nations in the Gulf. Some American travelers report receiving contradictory guidance, with Florida resident Krista Jucknath Hickman saying the State Department's evacuation hotline 'is unable to help' and that 'there are no evacuation procedures in place.' The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem said it 'is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.'

Other Western governments are mounting similar efforts. France said it would fly back citizens 'most at risk' using commercial and military flights for an estimated 400,000 French nationals in the region. The UK urged 300,000 British citizens to register with authorities, with many trapped holidaymakers, business travelers, and transit passengers among them. According to ABC News, tens of thousands remain stranded on cruise ships unable to transit the Strait of Hormuz, at closed airports, and in hotels across the region.

The State Department's order affects an unprecedented number of countries simultaneously. The scale of the evacuation challenge is compounded by airspace closures across the Gulf and the cancellation of major airline routes. Romanian pilgrims were forced to cut short religious trips to Bethlehem, with one pilgrim telling the Associated Press she called her children at 3 a.m. to 'ask forgiveness because we might die.' The crisis represents one of the largest civilian evacuation challenges the U.S. has faced in the Middle East.

The U.S. military has identified four of the six American soldiers killed when an Iranian drone evaded air defenses and struck a command center at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on Sunday. The deceased are Captain Cody Khork, 35, Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, 42, Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39, and Sergeant Declan Coady, 20. All were U.S. Army Reserve soldiers, and three were decorated service members with prior deployments. Coady, who enlisted just three years ago, was posthumously promoted from specialist.

U.S. Central Command initially reported three deaths from the attack, but officials confirmed Monday the toll had doubled after one person succumbed to injuries and two more bodies were found in the rubble. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a 'powerful weapon' struck a 'tactical operations centre that was fortified.' However, three U.S. military officials told CBS News they questioned whether the building was adequately fortified, saying a trailer was being used as an office space protected by 12-foot steel-reinforced concrete barriers.

These are the only fatalities confirmed by the U.S. military since it launched operations against Iran with Israel. The strike represents a significant escalation in direct attacks on American forces. More than 13,000 American soldiers are stationed in Kuwait as part of a long-standing defense relationship between the two nations.

Separately, the U.S. confirmed three fighter jets were downed in Kuwait after what it described as 'friendly fire' on Monday. Iranian state media claimed without evidence that Iranian forces had shot down the jets. The incidents highlight the risks facing U.S. forces as the conflict expands, with Iran launching missiles at Gulf states allied with the U.S., including Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar.

Israel has sent ground troops into southern Lebanon as the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel for a second day, dragging Lebanon into the expanding regional war. Israeli air strikes have killed dozens of people across Lebanon, according to Lebanese health officials, hitting the country's south, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and Beirut's southern suburbs—Hezbollah's heartland. The Israeli military says it has expanded its presence in southern Lebanon, indicating a potentially prolonged operation.

Hezbollah's decision to fire rockets came despite months of remaining quiet after a devastating 13-month war in 2024 that ended with a ceasefire in November. The group said it launched the attacks to avenge Iran's supreme leader, but the move led to swift backlash from many Lebanese who blame Hezbollah for dragging the country into another conflict. The Lebanese government announced a ban on Hezbollah's military activities and demanded the group hand over its weapons to the state. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Hezbollah's attack showed disregard for 'the will of the majority of Lebanese.'

The 2024 war was catastrophic for Hezbollah and Lebanon. The group's top leaders, including long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah, were assassinated, many fighters were killed, and part of its arsenal was destroyed. The conflict also devastated Lebanon's infrastructure and displaced tens of thousands. Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israel continued bombing Lebanon almost daily, claiming Hezbollah was attempting to rebuild its capabilities. Many Lebanese, including some Hezbollah supporters, described the group's initial 2023 intervention as a miscalculation that brought only suffering.

According to the BBC, at least 30,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since Monday, with thousands fleeing southern villages. Families gathered in Beirut's Martyrs' Square and along the Mediterranean promenade. The Lebanese government had warned Hezbollah against involvement in the U.S.-Iran conflict, and reports suggested the group had reassured authorities it would not intervene—but under possible pressure from Tehran, it ultimately did. The current escalation reflects Hezbollah's diminished standing in a country exhausted by conflict and economic crisis.

President Trump threatened Tuesday to cut off all trade with Spain after the country barred the U.S. from using its military bases as part of operations against Iran. 'We don't want anything to do with Spain,' Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that Spain had been 'terrible.' He claimed he could 'tomorrow—or today, even better—stop everything having to do with Spain, all business having to do with Spain.' Both Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. can legally place an embargo on Spanish imports, though U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was non-committal when pressed by the president.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran an 'unjustified, dangerous military intervention' in violation of international law. Officials in Madrid said they would bar U.S. use of military bases in southern Spain, arguing it would violate the United Nations charter. Trump also criticized the Spanish government for refusing to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, as many European countries have agreed to do under his pressure. The U.S. exported roughly $26 billion worth of goods to Spain in 2025, while imports amounted to about $21 billion, according to Census Bureau data.

The threat adds to existing tensions between Washington and Madrid. It's unclear whether the Trump administration will follow through or how it would implement restrictions against an EU member state. The European Union allows goods to move freely between its 27 member countries, which would complicate any bid to impose trade restrictions on Spain alone. The Spanish government said that if the U.S. wants to review trade relations, it must respect the autonomy of private companies, international law, and bilateral agreements between the EU and U.S.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met with Trump Tuesday, said he told the president that Spain is part of the EU and any trade deals with the bloc must include Spain. Trump also criticized the UK for being 'very uncooperative' with his push to use military bases to attack Iran, though he did not make explicit trade threats against Britain. The dispute highlights tensions within NATO as the U.S. seeks allied support for military operations in the Middle East.

Colin Gray, 55, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child cruelty, and other charges related to a 2024 school shooting that killed four people at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The jury deliberated for only about two hours after a two-week trial. Gray's son Colt, who was 14 at the time, is accused of carrying out the attack that killed two students—Christian Angulo, 14, and Mason Schermerhorn, 14—and two teachers—Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Colt Gray is awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors argued that Colin Gray was 'the one person who could have prevented' the shooting because he knew his son 'was a bomb just waiting to go off.' Gray had bought his son an AR-style rifle for Christmas in December 2023, despite the boy being questioned by police just seven months earlier about online threats to commit a school shooting. The FBI's National Threat Operations Center had received anonymous tips in May 2023, and sheriff's deputies interviewed both father and son. Colin Gray told authorities he had hunting guns in the house but that his son did not have 'unsupervised access' to them. At the time, investigators said there was no probable cause for arrest.

According to prosecutors, Gray ignored numerous warning signs, including a notebook detailing how his son planned to kill students and teachers. Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brooks told jurors that Gray, 'after seeing sign after sign of his son's deteriorating mental state, his violence, his school-shooter obsession...gave him the detonator' by providing access to the weapon. Defense attorney Jimmy Barry attempted to shift blame to the son, arguing 'this is the person who needs to be punished' because the boy 'made a conscious decision' and kept it secret. Colin Gray testified he did not know his son would commit an attack.

Gray's conviction marks the third time a U.S. parent has been held criminally responsible for a mass shooting committed by their child, according to CBS News. Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first, receiving 10-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter after their son killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021. Colin Gray faces at least 30 years in prison, though his sentencing hearing has not been scheduled. Prosecutors noted that Christian Angulo 'acted, and became a hero' by attempting to push the shooter out of the classroom, and that 'Christian's last act on this earth was to shut the door to his classroom to protect his friends.'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday the company made a mistake by rushing its announcement of a deal with the Pentagon, calling it 'opportunistic and sloppy.' The company is making changes to its agreement allowing the U.S. government to use its technology in classified military operations, including ensuring the system will not be 'intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.' Intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency will not be able to use OpenAI's system without a 'follow-on modification' to the contract, according to Altman's post on X.

OpenAI faced immediate backlash from users after announcing the Pentagon deal on Saturday. Day-over-day uninstalls of the ChatGPT mobile app reportedly surged to 295% on Saturday compared to typical levels of 9%. Meanwhile, Anthropic's rival AI model Claude rose to the top of Apple's App Store ranking, where it remained Tuesday. OpenAI had claimed in its initial Saturday statement that its agreement had 'more guardrails than any previous agreement for classified AI deployments, including Anthropic's.'

The controversy deepened after the Trump administration blacklisted Anthropic for refusing to drop its principle that AI should not be used to create fully autonomous weapons. Despite the ban, use of Claude in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran emerged hours later. The Pentagon declined to comment on its dealings with Anthropic. Professor Mariarosaria Taddeo of Oxford University told the BBC that with Anthropic excluded, 'the most safety-conscious actor' is now 'out from the room,' calling it 'a real problem.'

AI is used by militaries in various ways, from logistics to processing intelligence. The U.S., Ukraine, and NATO use Palantir's AI-powered defense platform Maven, which brings together military information that can be analyzed by AI systems to help make 'faster, more efficient, and ultimately more lethal decisions,' according to Palantir's UK operations head. However, AI large language models are known to make mistakes or 'hallucinate,' raising concerns about their use in military contexts. NATO officials stress there is 'always a human in the loop' and that AI would 'never make a decision for us,' though the rapid integration of these systems into military operations continues to raise ethical questions.