On day 6 of the war, Iran launched missiles at Israel early this morning. The aerial attacks continue in the Middle East after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship, following which Iran threatened to destroy the military and economic infrastructure across the region. Israel announced the incoming attack shortly after its military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut's southern suburbs.
The fighting continued after the US and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power on Wednesday. Amid the continuous intense strikes on Iran, the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, has been postponed, as the state media mentioned.
Meanwhile, the US President Donald Trump is all praises for the American military, saying that they are “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Fellow Republicans in the US Senate stood with Trump on Iran as they voted down a resolution seeking to halt the war.
The US and Israel started the war on Saturday, targeting Iran's leadership, missile arsenal, and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is their primary goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signalling an open-ended conflict. Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait, and Israel as the conflict spiralled. Turkey said NATO defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey's airspace.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, over 70 in Lebanon, and around a dozen in Israel, according to data shared by the officials of those countries.
The war has affected the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarled international shipping, and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East.
American submarine sank an Iranian warship—
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed that a torpedo from an American submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, while the country's navy claimed to have recovered 87 bodies.
Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran's Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard whose bloody crackdown on protesters in January left thousands dead. Israel and the US have said they want to see Iranians overthrow the country's theocracy, and strikes against Iran's internal security forces may be aimed at hastening that.
Strikes were also reported in the city of Qom targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Iran's next supreme leader. The building is said to be empty at the time of the attack.
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we're going to keep them off balance,” the American defense minister added.
Adm Brad Cooper, the top US military commander in the Middle East, said American forces have damaged Iran's air defences and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers, and drones.
US. and Israeli military officials say launches from Iran have declined as the war has progressed. Israel's Homefront Command announced it was easing restrictions that closed workplaces nationwide. It said workplaces could reopen on Thursday if there's a shelter nearby. Schools would remain closed. Still, explosions sounded early Thursday in Israel, which said its defensive systems were moving to intercept Iranian missiles.
At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people have died in Israel. Six US troops have been killed.
Meanwhile, Iran's leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It's only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei's son, has long been considered among them — though he has never been elected or appointed to a government position.
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