Iran launches missiles at Israel as Israeli strikes hit Lebanon

Iran hits Israel and U.S. bases as air war resumes, Lebanon targeted

Iran launched new missiles and strikes at Israel and U.S. military bases early Thursday as aerial attacks resumed in the Middle East after the United States sank an Iranian warship, according to the Associated Press.

Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, while Iranian state television said additional strikes targeted U.S. bases, AP reported. The fighting continued after U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran intensified on Wednesday.

In parallel, Israel said its military had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The renewed pace came after the U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, AP reported, aiming at Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program and signaling a shifting set of objectives over time.

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was described by AP as so intense that Iranian state television said the mourning ceremony for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—who was killed at the start of the conflict—would be postponed. AP also reported that millions attended the funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

As the region prepared for further escalation, neighboring countries also moved to reduce exposure to potential attacks. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said authorities were evacuating residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution, AP reported. Fighter jets were heard overhead in Dubai, and AP said an attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping could be in danger.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, run by the British military, said an explosion rocked the area early Thursday and that a tanker apparently came under attack, but it did not offer a cause. AP noted that Iran has, in the past, attacked ships by attaching limpet mines.

Military officials also pointed to the conflict’s growing reach across domains beyond missile launches on land. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from an American submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, AP reported. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued and that its navy recovered 87 bodies.

On the ground and in targets, Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command as well as the Basij, described by AP as an all-volunteer force within the Revolutionary Guard. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s forces have decentralized leadership, with units acting largely on their own, which he said could blunt attacks on top command and control hubs.

AP reported that U.S. officials have not provided a definitive timeline for operations. During a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth did not give a set end date, saying, “You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” and “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s own domestic posture shifted as well. AP reported that Israel’s Homefront Command announced it was easing restrictions that had closed workplaces nationwide, saying workplaces could reopen Thursday if there was a shelter nearby, while schools would remain closed. Even so, explosions were reported early Thursday in Israel, where the country said its defensive systems were moving to intercept Iranian missiles.

AP also reported that casualty figures have continued to rise: it said more than 1,045 people had been killed in Iran, 11 in Israel and around a dozen in Israel had died, citing officials in those countries. It said at least 70 people have been killed in Lebanon, where the health ministry and state news agency said at least eight people were killed in strikes since Wednesday. It also reported that six U.S. troops have been killed.

In Israel’s account of how the campaign evolved, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the offensive against Iran was originally planned for mid-2026 but that “the need arose to bring everything forward to February.” AP reported that he listed events inside Iran, Trump’s positions, and the possibility of “creating a combined operation” as reasons.

Katz’s comments came as AP reported that Trump and U.S. congressional Republicans backed the war’s continuation. AP said Trump praised the U.S. military on Wednesday for “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly,” and said fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted down a resolution seeking to halt the war.

AP reported that Iran’s leaders are also scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It said choosing a new supreme leader is only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that Iran has done so, and it described Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader’s son, as among potential candidates despite his not holding a government position.

In statements cited by AP, Iran’s judiciary warned that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.” Israel’s defense minister, Katz, also said on X that Iran’s next supreme leader—if he continues to threaten Israel, the U.S. and others—“will be a target for elimination.”