{"id":322402,"date":"2026-03-05T02:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/322402\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T02:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:28:09","slug":"iran-launches-missiles-at-israel-as-israeli-military-begins-new-strikes-in-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/322402\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran launches missiles at Israel as Israeli military begins new strikes in Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday as aerial attacks in the Middle East commenced for a sixth day after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship<\/a> and Iran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region.<\/p>\n

Israel announced multiple incoming attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem shortly after the Israeli military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs.<\/p>\n

The fighting continued after the U.S. and Israel intensified their bombardment<\/a> of Iran on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.<\/p>\n

The U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran\u2019s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military Wednesday for \u201cdoing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.\u201d Fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate stood with Trump on Iran as they voted down<\/a> a resolution seeking to halt the war.<\/p>\n

Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel<\/a> as the conflict spiraled. Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey\u2019s airspace.<\/p>\n

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world\u2019s oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Threats expanding across the Middle East<\/p>\n

Neighboring countries braced for potential dangers Thursday, a day after Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened \u201cthe complete destruction of the region\u2019s military and economic infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qatar\u2019s Interior Ministry said authorities were evacuating residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution, without providing further details.<\/p>\n

Fighter jets could be heard overhead Thursday morning in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai.<\/p>\n

And a new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger.<\/p>\n

An explosion rocked the area early Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center run by the British military. It said a tanker apparently came under attack, but the agency did not offer a cause. Iran in the past has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them.<\/p>\n

Prior attacks since fighting began Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf<\/a> through which about a fifth of the world\u2019s oil is shipped.<\/p>\n

Oil prices have soared as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait<\/a>, and global stock markets<\/a> have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy. <\/p>\n

Buildings of Iranian military and security forces targeted <\/p>\n

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from an American submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, while the country\u2019s navy said it recovered 87 bodies.<\/p>\n

Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran\u2019s Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard whose bloody crackdown on protesters in January left thousands dead.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military hit buildings associated with Iran\u2019s internal security command. Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see Iranians overthrow the country\u2019s theocracy, and strikes against Iran\u2019s internal security forces may be aimed at hastening that.<\/p>\n

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said his country\u2019s forces have decentralized leadership, with units acting largely on their own, which could blunt the effect of attacks on top command and control hubs.<\/p>\n

Shifting timelines for U.S. operations<\/p>\n

During his Pentagon briefing, Hegseth did not give a definitive timeline for U.S. operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,\u201d he said. \u201cUltimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we\u2019re going to keep them off balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, said American forces have damaged Iran\u2019s air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones.<\/p>\n

U.S. and Israeli military officials say launches from Iran have declined as the war has progressed. Israel\u2019s Homefront Command announced it was easing restrictions that closed workplaces nationwide. It said workplaces could reopen Thursday if there\u2019s a shelter nearby. Schools would remain closed.<\/p>\n

Still, explosions sounded early Thursday in Israel, which said its defensive systems were moving to intercept Iranian missiles.<\/p>\n

At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country\u2019s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people have died in Israel. Six U.S. troops<\/a> have been killed.<\/p>\n

The death toll has exceeded 70 in Lebanon, where the health ministry said Wednesday that three people died when drone strikes hit two vehicles on a Beirut highway. The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hezbollah member.<\/p>\n

Israel says its offensive had been planned for midyear<\/p>\n

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the offensive against Iran was originally planned for mid-2026, but \u201cthe need arose to bring everything forward to February.\u201d<\/p>\n

He listed events inside Iran, Trump\u2019s positions and the possibility of \u201ccreating a combined operation\u201d as reasons.<\/p>\n

The protests in Iran put unprecedented pressure on its leadership. Trump threatened military action in response to the crackdown before shifting his attention<\/a> to Iran\u2019s disputed nuclear program.<\/p>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the U.S. launched its operation partly out of concern Iran might strike American personnel and assets in the region first. A phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the airstrikes began was also \u201cimportant with respect to the timeline,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s clerics are choosing a new supreme leader<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei<\/a>, who ruled the country for 37 years. It\u2019s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution<\/a> that a new supreme leader is being chosen.<\/p>\n

Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>, Khamenei\u2019s son, has long been considered among them \u2014 though he has never held a government position.<\/p>\n

In a sign that Iran\u2019s leadership will only seek to consolidate its power, the head of the judiciary warned that \u201cthose who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s defense minister, Katz, said on X that Iran\u2019s next supreme leader \u2014 if he continues to threaten Israel, the U.S. and others \u2014 \u201cwill be a target for elimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok; Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan; Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Giovanna Dell\u2019Orto in Miami and Kevin Schembri Orland in Valletta, Malta, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday as aerial attacks in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50433,105611,2035,49,47354,114,54,12354,122,86,85,87,20889,117780,46,1984,7315,47,2034,3896,159370,43,31348,238,30642,3897,121,12526,126],"class_list":{"0":"post-322402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-abbas-araghchi","9":"tag-ali-khamenei","10":"tag-ap-top-news","11":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","12":"tag-brad-cooper","13":"tag-business","14":"tag-donald-trump","15":"tag-energy-industry","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-hezbollah","18":"tag-il","19":"tag-iran","20":"tag-iran-government","21":"tag-iran-war","22":"tag-israel","23":"tag-israel-government","24":"tag-karoline-leavitt","25":"tag-middle-east","26":"tag-mideast-wars","27":"tag-military-and-defense","28":"tag-mojtaba-khamenei","29":"tag-news","30":"tag-pete-hegseth","31":"tag-politics","32":"tag-ruhollah-khomeini","33":"tag-violence","34":"tag-war-and-unrest","35":"tag-washington-news","36":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}