A U.S. submarine has sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, sharply escalating a conflict that is spreading across the Middle East as Washington and Israel intensify strikes on Iran’s military leadership, missile systems and symbols of state power.
The strike came as Iranian authorities postponed the mourning ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the outset of the war. State television said the scale and tempo of bombardment made it impossible to hold the event safely. Millions had attended the 1989 funeral of his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, underscoring the symbolic weight of the moment.
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The United States and Israel launched coordinated operations on Saturday, targeting Iran’s missile arsenal, Revolutionary Guard facilities and elements of its disputed nuclear program. While officials in both countries have signaled that degrading — and possibly toppling — Iran’s leadership is an objective, public messaging has shifted repeatedly, leaving uncertainty over the ultimate scope and duration of the campaign.
Expanding battlefield across the region
President Donald Trump praised U.S. forces on Wednesday, saying they were “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Republican senators later voted down a resolution that sought to halt the war under congressional war powers, signaling strong party backing for the operation despite growing casualties.
Iran has retaliated with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel and Gulf states, including Bahrain and Kuwait. Turkey said NATO air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it crossed into Turkish airspace, a sign of how widely the conflict’s shockwaves are being felt.
Israel has also exchanged fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Israeli strikes pounded suburbs of Beirut, while Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, as regional militaries scrambled to respond to incoming projectiles.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, over 70 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. service members have also died in attacks linked to Iranian retaliation.
Uncertain timeline for U.S. operations
At a Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to offer a definitive timeline for the campaign. “You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” he said. “We set the pace and the tempo.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said American forces had significantly degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli officials said the number of launches from Iran had declined in recent days, allowing authorities to ease some restrictions. Workplaces in Israel were set to reopen if shelters were nearby, though schools remain closed and air-raid sirens continue to sound in parts of the country.
Energy routes and global markets in the crosshairs
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued one of its strongest warnings yet, saying continued strikes would result in “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”
That threat appeared to materialize in the Strait of Hormuz, where a Maltese-flagged container ship was struck by two missiles, sparking a fire before its 24 crew members were rescued. The narrow waterway handles roughly a fifth of global oil shipments, and tanker traffic has fallen sharply since the conflict began, according to shipping data.
Oil prices have surged and global stock markets have been rattled amid fears that prolonged disruption could choke energy supplies and slow the world economy. International airlines have diverted flights, and hundreds of thousands of travelers remain stranded across the region.
Leadership vacuum in Tehran
Inside Iran, clerics are racing to choose a successor to Khamenei, marking only the second leadership transition since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Potential candidates range from hard-line conservatives committed to confrontation with the West to figures advocating limited diplomatic engagement. The uncertainty has fueled concerns about internal instability at a time of intense external pressure.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that any future Iranian leader who continues to threaten Israel or the United States “will be a target for elimination,” underscoring the high stakes of the succession process.
With casualties mounting, energy markets in turmoil and no clear end date in sight, the sinking of the Iranian warship signals a new and potentially more dangerous phase of a conflict that now stretches from the Indian Ocean to the eastern Mediterranean.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 04.03 2026
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