Iran launches new wave of attacks, says US will ‘bitterly regret’ sinking ship

2026-03-05 - 09:13

DUBAI — Iran launched a new wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases early Thursday after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean while Israel said it had begun a “large-scale” attack on Tehran as the conflict entered a sixth day. The fighting continued after the US and Israel intensified their bombardment Wednesday of Iran’s security forces and other symbols of power.Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted US bases. Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.The Israeli military said it launched targeted attacks against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and large-scale strikes against infrastructure in Iran’s capital. Explosions were heard in multiple locations in Tehran a short time later. The US Navy sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, killing at least dozens of Iranian sailors, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi decried Thursday as “an atrocity at sea.” “Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” he wrote on social media. “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set.” The US and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict. US and Israeli strikes on Iran were so intense Wednesday that a mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, had to be postponed. Countries around the region braced for potential dangers Thursday, a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” Qatar’s Interior Ministry said authorities were evacuating residents near the US Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution, without providing further details. Fighter jets could be heard overhead in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai and Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan. A new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger.An explosion rocked the area early Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center run by the British military. It said a tanker apparently came under attack, but the agency did not offer a cause. Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command as well as the Basij, an all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard whose bloody crackdown on protesters in January left thousands dead. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said his country’s forces have decentralized leadership, with units acting largely on their own, which could blunt the effect of attacks on top command and control hubs. US and Israeli military officials say launches from Iran have declined as their attacks have taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israel’s Homefront Command announced it was easing restrictions that closed workplaces nationwide. It said workplaces could reopen Thursday if there is a shelter nearby. Schools would remain closed. Still, explosions sounded early Thursday in Israel, which said its defensive systems were moving to intercept at least three waves of Iranian missiles.At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people have died in Israel. Six US troops have been killed, including a major whose identity was released Wednesday. Another eight people were killed in Lebanon, including two in a building struck by the Israeli military in the Beddawi refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli on Thursday and three on a coastal highway, authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strikes. In two near-simultaneous Israeli drone strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs late Wednesday, two vehicles were hit, killing three people and wounding six, the health ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah member, adding that further details would follow. Israel’s military also said it had hit “several command centers” used by Hezbollah in Beirut and showed video footage of a building being hit, but provided no further details. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the offensive against Iran was originally planned for mid-2026, but “the need arose to bring everything forward to February.” He listed events inside Iran, Trump’s positions and the possibility of “creating a combined operation” as reasons. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the US launched its operation partly out of concern Iran might strike US personnel and assets in the region first. A phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the airstrikes began also was “important with respect to the timeline,” she said. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would result in “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” A Maltese-flagged container ship was attacked Wednesday while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. The ship was hit by two missiles, sparking a fire, according to Malta’s transport minister, Chris Bonett. Its 24 crew members were rescued. Tanker traffic through the strait has fallen by around 90 percent compared to prewar levels, shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said Wednesday. Oil prices have soared as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait, and global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy. — Agencies