Dubai: Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon early Friday as the US apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea in its unrelenting campaign against the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships.
Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East at the end of a full week of bombardment, which US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned was “about to surge dramatically.”
Israel’s military said Friday morning it had begun “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital. Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Iran’s air defences and missile launchers.
The war has escalated to affect countries across the Middle East and beyond. Early Friday, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host US forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
In Lebanon, where the war has rekindled fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late Thursday into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas. Motorists jammed roads trying to flee or seek shelter.
The US and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.
In addition to Israel, Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbours, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
US says it struck an Iranian drone carrier
The US military said early Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze.
The US military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-metre-long (yard) runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2005 inauguration.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, described the carrier as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.”
“And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper told reporters.
Under cover of darkness Friday morning, B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000 pound “penetrator” bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers inside Iran, Cooper said.
“We’ve also struck Iran’s equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.
Speaking alongside Cooper, Hegseth gave few details when he promised an upcoming surge.
“It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
Iran targets country’s hosting US forces
Qatar’s Defence Ministry reported early Friday it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the US Central Command.
Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which hosts US forces, said a spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. It said there were no casualties. In Kuwait, where the six US soldiers were killed Sunday, the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were activated when missile and drone attacks breached Kuwait’s airspace.
Cooper said Iranian attacks had now hit a dozen countries, who would be welcome to play a more active role in the conflict.
“Those 12 countries are none too happy and I look forward to working with all the partners who are willing to join us,” he said.
Trump again urges Iranians to “take back” their country
In brief remarks at the White House, US President Donald Trump again urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country.” This time, he promised the US would grant them “immunity” amid the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime.
“So you’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity,” Trump said, without giving any details about what that meant. “Or you’ll face guaranteed death.”
Cooper and Hegseth cautioned Iranians not to take to the streets while the conflict is still raging, however.
“It’s common sense, don’t go out and protest while bombs are dropping” Hegseth said.
“The best thing for them to do now is just to lie low,” Cooper added.
In an interview with the news website Axios, Trump said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, being a front-runner to replace his father, calling him “a lightweight.”
“We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.
Iran official says there’s no trust to resume talks with US
Iran has not requested talks with the US to bring an end to the widening war, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt told the Associated Press Thursday. Ambassador Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour denied comments by Trump that Iran wants to negotiate.
He said a lack of trust makes such engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with war.
“There will be no trust in Trump,” Ferdousi Pour said.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US Navy of committing “an atrocity at sea” for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 crew members.
The Iranian ship was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the US also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued.
Israel hits Lebanon with multiple airstrikes around Beirut
Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes late Thursday and early Friday, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. Fires broke out near a gas station.
The Israeli army issued a warning Thursday evening, urging residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately.” Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. No casualties were immediately reported.
The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war.
A spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel, said Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border.
