Iran launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks early Thursday targeting Israeli territory and U.S. military bases in the region, escalating a conflict that has already killed more than 1,000 people across multiple countries and rattled global energy markets.

Air-raid sirens wailed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as Israel reported multiple incoming missile barrages. Iranian state television said strikes also targeted American bases. Israel’s military said it began a “large-scale wave of strikes” against infrastructure in Tehran, while also carrying out targeted attacks in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Explosions were reported in several areas of the Iranian capital soon after.

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Fury over sunken warship

The renewed fighting follows the sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena by a U.S. submarine Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean. The Pentagon said a torpedo struck the vessel, killing at least 87 Iranian sailors. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued, while its navy recovered dozens of bodies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the strike as “an atrocity at sea,” saying the ship had been operating in international waters.

“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set,” Araghchi wrote on social media, adding that the vessel had recently participated in exercises hosted by the Indian navy.

The incident marked one of the deadliest direct confrontations between U.S. and Iranian forces in years and further widened a conflict that began Saturday when the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran.

Calls for violence

In a rare and fiery clerical statement, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called for violence against the United States and Israel during remarks broadcast on Iranian state television.

“The shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood,” he said, declaring that fighting “oppressive America” was a religious duty. Such explicit calls for violence from a senior Shiite cleric are unusual and underscored the depth of anger within parts of Iran’s leadership.

The conflict has already claimed the life of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war, along with dozens of senior commanders. Iranian authorities are now scrambling to appoint a successor, only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that the country has faced such a transition.

Expanding battlefield

Since the war began, clashes have spread beyond Iran and Israel. Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces in Lebanon, while Iran has launched missiles toward Gulf states hosting American troops. Israeli strikes have hit Beirut’s southern suburbs and other parts of Lebanon, killing several people, according to Lebanese officials.

The U.S. and Israel have said their attacks are aimed at degrading Iran’s missile arsenal and nuclear infrastructure. Some leaders have also suggested that weakening or toppling Iran’s government is an objective, though official goals and timelines have shifted repeatedly, signaling an open-ended campaign.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to specify how long operations would last.

“You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo.”

American and Israeli officials say the frequency of Iranian missile launches has declined as strikes have taken out launchers and stockpiles. Israel has eased some domestic restrictions, allowing certain workplaces to reopen if bomb shelters are nearby, though schools remain closed.

Rising casualties and oil shock

Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said more than 1,045 people have been killed in Iran since fighting began. Eleven people have died in Israel, and six U.S. service members have been killed.

The violence has also reverberated through global markets. Prior attacks have targeted the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. Brent crude prices have climbed about 15% since the conflict began, after an initial spike earlier in the week briefly subsided.

Early Thursday, oil prices resumed their ascent amid fears that continued attacks on shipping lanes or energy infrastructure could further disrupt supply.

Leadership uncertainty in Tehran

As fighting intensifies, Iran’s political future remains uncertain. Potential candidates to replace Khamenei range from hard-liners advocating confrontation with the West to more pragmatic figures favoring diplomacy. Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, has long been mentioned as a possible successor, though he has never held elected office.

In a sign of tightening internal control, Iran’s judiciary chief warned that anyone cooperating with “the enemy” would be treated as an enemy of the state.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Iran’s next supreme leader would be “a target for elimination” if he continues to threaten Israel and its allies.

With missile exchanges continuing and rhetoric hardening on both sides, the conflict shows little sign of easing — and risks drawing in more countries across an already volatile region.

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 05.03 2026

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Going as far as intentionally offing foreign leaders is crossing a line that is rarely crossed.

Think of the consequences going forward.

The Ayatollah of Iran is a major religious figure for ALL Shia Muslims in the world, and there are many Shia Muslims in other countries than Iran.

Everyone in the Trump family for generations to come is going to need to have really good security.

American culture isn't patient and always looking for the quick fix. Older cultures such as in Iran are very patient.

I can only see the US attack as radicalizing Muslims in the Middle East, and quite possibly further abroad. For example, Indonesia is 87% Muslim, Malaysia is 64%.

The filters American immigration uses to identify potential threats can't catch them all. and it only takes one willing to die for Allah.

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Going as far as intentionally offing foreign leaders is crossing a line that is rarely crossed.

If you haven't noticed, Israel and the US, oh, and Ukraine routinely off "foreign leaders." There are no rules for the US and Israel and US allies.
Eventually assassinations are going to become more commonplace I imagine as the rest of the world picks up the gauntlet and decides to play the Global Game of Thrones on the same playing field as the US. Personally I believe all leaders of sovereign nations should be off-limits, but Hegseth, Miller, and Trump have all told the world there are not rules any longer. Stand-by. Personally I believe we are on the cusp of WW3. We'll be there when the first US fighting ship is sunk somewhere in international waters. What's good for the goose........

2 minutes ago, connda said:

If you haven't noticed, Israel and the US, oh, and Ukraine routinely off "foreign leaders." There are no rules for the US and Israel and US allies.
Eventually assassinations are going to become more commonplace I imagine as the rest of the world picks up the gauntlet and decides to play the Global Game of Thrones on the same playing field as the US. Personally I believe all leaders of sovereign nations should be off-limits, but Hegseth, Miller, and Trump have all told the world there are not rules any longer. Stand-by. Personally I believe we are on the cusp of WW3. We'll be there when the first US fighting ship is sunk somewhere in international waters. What's good for the goose........

So Ukraine has killed Putin? Do tell. We do know that Putin has been trying to off Zelinskyy.

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Going as far as intentionally offing foreign leaders is crossing a line that is rarely crossed.

Think of the consequences going forward.

The Ayatollah of Iran is a major religious figure for ALL Shia Muslims in the world, and there are many Shia Muslims in other countries than Iran.

Everyone in the Trump family for generations to come is going to need to have really good security.

American culture isn't patient and always looking for the quick fix. Older cultures such as in Iran are very patient.

Thanks for that very perceptive observation.

Here was me for so long just seeing you as a Hasbara shill with a dangerously high post-count.

My sincere congratulations, if you really are starting to notice that there two sides to this terrible problem.

Standing back a bit, I would like all the UN to agree that whoever wants a war to put forward their political leaders to fight to the death. Khomeini versus Trump. Masoud Pezeshkian versus Isaac Herzog.

Stole the idea from the video When Two Tribes Go To War but it would satisfy me and others.

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Going as far as intentionally offing foreign leaders is crossing a line that is rarely crossed.

Think of the consequences going forward.

The Ayatollah of Iran is a major religious figure for ALL Shia Muslims in the world, and there are many Shia Muslims in other countries than Iran.

Everyone in the Trump family for generations to come is going to need to have really good security.

American culture isn't patient and always looking for the quick fix. Older cultures such as in Iran are very patient.

The "Supreme Leader" whom I suspect you are referring to when you used the made up term "Ayatollah of Iran" is NOT a major religious figure for ALL Shia Muslims, unless you are suggesting all Shia share the same quasi Marxist-Islamist-Muslim Brotherhood mashup that the political classes in Iran share.

The characters who ARE major religious figures in the Shia world are the Grand Ayatollahs, or Marjas. There are 12 of them, mostly Iranian, but not all. For instance, Mohammad al-Sannad is a Bahraini Grand Ayatollah who lives in Iraq. The oldest is Hossein Wahid Khorasani, at 105 years old. Sayyid Reza Hosseini Nassab is a Grand Ayatollah born in Iran, but preaching from Canada.

Ali Khamenei was not a proper Grand Ayatollah. Originally the Iranian constitution was written saying the Supreme Leader had to be one of these 12. But guess what, just before Ruhollah Khomeini pegged it in 1989, they rewrote the constitution. The bloke, the Marja, that Khomeini thought was going to take over from him, had a falling out, because Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri didn't approve of the human rights abuses, he was a staunch defender of the rights of members of the baha'i faith, women's rights and civil rights in general. Khomeini canvassed the other Grand Ayatollahs, and none of them wanted anything to do with the job. Montazeri didn't think the Islamic Republic of Iran was much of an Islamic state. He was one of Ali Khamenei's teachers. Ended his days under house arrest for basically calling Khamenei an idiot.

Montazeri was a figure who inspired the Green Movement. Let Americans know; Iran will remain as an Islamic Republic, their religion will be the centre of their politics. There is no appetite for a Western style secular government (though arguably, the US Goverment is in the process of ditching its secular nature, with the institutionalisation of religion in the classroom outside of RE).

Ali Khamenei was a lower ranked Ayatollah. In 2018, he said he didn't think he was qualifed to be one of the Marja. But in 2022, one of the Marja, citing old age, resigned. This had never happened before, and Ali Khamenei was elevated. It was obviously rigged, to give this character some false grounding during a time when Iran was facing internal strife. The one who resigned is still alive, and not even the oldest.

You can see the reaction in the Shia world, or lack of, to Ali Khamenei's death. I am not reading of Southern Iraq becoming ungovernable, and ministers hanging from lamp posts. Bahrain remains orderly. I think few actually mourn him, recognising him as a bit of a shyster. Sure, there are proxies affiliated to Iran doing their bidding, but no mass outpouring of support.

The Permian Extinction Event may seem insignificant, by comparison to today's events, to our microbial descendants, if things continue, as we do, sooner or later...

1 minute ago, GammaGlobulin said:

The Permian Extinction Event

Repent, repent for the end is nigh !

except if you are a Zionist then Armageddon is a good thing !

3 minutes ago, Roadsternut said:

a bit of a shyster

I have read Shakespeare and I have never read about a shyster.

There was Shylock, of course.

But, no shyster, IMHO.

2 minutes ago, johng said:

Repent, repent for the end is nigh !

except if you are a Zionist then Armageddon is a good thing !

Are you ALSO a fan of The New Yorker?

By the way: Some EFFING nitwit at the New Yorker tried to stop me...a NON-ELITE...from...

Enjoying a few illustrations...and so I say....

F that!

And, ....

I will........NEVER REPENT.....

Anyway, NYC's days are numbered.

They have plans to address flooding but.....

This will be a losing battle.

They need to move their city, NYC, to higher ground....hopefully in North Dakota.

I will NEVER, again, read The New Yorker, even though I once was a subscriber.

Now that Cheever is gone, really, this lousy rag is not worth the time of day.

Here's an interesting video on why the US will lose the war against Iran:

https://theworldwatch.com/videos/1612299/n-a-bombshell-interview-professor-jiang-predicts-the-united-states-will-lose-the-war-against-iran-and-explains-exactly-how/

32 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

Here's an interesting video on why the US will lose the war against Iran:

https://theworldwatch.com/videos/1612299/n-a-bombshell-interview-professor-jiang-predicts-the-united-states-will-lose-the-war-against-iran-and-explains-exactly-how/

The "professor's" background (he is a high school teacher with only a BA degree in English):

• Education: Holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Literature from Yale College (1999).

• Current Position: Teacher of history and philosophy at Moonshot Academy in Beijing (2022–present).

• Former Positions: Previously served as Deputy Principal at Shenzhen Middle School (2008–2010) and Program Director at Peking University High School International Division (2010–2012).

1 hour ago, EastBayRay said:

They are already radicalized the last thing we should do is bow down to terror from these ragheads well done trump it’s long overdue

There are just over 2 billion Muslims in the world. It's the world's fastest growing religion. There are just under 16 million Jews.

I'd say math is not one of your strong points.

@EastBayRay
Ethno-religious / Ethno-racial slurs aimed at followers of Islam have been removed. This is an informal warning to everyone to respect other religions and DO NOT demean their adherents by using ugly ethno-religious slurs.

2 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

The "Supreme Leader" whom I suspect you are referring to when you used the made up term "Ayatollah of Iran" is NOT a major religious figure for ALL Shia Muslims, unless you are suggesting all Shia share the same quasi Marxist-Islamist-Muslim Brotherhood mashup that the political classes in Iran share.

The characters who ARE major religious figures in the Shia world are the Grand Ayatollahs, or Marjas. There are 12 of them, mostly Iranian, but not all. For instance, Mohammad al-Sannad is a Bahraini Grand Ayatollah who lives in Iraq. The oldest is Hossein Wahid Khorasani, at 105 years old. Sayyid Reza Hosseini Nassab is a Grand Ayatollah born in Iran, but preaching from Canada.

Ali Khamenei was not a proper Grand Ayatollah. Originally the Iranian constitution was written saying the Supreme Leader had to be one of these 12. But guess what, just before Ruhollah Khomeini pegged it in 1989, they rewrote the constitution. The bloke, the Marja, that Khomeini thought was going to take over from him, had a falling out, because Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri didn't approve of the human rights abuses, he was a staunch defender of the rights of members of the baha'i faith, women's rights and civil rights in general. Khomeini canvassed the other Grand Ayatollahs, and none of them wanted anything to do with the job. Montazeri didn't think the Islamic Republic of Iran was much of an Islamic state. He was one of Ali Khamenei's teachers. Ended his days under house arrest for basically calling Khamenei an idiot.

Montazeri was a figure who inspired the Green Movement. Let Americans know; Iran will remain as an Islamic Republic, their religion will be the centre of their politics. There is no appetite for a Western style secular government (though arguably, the US Goverment is in the process of ditching its secular nature, with the institutionalisation of religion in the classroom outside of RE).

Ali Khamenei was a lower ranked Ayatollah. In 2018, he said he didn't think he was qualifed to be one of the Marja. But in 2022, one of the Marja, citing old age, resigned. This had never happened before, and Ali Khamenei was elevated. It was obviously rigged, to give this character some false grounding during a time when Iran was facing internal strife. The one who resigned is still alive, and not even the oldest.

You can see the reaction in the Shia world, or lack of, to Ali Khamenei's death. I am not reading of Southern Iraq becoming ungovernable, and ministers hanging from lamp posts. Bahrain remains orderly. I think few actually mourn him, recognising him as a bit of a shyster. Sure, there are proxies affiliated to Iran doing their bidding, but no mass outpouring of support.

You are presenting yourself as an expert on this but frankly it's a waste on me as I'm just not very interested in such details and I also see you have an agenda that I'm not convinced is fully correct.

I am convinced (whatever you say) that the murdered supreme leader was indeed an influential leader to Shia Muslims everywhere. Never said he was the equivalent to a Pope. Of course not.

Of course even if it was only about Iranian Shias (which it is not) there are a lot of them who are loyal to their religion and the regime and the memories of such people will be very long lasting.

So my point stands, if you're a Trump now or 50 years from now, you'll never really be safe from the "holy" revenge of fanatical Shai Muslims.

2 hours ago, John Drake said:

The "professor's" background (he is a high school teacher with only a BA degree in English):

• Education: Holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Literature from Yale College (1999).

• Current Position: Teacher of history and philosophy at Moonshot Academy in Beijing (2022–present).

• Former Positions: Previously served as Deputy Principal at Shenzhen Middle School (2008–2010) and Program Director at Peking University High School International Division (2010–2012).

He is clearly an intelligent and knowledgeable person. I found his case well thought out and plausible. That matters more to me that diplomas.

3 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

Here's an interesting video on why the US will lose the war against Iran:

https://theworldwatch.com/videos/1612299/n-a-bombshell-interview-professor-jiang-predicts-the-united-states-will-lose-the-war-against-iran-and-explains-exactly-how/

First tell us which war the US has won in the past 60 odd years

2 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

First tell us which war the US has won in the past 60 odd years

Desert Storm.

5 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

First tell us which war the US has won in the past 60 odd years

Both Iraq wars plus Afghan war if you look at the number of deaths. So that is three. I will go look up Vietnam now.

The Vietnam War (1955–1975) resulted in2–4 million total Vietnamese deaths (military/civilian). Key, verifiable military fatalities included over 58,220 U.S. deaths, 4,407–5,099 South Korean, 521 Australian, 351 Thai, and 37–38 New Zealanders. North Vietnamese/Viet Cong military deaths are estimated at 849,018 to 1.1 million. 

So that's four.

7 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

First tell us which war the US has won in the past 60 odd years

Bosnia

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

You are presenting yourself as an expert on this but frankly it's a waste on me as I'm just not very interested in such details and I also see you have an agenda that I'm not convinced is fully correct.

You are not interested in details that counter to your preferred narrative?

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

There are just over 2 billion Muslims in the world. It's the world's fastest growing religion. There are just under 16 million Jews.

I'd say math is not one of your strong points.

Is that why you live in Buddhist Thailand?

39 minutes ago, khaosokman said:

Both Iraq wars plus Afghan war if you look at the number of deaths. So that is three. I will go look up Vietnam now.

They did not take part in those wars on their own! They had coalitions/allies in all of them!

1 hour ago, BangkokHank said:

He is clearly an intelligent and knowledgeable person. I found his case well thought out and plausible. That matters more to me that diplomas.

His entire theory is based on a science fiction novel. He says quite plainly that he is adapting Asimov's notion of psychohistory from his Foundation trilogy. It is literally science fiction.

When is Iran going to activate the sleeper cells ?

50 minutes ago, FlorC said:

When is Iran going to activate the sleeper cells ?

You're confusing the Persian Shia Muslims with their radical Sunni Wahhabi brothers 👈 (The ones that the US uses as proxies to create chaos).
The US calls non-radicals like Shia Muslims "terrorists" and calls actual terrorists moderate rebels (i.e., like the Bin Ladens and Syria's Al-Jolani) moderate rebels. When you grasp the propaganda you'll figure it out...or not. You're supposed to be confused.

7 hours ago, connda said:

If you haven't noticed, Israel and the US, oh, and Ukraine routinely off "foreign leaders." There are no rules for the US and Israel and US allies.
Eventually assassinations are going to become more commonplace I imagine as the rest of the world picks up the gauntlet and decides to play the Global Game of Thrones on the same playing field as the US. Personally I believe all leaders of sovereign nations should be off-limits, but Hegseth, Miller, and Trump have all told the world there are not rules any longer. Stand-by. Personally I believe we are on the cusp of WW3. We'll be there when the first US fighting ship is sunk somewhere in international waters. What's good for the goose........

Your double standard once again is on display.

Iran tried to assassinate the US President twice.

Iran tried to assassinate the former Canadian Minister of Justice.

This was done done before the USA took any military action against Iran.

The attempt on the Canadian minister was because of his stand on human rights and advocating on behalf of the Canadians murdered while in Iranian custody.

Ayatollah wanted to cross the line and he found out.

6 hours ago, John Drake said:

The "professor's" background (he is a high school teacher with only a BA degree in English):

• Education: Holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Literature from Yale College (1999).

• Current Position: Teacher of history and philosophy at Moonshot Academy in Beijing (2022–present).

• Former Positions: Previously served as Deputy Principal at Shenzhen Middle School (2008–2010) and Program Director at Peking University High School International Division (2010–2012).

What about this expert?