Iran launched a new wave of attacks Thursday targeting Israel, U.S. military bases and other locations across the Middle East, dramatically escalating the regional conflict and raising fears of a wider war.
Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as Israeli authorities reported multiple incoming missile attacks. Iranian state television also claimed that additional strikes were directed at American bases across the region.
At the same time, Israel said its military carried out a series of strikes against Iranian targets and Iranian-backed forces. Israeli officials said they hit long-range ballistic missile launch sites inside Iran and attacked 80 targets linked to the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States Navy of committing what he called an “atrocity at sea” after an American submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean. According to Sri Lankan authorities, 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the incident, while 32 crew members were rescued.
“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set,” Araghchi said in a social media post.
In a rare and inflammatory statement broadcast on Iranian state television, senior cleric Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called for retaliation against Israel and former U.S. President Donald Trump, escalating tensions further.
The war began Saturday when U.S. and Israeli forces launched a coordinated campaign targeting Iran’s leadership, missile stockpiles and nuclear facilities. The strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and severely damaged parts of the country’s military infrastructure. While officials have hinted that regime change could be a long-term goal, the precise objectives and timeline of the campaign remain unclear.
So far, the conflict has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, over 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials from those countries. Six U.S. soldiers have also died since the fighting began.
The conflict is increasingly spilling across the region. In Azerbaijan, a drone crashed near the airport in the exclave of Nakhchivan, while another drone fell close to a school, injuring two civilians. Authorities in Qatar temporarily evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha after reports of a missile attack on the city.
Saudi Arabia also reported intercepting a drone near its border with Jordan, while a commercial tanker came under apparent attack off the coast of Kuwait early Thursday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said an explosion occurred near the vessel but did not confirm the cause.
Since the conflict began, attacks have also occurred in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Oil prices surged again Thursday after briefly stabilizing earlier in the week. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has risen about 15 percent since the conflict began as Iranian attacks and military activity disrupt shipping through the strait.
The Iranian warship sunk by the U.S. Navy had been returning from multinational naval exercises hosted by India in February. The United States also participated in the exercise with a P-8A Poseidon aircraft used for surveillance and anti-submarine operations.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine fired the torpedo that sank the vessel.
Meanwhile, Israel said it continues to target Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Among the 80 targets struck in the past day were several command centers in Beirut used by the Iran-backed group.
Lebanese officials reported that eight people were killed in Israeli strikes Thursday, including casualties in the Beddawi refugee camp in Tripoli and along a coastal highway. Earlier drone strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs also hit two vehicles, killing three people and injuring six.
Despite the continued missile threats, Israeli authorities announced they were easing some nationwide restrictions, allowing workplaces to reopen if shelters are nearby. Schools across the country, however, remain closed as the conflict continues.
