Iran carried out a new round of attacks early Thursday targeting Israeli and American military installations across the region, following threats to destroy key military and economic infrastructure.
The strikes came after intensified bombardment of Iranian targets by the United States and Israel, as well as the reported sinking of an Iranian warship by a US Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean.
Israel reported several incoming missile strikes, with air raid sirens sounding across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television also claimed that additional attacks had been directed at American bases.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed it had carried out targeted operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The war was launched on Saturday by the United States and Israel, focusing on Iran’s leadership, missile systems, and nuclear infrastructure. Officials have suggested that weakening or even removing Iran’s government could be an objective, although the specific goals and timeline of the campaign have shifted repeatedly, indicating that the conflict may continue for an extended period.
Airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel intensified on Wednesday to such a degree that Iranian state television announced the postponement of a planned mourning ceremony for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the outset of the conflict. Millions had previously attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.
U.S. President Donald Trump commended the American military’s performance in the conflict, saying it was “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Republican lawmakers in the United States Senate also backed Trump’s stance on Iran, rejecting a resolution that sought to end U.S. involvement in the war.
As the hostilities intensified, Iran launched strikes toward Bahrain, Kuwait, and Israel. NATO defenses in Turkey reportedly intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran before it could enter Turkish airspace.
Officials reported that the war has resulted in more than 1,000 deaths in Iran, over 70 fatalities in Lebanon, and about a dozen in Israel. The fighting has also disrupted global oil and gas supplies, affected international shipping routes, and left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded across the Middle East.
Governments across the region heightened security measures on Thursday after Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned of “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”
In Qatar, the Interior Ministry said residents living near the U.S. Embassy in Doha were being evacuated as a temporary safety measure, though authorities did not disclose additional details.
Fighter aircraft were heard flying over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, while Saudi Arabia reported shooting down a drone in a province bordering Jordan.
A separate maritime incident off the coast of Kuwait appeared to widen the area of risk for commercial vessels. An explosion was reported early Thursday in the area, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center run by the British military. The agency said a tanker might have been attacked but did not confirm the cause. In the past, Iran has targeted ships using limpet mines.
Earlier attacks since the conflict began Saturday have taken place in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway linking the Persian Gulf to global markets and through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply is transported.
Global energy markets have responded sharply, with Brent crude prices climbing 15 percent since the start of the conflict. The current price marks the highest level since July 2024 as Iranian actions disrupted traffic through the strait.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo launched from an American submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean.
Authorities in Sri Lanka said 32 crew members from the vessel were rescued, while the country’s navy recovered 87 bodies from the incident.
Israel also confirmed strikes on facilities linked to Iran’s internal security command and the Basij, an all-volunteer force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard that carried out a deadly crackdown on protesters in January.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the country’s military structure has decentralized leadership, allowing individual units to operate independently. He suggested this arrangement could limit the effectiveness of strikes aimed at senior command and control centers.
During a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth declined to provide a clear timeline for U.S. military operations, which Trump has indicated could last a month or more.
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”
Military officials from the United States and Israel said the number of missiles launched from Iran has decreased as airstrikes destroyed ballistic missiles, launchers, and drones. Israel’s Homefront Command announced a partial easing of restrictions that had forced businesses nationwide to close. Workplaces were allowed to reopen Thursday if shelters were nearby, though schools remained closed.
Despite that, explosions were heard across Israel early Thursday as defensive systems moved to intercept at least three separate waves of Iranian missiles.
Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs reported Wednesday that at least 1,045 people had been killed in the country. Officials in Israel said 11 people had died there, while six U.S. troops, including a major whose identity was released Wednesday, were also killed.
Additional casualties were reported in Lebanon, where authorities said eight people died, including two in a building struck by the Israeli military in the Beddawi refugee camp in Tripoli on Thursday and three on a coastal highway. Israeli officials did not immediately identify the intended targets of those strikes.
Late Wednesday, two nearly simultaneous Israeli drone strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs hit vehicles, killing three people and injuring six others, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The Israeli military said one of the targets was a member of Hezbollah and that further details would be provided.
Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, disclosed that the offensive against Iran had initially been scheduled for mid-2026 but was moved forward.
He said internal developments in Iran, the position of Trump, and the possibility of “creating a combined operation” contributed to the decision.
Large-scale protests inside Iran had already placed pressure on the country’s leadership. Trump had earlier threatened military action in response to the government’s crackdown before shifting focus toward Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that U.S. military action was partly motivated by concerns that Iran might launch attacks on American personnel and assets in the region first. She added that a phone conversation between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the airstrikes began was “important with respect to the timeline.”
Following Khamenei’s death, Iran’s leadership is now working to select a new supreme leader, only the second transition since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Potential successors range from hardline figures who favor confrontation with Western countries to reformist candidates advocating diplomatic engagement. Among those often mentioned is Mojtaba Khamenei, although he has never held a formal government position.
In what appears to signal a tightening grip on power, Iran’s judiciary chief warned that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”
Meanwhile, Katz wrote on X that Iran’s next supreme leader “will be a target for elimination” if he continues to threaten Israel, the United States, or other countries.
