STORY: Israel's prime minister is playing down fears of a long war with Iran -- even as the conflict widens across the Middle East.

The war entered its fourth day Tuesday (March 3), with sirens blaring in Tel Aviv as Israel intercepted waves of Iranian missiles.

:: Fox News Channel's Hannity

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday insisted the war will not drag on -- despite projections from U.S. President Donald Trump that the fight could be open-ended. 

"I hear the people are saying we're going to have an endless war here. You're not going to have an endless war."

"I said it could be quick and decisive. It may take some time, but it's not going to take years. It's not an endless war."

Israel has moved to expand its operations. 

Overnight, it deployed additional forces to southern Lebanon, taking what the military called defensive positions to protect civilians and key sites from Hezbollah.

:: Northern Israel / March 2, 2026

The army says the positions sit just inside the border, and Defense Minister Israel Katz has authorized taking more ground after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Sunday.

:: Western Tehran, Iran / Released March 2, 2026

In Tehran, Israel struck the compound housing the country's state broadcaster.

While Iran continued its own attacks. 

Saudi Arabia says two Iranian drones hit the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, while Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims it attacked a U.S. airbase in Bahrain.

Washington has yet to comment on either strike, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Monday that more force is coming.

"They are suffering a tremendous amount of damage. // The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military -- the next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now. // We will do this as long as it takes to achieve those objectives."

Rubio did not rule out the possibility of a U.S. ground deployment, though he said current goals -- destroying Iran's missile launch and manufacturing capabilities -- could be achieved from the air.

The fighting began with U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader on Saturday.

:: US CENTCOM via X 

Since then, the U.S. says it has hit more than 1,200 Iranian targets, and six U.S. service members have been killed in Iranian retaliatory attacks.

Amid the chaos, Kuwait accidentally shot down three U.S. fighter jets, though all crew members survived.

But the war is rippling far beyond military fronts.

:: Flightradar24.com

Dubai's airport remained closed for a fourth day, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.

:: LSEG

Oil prices and global shipping rates have surged after attacks near the Strait of Hormuz -- a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world's crude.