TEHRAN, Iran — Israel launched fresh air strikes across Iran on Thursday, the fifth day of a U.S.-Israeli offensive that has killed more than 1,000 people, damaged security installations and residential buildings, and forced the postponement of funeral rites for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israeli strikes hit targets in Tehran, the holy city of Qom, western Iran and multiple sites in central Isfahan province, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. Israel said it targeted buildings used by the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and facilities linked to the country’s internal security command. Iranian media said nearby homes were also damaged.
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The nationwide campaign has left civilians “bearing the brunt,” Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Vall reported from Tehran, describing a “continuous, sustained” barrage that has spared no region. He said 300 children and adolescents were hospitalized among more than 6,000 people reported wounded.
Iranian state media put the death toll since Saturday at 1,045. The United Nations said that between Feb. 28 and March 1, an estimated 100,000 people fled Tehran because of the fighting.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said satellite images showed damage to two buildings near the Isfahan nuclear complex but reported no impact to facilities containing nuclear material and no risk of radiological release.
As explosions reverberated in major cities, authorities postponed multi-day funeral ceremonies for Khamenei, who Iran says was killed in the opening salvo of U.S. and Israeli strikes that also claimed other senior officials, including Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh. Tasnim cited logistical concerns for the delay. The ceremonies are expected to draw vast crowds reminiscent of the mass outpouring for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
With the leadership in flux, Iran’s Assembly of Experts and Guardian Council have been convening to choose a successor. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who sits on both bodies, told state TV that the selection was near but complicated by “a war situation.” No official candidate list has been released, but Israeli and Western media have reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, is a frontrunner.
In a sign of rising regional stakes, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on X that “every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime” to continue Tehran’s policies “will be a target for elimination.”
Iran has responded to the strikes with salvos of missiles and drones aimed at Israel and U.S. military bases across the Gulf. Israel, the United States and several Gulf states say they have intercepted most incoming munitions, though some hit military assets and civilian infrastructure. Falling debris from interceptions has also caused damage in populated areas.
President Donald Trump, who has said the conflict could last weeks, declared Wednesday that Tehran’s leadership was “rapidly going” and that contenders to lead “end up dead.” In Washington, the U.S. Senate voted down a resolution to curb Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran, preserving broad executive latitude as the campaign continues.
Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, accused Trump of having “betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him,” writing on X that reducing complex nuclear talks to a “real estate transaction” guaranteed “unrealistic expectations” and, ultimately, “bombing the negotiation table out of spite.”
The political costs of escalation are likely to diverge, analysts say. Israel, under sustained threat, stands to enjoy firmer long-term public backing, while Trump may face growing domestic scrutiny over objectives and exit strategies, said Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar. “The political constraints on Donald Trump are greater than they appear,” he told Al Jazeera.
With funerals delayed, succession undecided and exchanges of fire ongoing, Iran’s most volatile week in decades showed little sign of abating. Authorities urged vigilance around potential mass gatherings as air defenses stayed on alert — and residents braced for another night of sirens.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
