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On Friday, severe Israeli airstrikes targeted the capitals of Iran and Lebanon, as the United States reportedly attacked an Iranian drone carrier at sea, continuing its determined efforts against Iran’s naval forces.
As the week-long bombardment concluded, Iran initiated fresh retaliatory assaults across the Middle East. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cautioned that these attacks were set to “intensify significantly.”
Israel’s military announced on Friday morning that it had launched “an extensive series of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital. Witnesses noted the exceptional intensity of the strikes, which caused buildings to tremble. Others observed explosions near the Iranian city of Kermanshah, a region known for housing numerous missile installations.
The Israeli military claimed their operations had already dismantled the majority of Iran’s air defenses and missile systems.
This conflict has now broadened its impact across the Middle East and beyond. Early on Friday, Iran launched missile and drone attacks against Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain—countries that host U.S. military bases. No casualties were immediately reported.
In Lebanon, where the war has rekindled fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late on Thursday into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas. Motorists jammed roads trying to flee or seek shelter.
The US and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.
In addition to Israel, Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbours, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
US says it struck an Iranian drone carrier
The US military said early on Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze.
The US military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-metre-long runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2025 inauguration.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, described the carrier as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier”.
“And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper told reporters.
Earlier in the week, an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka as it was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the US also joined. The sinking killed at least 87 sailors.
Under cover of darkness on Friday morning, B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2000-pound “penetrator” bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers inside Iran, Cooper said.
“We’ve also struck Iran’s equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.
Speaking alongside Cooper, Hegseth gave few details when he promised an upcoming surge.
“It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
Iran targets country’s hosting US forces
Qatar’s Defence Ministry reported early on Friday it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the US Central Command.
Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early on Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which hosts US forces, said a spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. It said there were no casualties. In Kuwait, where the six US soldiers were killed Sunday, the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were activated when missile and drone attacks breached Kuwait’s airspace.
Cooper said Iranian attacks had now hit a dozen countries, who would be welcome to play a more active role in the conflict.
“Those 12 countries are none too happy and I look forward to working with all the partners who are willing to join us,” he said.
In Israel, the sound of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv on Friday morning after a warning about missiles incoming from Iran, as air defence systems worked to intercept the barrage.
Trump again urges Iranians to ‘take back’ their country
In brief remarks at the White House, US President Donald Trump again urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country”. This time he promised the US would grant them “immunity” amid the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime.
“So you’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity,” Trump said, without giving any details about what that meant. “Or you’ll face absolutely guaranteed death.”
Cooper and Hegseth cautioned Iranians not to take to the streets while the conflict is still raging, however.
“It’s common sense, don’t go out and protest while bombs are dropping” Hegseth said.
“The best thing for them to do now is just to lay low,” Cooper added.
In an interview with the news website Axios, Trump said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, being a front-runner to replace his father, calling him “a lightweight”.
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.
Iranian officials meet to discuss new leadership
Iranian state television reported on Friday that a leadership council had started discussing how to convene the country’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.
The leadership council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi and cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi.
The statement provided no timeline on the selection of the supreme leader, nor information on whether the Assembly of Experts would meet in person or remotely for the vote.
Buildings associated with the Assembly of Experts, a 88-member clerical panel, have been attacked during the Israeli-US airstrike campaign.
Israel hits Lebanon with multiple airstrikes around Beirut
Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes late on Thursday and early on Friday, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. Fires broke out near a gas station.
The Israeli army issued a warning on Thursday evening, urging residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately”. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. No casualties were immediately reported.
The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war.
A spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel, said on Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border.