U.S. forces have struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran in the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury, according to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) fact sheet — a sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling the Iranian regime’s security apparatus and neutralizing what officials describe as imminent threats.

The target set reflects a concentrated effort to degrade the core of Iran’s military command structure and strike capabilities.

Sites hit include command and control centers, the IRGC Joint Headquarters and the IRGC Aerospace Forces Headquarters, along with integrated air defense systems and ballistic missile sites, according to CENTCOM.

U.S. forces also have targeted Iranian Navy ships and submarines, anti-ship missile sites and military communication capabilities, signaling a broad effort to disrupt Iran’s ability to coordinate operations and project force across domains.

Nuclear sites are not listed among the targets. Officials say the strikes are prioritizing locations that pose an “imminent threat,” underscoring the operation’s focus on neutralizing assets capable of launching missile attacks, sustaining naval operations or directing defensive responses.

The scope of assets deployed highlights the scale and complexity of the campaign. Strategic bombers, including B-1, B-2 and B-52 aircraft, have been used alongside F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets and fifth-generation F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters.

A-10 attack jets and EA-18G electronic attack aircraft also are participating, supported by airborne early warning and control platforms and airborne communication relay aircraft.

Missile defense systems such as Patriot interceptors and THAAD anti-ballistic missile systems are part of the force posture, along with M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. The operation also includes nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, counter-drone systems, refueling tankers and cargo aircraft including C-17 and C-130 transports. Additional “special capabilities” are being employed but cannot be publicly listed.

With more than 1,700 targets struck in just three days, Operation Epic Fury represents a large-scale, multidomain campaign designed to systematically dismantle Iran’s command infrastructure, air defenses, missile forces and naval assets.

So far, six U.S. service members have been killed in the campaign, according to officials.

Three F-15s were shot down in a friendly fire incident in Kuwait Tuesday. At least 48 top Iranian leaders have been killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli operations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the mission in Iran is focused on “the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities, and their ability to manufacture them” as well as “the threat posed by their navy to global shipping.”

Both Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth have said regime change is not the primary goal of the operation.

US Commerce chief Lutnick agrees to interview on Epstein ties, House panel says

March 3, 2026 8:10 PM UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

节点运行失败

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee ​over his past ties to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, ‌the committee said.

“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his ​willingness to engage with the committee,” said Representative James Comer, the panel’s ​chair.

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The Justice Department in January released millions of new ⁠files related to Epstein, including emails that showed Lutnick visited Epstein’s private ​Caribbean island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties.

​Lutnick, appointed to his post by Republican President Donald Trump last year, now faces calls from both Democrats and Republicans to resign.

The Commerce Department did not immediately comment. Axios ​quoted Lutnick as saying: “I look forward to appearing before the committee. I ​have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight.”

Last month, Lutnick ‌told ⁠lawmakers he “barely had anything to do with” Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender.

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Lutnick said the two men had exchanged only about 10 emails and met three times over 14 years. Lutnick said a lunch with Epstein took ​place only because ​he was on ⁠a boat near the island. Lutnick said his family was present for the lunch.

Lutnick is one of a ​host of powerful men in politics, business and entertainment, including ​Trump himself, ⁠who are under fire for their ties with Epstein.

Lutnick also is in the hot seat over apparent contradictions between the newly released documents and his ⁠prior remarks ​about Epstein, who lived next door to him ​in New York when Lutnick was CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and ​Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Michelle Nichols and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

President Donald Trump argued that whether he carried out strikes against Iran wouldn’t have mattered to congressional Democrats.

They would have criticized him either way.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus immediately ramped up criticism of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury when the Senate returned Monday, and the administration has not yet signaled a clear exit strategy.

Speaking from the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump said Democrats would have criticized any decision he made.

“If I didn’t do this, guys like Schumer who — losers, the Democrats, losers — guys like Schumer would say, ‘Well, you should have done this,’” Trump said. “In other words, if I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this.”

Democrats are furious that Trump did not seek approval from Congress to carry out the strikes and are pushing a war powers resolution vote this week to handcuff further use of the military in Iran.

“Donald Trump has just launched America into a full-scale conflict against one of our most fervent adversaries,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Without a plan, without an endgame and without authorization from Congress — or even a debate in full view of the American people.”

The administration argued after a closed-door classified briefing with congressional leaders and high-ranking lawmakers that the strikes were carried out as a preemptive measure.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters after the briefing, “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action.

“We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” Rubio said. “And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

But Democrats largely aren’t buying the administration’s argument. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, contended there wasn’t an imminent threat to the U.S. from Iran.

“It was a threat to Israel,” Warner said.

Senate Democrats plan to plow ahead with a war powers vote, likely Wednesday, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and backed by Schumer. Whether they can splinter off enough Republican support, as Kaine did earlier this year with his Venezuela war powers resolution, remains to be seen.

Senators will receive a briefing from the administration on the strikes Tuesday, which could determine the fate of the push to rein in Trump’s war authorities.

Trump argued that because Iran was “a purveyor of terror all over the world,” Operation Epic Fury was inevitable.

“It’s something that had to be done,” Trump said.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave very different responses to House lawmakers last week when asked whether President Donald Trump should testify in their Jeffrey Epstein probe, newly released video shows.

Both testified to the House Oversight Committee behind closed doors for hours in their hometown of Chappaqua, New York.

Each was also asked by the Democratic side whether Trump should come before the committee himself, given his own known past ties to the late financier and sex trafficker.

“Absolutely,” Hillary Clinton answered when the question was posed by Democrats’ staff.

She cited the civil case involving writer E. Jean Carroll in which Trump was found civilly liable for defaming Carroll over her allegations that he sexually assaulted her, as well as the 34-count criminal verdict by a New York City court related to allegations he sought to cover up payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in both cases.

Neither case relates to Epstein, but Hillary Clinton claimed it proved a “pattern” of behavior that would be relevant to the committee’s probe.

“I think that it would be in keeping with the scope of the investigation of this committee to set up a deposition with President Trump. I know he’s been deposed many, many, many times. He’s taken the Fifth Amendment many, many hundreds of times,” she argued.

“So I’m not saying you’re going to get a lot of information, but given what’s in the files, and given past and prior conduct, he would be on my witness list.”

Bill Clinton’s response was far more muted, however.

TRUMP THANKED FLORIDA POLICE FOR EPSTEIN PROBE IN 2000S, FLAGGED ‘EVIL’ GHISLAINE MAXWELL: FBI DOC

When asked by Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s top Democrat, whether Trump should be called in, the former president did not express support one way or another.

“That’s for you to decide. But he did know him well, and I once had a brief discussion with him about it,” Bill Clinton said.

Garcia attempted to move on to the next Democratic lawmaker before Bill Clinton cut in again, “I hate this, because I don’t believe I should inject anything, but I do not want to leave the impression, but since there was no follow-up question, he never — the president never, this is 20-something years ago, never said anything to me to make me think he was involved in anything improper with regard to Epstein, either.”

“He just said, ‘We were friends. And then we had a falling out over a land deal, property deal.’ That’s all,” Bill Clinton said.

He then said the conversation occurred on Trump’s golf course and that he “somehow” knew that the former president had flown on Epstein’s plane.

“And he said, you know, ‘We had some great times together over the years, but we fell out all because of a real estate deal.’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry it happened.’ That’s all,” the former president said.

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His deposition included far fewer dramatic moments on the whole than his wife’s, who was confronted by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and others during multiple explosive points in her own deposition.

At one point, Hillary Clinton even temporarily stormed out of her seat after it was discovered that Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., had run afoul of the deposition’s rules by posting a photo of the former secretary of state.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

New York Mayor Mamdani takes initial step on fulfilling promise for universal free childcare

March 3, 2026 9:37 PM UTC / Reuters / By Maria Tsvetkova

节点运行失败

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to guests during commemoration of MLK day at the National Action Network in New York City, U.S., January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) – New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and state Governor Kathy Hochul appeared together on Tuesday to announce that 2,000 free childcare places will be ​offered to two-year-olds in the nation’s largest city starting later this year, ‌a small first step toward fulfilling the new mayor’s ambitious campaign promise of free childcare for all.

The program, which the leaders said will grow next year to 12,000 free spots for an ​estimated 100,000 two-year-old New Yorkers, will not require the tax increases Mamdani sought ​and the governor opposed. He and Hochul did not address funding plans ⁠beyond next year.

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Funding for the program called 2K – $73 million for the first year ​and $425 million for the second – will come from New York State, and is part of ​the $1.2 billion the state has committed to invest in free early childcare.

Hochul, asked by reporters about possible tax hikes to fund the program, said, “We can do it with existing revenues. Take what I’m ​saying as your answer.”

Mamdani did not address how the program would be paid for ​during the appearance, but said, “we’re making what Wall Street would call a good investment. Researchers estimate that ‌every ⁠dollar spent on early childcare returns as much as $13.”

The expansion of universal childcare, along with a rent freeze and free buses, was central to Mamdani’s campaign. His first term began in January.

Funding concerns became an obstacle to cancelling bus fares. Asked about free ​buses last month, the ​mayor said that “it continues ⁠to be a budget conversation” as the city looks for replacement revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the New York State-run ​network that operates public transit.

The prices for rent-stabilized apartments that Mamdani ​promised to ⁠freeze will be discussed later this year at a meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board in charge of establishing rent adjustments for the city’s roughly 1 million regulated units. Last ⁠month, ​Mamdani appointed a majority of the board’s members, including ​its chair.

The meeting on future rent rates has not yet been scheduled. In the previous year, the board ​held it in late June.

Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova; editing by Donna Bryson and David Gaffen

网络诈骗防范 保护个人资料与财产安全 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月4日 07:00

别让手机变危机 辨识诈骗防网络陷阱

数码生活更便利，也要时刻提防网络诈骗陷阱。 （Getty Images）

轻松滑一滑智能手机和各类智能设备，就能买东西、叫外卖、订酒店、查信息，生活确实方便许多，却也让网络罪犯有机可乘。各类线上骗局威胁个人信息和财产安全，稍不留神，积蓄可能落入骗子手中。掌握最新网络威胁资讯、养成良好的网络安全习惯，是安心上网的关键。

数码生活便利下的网络威胁

接听陌生电话时，你可能会想：“他知道我的身份证号码——肯定是政府官员吧？”或者在聊天群组里突然看到一条信息，你心想：“这么多人都说赚钱了，应该没问题吧？”这些瞬间的判断，正是骗子最善于利用的机会。

单在2025年，新加坡的诈骗案件达3万7308宗，总损失金额超过9亿元。其中，相比2024年，冒充政府官员的骗局翻倍增长，达3363宗，累计的金额损也增加超过60%，从1亿5130万元上升至2亿4290万元。冒充府官员骗局的受害者以65岁以上的年长者居多，占所有案件的34％。这个群组的受害人在所有骗局的平均损失金额也最高，每人平均被骗超过3万7000元。

日益复杂的诈骗手法提醒每名国人，随时保持警惕，养成基本网络安全习惯，并及时核实可疑信息。

停一停 查一查

网络罪犯常利用恐惧感和紧迫感，迫使受害者仓促做出决定，从而上当受骗。最常见的两种情况包括冒充政府官员的诈骗，以及承诺高回报、快速获利的投资诈骗。在这种情况下，应保持冷静，不要急于回应。可先向可信赖的家人朋友确认内容是否属实，并通过官方渠道核实信息，或拨打24小时防诈热线1799寻求帮助。

了解这些诈骗手法，有助于及早识别警讯，避免受骗。

情况①：冒充政府官员的诈骗

点击观看视频，了解如何识别冒充政府官员的诈骗技俩，保护你的个人信息和财务安全。

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骗子会假冒政府人员、警察或网络安全局人员，打电话，营造紧急和威胁感，迫使受害者在慌乱中泄露个人信息、银行账户资料，或将资金转入对方指定的第三方支付平台（如YouTrip等）账户，甚至诱导对加密货币不熟悉的受害者开设加密货币账户，在购买加密货币后，将资产转入由诈骗分子控制的账户。

如果你遇到以下警示信号，请立即停一停，查一查：

• 要你进行转账或汇款

• 要你分享任何用于登录银行账户的资料

• 要你从非官方应用商店下载手机应用程序

提醒：政府官员绝对不会通过电话要求你执行上述操作。

情况②：投资诈骗

点击观看视频，了解如何识别投资诈骗，避免陷入虚假的高回报骗局。

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骗子最常通过社交媒体和通讯平台（例如Whatsapp、Telegram等）进行投资诈骗。他们可能宣传虚假的高回报投资项目，或将你直接拉入聊天群组，由同伙假扮已获取高回报的投资者，分享虚假的高投资回报经验或收到款项转账截图，以增加可信度。一些骗子也会通过长时间聊天建立友谊，以取得你的信任，随后以投资为名诱导你汇款。

如果你遇到以下警示信号，请立即停一停，查一查：

• 被突然拉入推销投资机会的陌生群组

• 对方展示收益截图、其他投资者给予的好评价或收到款项转账的截图作为“证明”

• 被迫紧急汇款以确保能及时获得高投资回报率

提醒：遇到这些可疑情况，请通过官方热线或直接上官方应用或网站核实信息。

全国模拟诈骗演习：亲身体验诈骗手法

亲身体验模拟诈骗电话，提升防骗警觉性。（Getty Images）

很多人听闻骗子如何进行诈骗，却没有亲身经历、也普遍有着“诈骗案不会发生在自己身上”的心态。为了提高公众对诈骗的警觉性，以及传授防诈骗知识，全国首个模拟诈骗演习应运而生。

报名参加的公众会从3月1日至8月31日之间接到一通“诈骗电话”，模拟骗子冒充政府官员的情景，体验骗子的套路。演习全程无需进行任何金钱交易，也不会被要求提供敏感个人信息。

参与公众应随时保持警惕，对所有来历不明的来电，包括全国模拟诈骗演习的来电视作诈骗电话谨慎应对。想要参加的公众，可上全国模拟诈骗演习网站报名。

3大网络好习惯 保护自己和家人

骗子在网络诈骗的伎俩层出不穷，干案手法越来越成熟，难免令人感觉无法招架。掌握以下三个网络安全贴士，让你能避免落入网络罪犯的陷阱：

• 一、启用双重身份验证（2FA）并使用安全性高的密码短语

利用指纹、脸部识别或一次性密码（OTP），把自己的账户加上“第二把锁”。即使密码被盗，骗子也难以通过额外的验证步骤进入账户。另外，使用强度高、独特且不重复的密码，以提高账户安全性。

• 二、及时更新软件

实时更新设备和应用程序能有效修复安全漏洞。过时的软件会增加被黑客攻击和恶意软件侵害的风险。

• 三、下载ScamShield和防病毒应用程序

下载ScamShield应用程序，可检测、识别并拦载诈骗电话和短信。在手机和电脑上安装信誉良好的防病毒应用或软件，也能增强安全防护。

保持警惕为最佳防线

在面对可疑的网络诈骗时，保持警惕、冷静、理性地评估信息，是最有效的防护措施。

如怀疑遭遇到诈骗，可先向家人或朋友确认来电和信息的真实性，或拨打ScamShield热线1799。

欲知更多网络安全贴士和资源，可浏览新加坡网络安全局网站。

【本文由新加坡网络安全局呈献】

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FIRST ON FOX: The State Department revealed communications with Congress on getting Americans out of the Middle East as Democrats on Capitol Hill say the department is “refusing to help people leave the region.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed concerns about Americans still remaining in the Middle East with reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling U.S. citizens abroad that “we need to know where you are” in order to successfully help them evacuate.

“9,000 Americans have been able to leave the region since the start of this war,” Rubio said. “We have about [1,500] Americans that are requesting assistance with departure. We have identified and continue to identify charter flights, military flight options and expanded commercial flight options, meaning working with the airlines to send bigger airplanes with more seats.”

[image_1]

Rubio says 1,500 Americans are still seeking help to leave the Middle East.(Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)

[image_2]

“Here’s the message I want to deliver Americans who are in the Middle East and in need of assistance… we need to know where you are,” Rubio added. “We need to have contact information for Americans that need assistance. They have to register with us because, as these options begin to open up and as they open up we have to be able to call you, we have to be able to reach you, we have to be able to know where you’re staying so we can get this information to you and coordinate appropriately.”

Rubio strongly encouraged Americans still remaining in the Middle East to utilize the department website to initiate the proceedings to safely evacuate.

The Department of State told Fox News Digital that the department has been in “constant contact” with Congress, specifically related to getting stranded Americans back home.

“The State Department is in constant contact with members of Congress in order to provide American citizens in the Middle East with assistance and accurate information on the security situation in the region, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital in a statement. “There is no greater priority than the safety of American citizens both at home and abroad.”

[image_3]

The State Department says it has been in constant contact with Congress and thousands of staffers to assist Americans in the Middle East, pushing back on Democratic claims that it is refusing to help citizens leave the region.(Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Reuters)

“The State Department has reached over a thousand Congressional staffers with briefings on the security situation on the Middle East and continues to be in constant contact with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to ensure that their constituents have the facts on available support and assistance,” Pigott added.

US WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON BEING TRAPPED IN ISRAEL DURING IRANIAN COUNTERSTRIKE

[image_4]

Democrats in Congress have accused the Trump administration of not assisting in getting trapped Americans out of the area.

“So the State Department is forcing everyone to immediately leave the region but is also refusing to help people leave the region,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT posted to X. “The strike itself is illegal and disastrous but their lack of readiness for what comes next is unforgivable as well.”

“Incompetence everywhere,” Murphy added.

[image_5]

Sen. Chris Murphy and other Democrats have accused the Trump administration of incompetence and failing to adequately support Americans seeking to evacuate amid escalating tensions and strikes involving Iran.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

AMBASSADOR HUCKABEE DESCRIBES ‘BEST OPTION’ FOR AMERICANS LOOKING TO FLEE ISRAEL

Sources at the State Department told Fox News Digital that they contacted the Consular on the Hill with approximately 130 emails and calls from 88 congressional offices through Monday evening, seeking information to provide constituents or request information about citizens in the region.

The department also told Fox that they communicated with more than 1,300 congressional staffers, held three webinars covering the security situation, and have been in constant communication with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee on Embassy operating status, regional requests for additional interceptors, and other military equipment.

The department says they made 60 emails and a dozen calls on policy-related questions, briefing requests, and general inquiries from Congressional offices.

[image_6]

Rubio told reporters on Tuesday he is confident that the administration will be able to safely evacuate all U.S. citizens out of the region.

“Iran is run by lunatics, religious fanatic lunatics,” Rubio said. “They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons. They intend to develop those nuclear weapons behind a program of missiles and drones and terrorism [so] the world will not be able to touch them for fear of those things… now is the time to go after them.”

[image_7]

“On the first day, we had a lot of anxiety about things,” Kristy Ellmer told Fox News Digital. “I’ve never been in a place that had bombs floating above.”(Kristy Ellmer)

TRUMP SENDS OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ON STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

During an interview with Fox News Digital, Kristy Ellmer, from New Hampshire, described the “[shock waves]” and “red bursts in air” she witnessed while with her husband in Dubai.

“We were just sitting on the beach. We hadn’t been watching the news or anything, just enjoying the morning,” Ellmer said. “All of a sudden, we [felt explosions].”

She was scheduled to leave Dubai on Sunday, though she dealt with [flight cancellations] for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

[image_8]

Airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha were all directly hit by strikes this weekend.(Sawayasu Tsuji)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

[image_9]

On Saturday, Iranian airstrikes hit Dubai International Airport as the country exchanged blows with the U.S. and its Israeli allies.

She still remains in the region, hoping to get out of the country by the end of the week.

Fox News Digital’s Jessica Mekles contributed to this report.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

王毅同以外长通话：武力会带来新问题和严重后遗症

2026年3月4日 07:13 / 联合早报

中国外交部长王毅同以色列外长萨尔通电话，称武力无法真正解决问题，反而会带来新的问题和严重后遗症。

据中新社报道，王毅星期二（3月3日）应约同以色列外长萨尔通电话。

在听取萨尔介绍以方对当前局势的立场后，王毅表示，中方一贯主张通过对话协商解决国际和地区热点问题，各方都应遵守联合国宪章宗旨和原则，不在国际关系中使用或威胁使用武力，这也符合包括以色列在内各方的根本利益。

王毅说，多年来，中方致力于推动伊核问题政治解决，近期的伊美谈判正在取得明显进展，其中也涵盖以方的安全关切，遗憾的是，这一进程已被炮火打断。

他说，中方反对以方和美国对伊朗发起军事打击。武力无法真正解决问题，反而会带来新的问题和严重后遗症。军事实力的真正价值不在战场，而在于预防战争。中方呼吁立即停止军事行动，防止战火进一步蔓延失控。中方在中东问题上始终坚持公正立场，将继续为推动局势缓和发挥建设性作用。

王毅要求以方采取切实措施确保中国人员和机构安全。

从伊朗撤离的25名中国公民经土库曼斯坦启程回中国 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月4日 07:47

首批从伊朗撤至土库曼斯坦境内的25名中国公民，星期三（3月4日）凌晨已全部登机启程回中国。

据新华社报道，中国驻土库曼斯坦使馆消息，当地时间3日下午，这批撤离人员从土库曼斯坦萨拉赫斯口岸陆续进入土境内，之后乘坐使馆安排的大巴驶离口岸。

撤离人员3日晚抵达土库曼斯坦首都阿什哈巴德国际机场，中国驻土库曼斯坦使馆工作组协助办理登机手续。中国驻土库曼斯坦使馆临时代办仲华赴机场看望慰问撤离人员。

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Trump’s national security team comes to convince Congress to back Iran war

March 3, 2026 8:30 PM UTC / Reuters

By Patricia Zengerle, Michael Martina and David Morgan

[1/3]An F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 2, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

• Summary

• Rubio, Hegseth, Ratcliffe and Caine to brief lawmakers
• Some Republicans ask about ‘America first’
• Israel comment prompted consternation

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s top national security advisers were to spend much of the day on Tuesday making the case to members of Congress ​for the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, as Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans clamored for more information.

Secretary of ‌State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, were to hold briefings first for the entire 100-member Senate and later the 432-member House of Representatives.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

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Trump’s Republicans control slim majorities in both the Senate and House and have been ​strongly supportive of his policy initiatives, as is typical when the White House and Congress are controlled by the same ​party.

But the Middle East war has prompted a few members of his party to join Democrats in saying ⁠the president should not send troops to fight abroad without first obtaining Congress’ approval.

Others said they were looking forward to getting more ​information, especially if the White House comes to Congress to request additional funding for the war.

“America First was supposed to be a rejection ​of the globalist war machine,” Republican Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio said in a post on X.com. “I look forward to seeing the intelligence the administration found so persuasive, then voting.”

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And there was concern when Rubio told reporters on Monday that the U.S. had attacked Iran because Israel planned to do so. “Have we now delegated ​the most solemn decision that can be made in our society, the decision to go to war, to another country,” Senator Angus King ​of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, asked at an Armed Services committee hearing on Tuesday.

PAYING FOR IRAN WAR

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The Senate’s Republican majority leader, John ‌Thune of ⁠South Dakota, and Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, the Republican Speaker of the House, have both said it is too early to know whether Congress will need to consider a supplemental funding bill.

Johnson told reporters on Monday evening, after a separate briefing for congressional leaders, that the issue had come up during that meeting. “There are more details to be determined, how long the operation goes and what the need is,” ​he said.

Such a resolution would face ​stiff opposition from Democrats. New ⁠York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who leads Democrats in the House, told a news conference hours before the administration’s briefing that Trump should get Congress’ consent for the war before asking lawmakers to fund it.

The ​Senate is expected to vote on Wednesday and the House on Thursday on war powers resolutions seeking ​to block Trump from ⁠continuing to attack Iran without congressional authorization.

Jeffries said he expected strong Democratic support for the measure.

“There is a requirement under the Constitution that it is members of Congress that make the decision as to whether to get us entangled in this kind of armed conflict and that’s what ⁠the resolution ​this week will be all about,” Jeffries said.

Congressional Republicans have blocked previous attempts to ​pass resolutions forcing Trump to obtain lawmakers’ approval for military action. Even if a resolution were to pass this time, it is not expected to get the two-thirds majorities ​in both the House and Senate needed to override Trump’s veto.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Michael Martina and David Morgan; Editing by Alistair Bell

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