Israel expanded its campaign against Iran on multiple fronts, launching new strikes in Tehran and against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the U.S.-Israeli operation could continue for weeks and confirmed the first American deaths of the conflict.
The Israeli military said its air force had established aerial superiority over Tehran and hit intelligence, security and military command centers across the capital. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel, including in Tel Aviv, where projectiles were seen streaking through the night sky amid fresh Iranian missile barrages.
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Israel also struck sites in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, with more than a dozen explosions reported in the Lebanese capital. The military said it targeted senior Hezbollah militants near Beirut and intercepted at least one projectile launched from Lebanon, while others landed in open areas. Hezbollah acknowledged launching missiles and drones toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Thousands of people were fleeing toward Beirut from southern Lebanon. Israel warned residents of dozens of villages in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate and said Hezbollah would be held “fully responsible for any escalation.” Lebanon’s presidency said it was told by the U.S. ambassador that Israel would not escalate against Lebanon as long as there were no hostile acts from the Lebanese side.
Trump, in a video message, paid tribute to three U.S. service members killed in the campaign as “true American patriots,” warning there would likely be more casualties. “That’s the way it is,” he said. He vowed strikes on Iran would continue until “all our objectives are achieved,” without specifying those goals. The U.S. military said American aircraft and warships have struck more than 1,000 Iranian targets since the start of major combat operations, and Trump said the assault had destroyed nine Iranian navy ships and a naval building.
The president urged Iran’s military and police, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to stop fighting, promising immunity to those who surrender and threatening “certain death” to those who resist. He called on Iranians to “be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country,” adding, “America is with you.” Trump told multiple news outlets the campaign could continue for at least four weeks. Top administration officials are set to brief the full membership of the U.S. Senate and House, a White House spokesperson said. An extended military campaign could pose political risks for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of U.S. midterm elections.
In Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian said a leadership council composed of himself, the judiciary head and a member of the Guardian Council had temporarily assumed the duties of Supreme Leader following Khamenei’s death. The power vacuum has raised questions about stability in Tehran, though analysts said the loss, while severe, would not necessarily end the clerical establishment’s rule or diminish the Revolutionary Guards’ influence.
The Revolutionary Guards said they had hit three U.S. and U.K. oil tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and attacked military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain with drones and missiles. Shipping data showed hundreds of vessels, including oil and gas tankers, dropping anchor in nearby waters, with traders expecting sharp jumps in crude prices. Global air travel was snarled as continued strikes kept major Middle Eastern airports shut, including Dubai — the world’s busiest international hub — in one of the biggest aviation interruptions in recent years.
Oman’s foreign ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had indicated Tehran was open to de-escalation, though in a post on X, Araqchi also suggested Iran was ready to keep fighting. The latest tit-for-tat between Israel and Hezbollah widens a regional conflict that has intensified since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, after a U.S.-brokered 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon had left Hezbollah severely weakened.
Trump, who has been staying at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, did not speak with the pool of reporters traveling with him. The White House has not outlined longer-term aims for Iran as the crisis deepens.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
