On the official statements front, Reuters quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that the joint war may "take some time" but "will not last for years," while describing it as not an "endless war." Reuters also reported that he suggested that the outcome of the war may "create conditions" for political change within Iran without declaring direct intervention to achieve this.In the same vein, Reuters details the changing tone of the White House: The report notes that the president initially spoke of a horizon of "four to five weeks," then left the door open to the possibility of a longer campaign, with the justification shifting from toppling Iran's government to preventing what Washington characterizes as nuclear and missile threats.
On the ground inside Israel, Reuters published a separate story on March 3 that said the Israeli military reported strikes in central Israel "in the vicinity of Tel Aviv" as a result of Iranian missiles.The report stated that emergency response units, including search and rescue teams, were deployed to the impact sites, and that authorities were investigating the circumstances of the strikes. Reuters also quoted the Israeli ambulance service as treating three people with "light" injuries, and authorities spoke of "several areas" in the Tel Aviv area that were affected by shrapnel/ammunition fragments.
In the Gulf and the targeting of US-related sites, Reuters reported on March 3 that the Saudi Defense Ministry announced that two drones hit the US embassy compound in Riyadh early in the morning, causing a small fire and "material damage." Reuters added that Saudi authorities said there were no injuries because the building was "unoccupied" at the time of the incident.It also reported hearing a loud bang and seeing flames and black smoke over Riyadh's diplomatic neighborhood, where many foreign missions are located. Reuters then reported that the US Embassy issued an alert to US citizens to "shelter in place" in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran, with instructions to avoid the embassy area. (Documentary note: Reuters also noted that authorities did not immediately provide additional comment from the Saudi government media office or an embassy spokesperson in the story itself.) The story also reported that there was no immediate further comment from the Saudi government media office or an embassy spokesperson.
The issue of the girls' school in Minab, southern Iran, emerged on March 3 on two levels: a Reuters story and an official statement from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Reuters reported that OHCHR called for a "prompt, impartial and thorough" investigation into a deadly strike on a girls' school and that a spokesperson described the footage circulating as "appalling." The spokesperson described the footage as "horrific.The UNHCR stated that the "burden" is on the force that carried out the strike to investigate it. In the same statement, the UNHCR quoted the Iranian Red Crescent as giving a death toll inside Iran of 787. The UNHCR also reported that "dozens" of girls were killed and several others injured when the school was hit during the school day, without providing a final confirmed figure on its behalf within the statement.
Regarding the figures circulating about the school students, reports varied: some coverage attributed Iranian officials with figures in the range of 150 or more, while UN sources limited themselves to phrases such as "dozens" or "great degrees of concern" because field verification had not been completed.In the coverage, it also appeared that the US said it did not intentionally target the school, and that Israel said it was investigating the incident, as previously reported (this part needs a separate Reuters story from March 2 for textual documentation; if you want to include it verbatim with its source, do so in an updated version).
In European positions, Reuters reported on March 3 a statement by France's foreign minister that his country is "ready to defend its partners" if assistance is requested after Iranian strikes, in the context of protecting partners and allies in the region. This coincided with other references in the coverage to European preparations and official interest in minimizing risks to interests and nationals, in parallel with repeated calls for investigations into civilian incidents to be independent and impartial.
In conclusion, the news of March 3, 2026 summarizes an intertwined day of announced facts: official messages specifying a political time frame for the war, missile strikes inside Israel with light injuries according to the ambulance, a marching incident targeting the US embassy compound in Riyadh with a warning to "take shelter in place", a sensitive humanitarian file in Minab with UN calls for an urgent investigation and a public death toll inside Iran attributed to the Red Crescent, then direct implications on markets and shipping in the background of a war that is expanding geographically and increasing its cost with each new incident.
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