DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, as Washington and Israel stepped up their bombardment Wednesday of Iranian military targets and other signs of power. As the war escalated again, Tehran vowed to completely destroy the Middle East’s military and economic resources.
The tempo of Iran’s attack was so intense that state television announced that the mourning ceremony for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the war, would be cancelled. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
In addition to striking Tehran on the fifth day of the war, Israel struck an Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran targeted Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict escalated, Turkey said NATO air defense intercepted a missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkish airspace.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and 12 in Lebanon, according to officials in those countries. It disrupted the country’s oil and gas supplies, damaged international shipping, and grounded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.
Both sides continue to attack
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night, saying the strike was the first such attack by an enemy since World War II.
Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, which sank off the coast of their country. They said that some died, without giving a number.
Israel said it struck facilities linked to Iran’s Basij, the Revolutionary Guard’s volunteer militia that launched a crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands imprisoned in the country.
The Israeli military also said it struck buildings linked to Iran’s internal security forces, which have also cracked down on protests in the past. It also hit cities near Beirut.
Israel and the US have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow the country’s regime, and clashes with opposition forces may be part of that effort.
Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the center of the capital Tehran, with interviewees saying the attack had damaged their homes. The strike was also reported in the holy Shiite city of Qom, a seminary, targeting a building linked to a group of clerics set to elect Iran’s next president. Iranian media said it was empty at the time.
State TV has begun calling the conflict the “Ramadan war,” referring to the ongoing Muslim holy month of fasting. But this term also says that leaders are trying to prepare the public for conflict.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the top US military commander in the Middle East, echoed that sentiment, saying: “We’re just getting started.”
Cooper said US forces have damaged Iran’s air defenses and captured missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli army spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said that such damage has caused the initial decline from Iran.
However, an explosion was heard in the sky over Jerusalem on Wednesday. Israel’s military said Iran fired missiles at the country, and Hezbollah fired rockets.
Iran has also struck in the region, and air raid sirens sounded on Wednesday across Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
At least 1,420 people have been killed in Iran, the country’s Martyrs and Veterans Affairs organization said on Wednesday. Eleven people in Israel were killed. More than 50 people were killed in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. Six US soldiers have been killed.
Those in Tehran are not sure what to do
A resident of Tehran, who owns a clothing store, said he did not know how to protect himself from the bomb.
“It is very difficult to decide what to do. If I leave the city, how do I have to earn money to live?” said the man who did not want to be named for fear of being attacked.
Power gives in crosshairs
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most serious threat, saying a strike against it would “result in the complete destruction of the region’s military and economy.”
A cargo ship was attacked on Wednesday afternoon while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf where about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. The vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
With Iran’s attacks on roads and highways, oil prices have risen. Global markets have been in meltdown over concerns that rising oil prices could affect the global economy and erode corporate profits.
Iran’s clerics are electing a new supreme leader
Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who has ruled the country for 37 years. It is only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being elected.
Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformers who seek cooperation. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei’s son, has long been considered among them – despite the fact that he has never been elected or appointed to a government position.
In a sign that Iran’s leadership will seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the top judge warned on Wednesday that “those who join the enemy in any way will be seen as the enemy.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister threatened whoever Iran chooses to be the country’s next president.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terrorist government to continue to lead the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the people of Iran – will be the target of removal,” Israel Katz wrote on X.
It is not clear how Washington will react if a new president in the mold of Khamenei is elected. The President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, said on Tuesday “the worst case could be this, and someone takes it as bad as the last person.”
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The departure is said to be from Bangkok, and Magdy is from Cairo. Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok; Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami contributed to this report.
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