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Israeli airstrikes targeted Tehran and Beirut on Friday, coinciding with a U.S. attack on an Iranian drone carrier at sea. This marks an escalation in efforts against Iran’s naval forces.
In response, Iran launched retaliatory attacks early Friday on neighboring countries with U.S. military bases, though no casualties have been reported thus far.
Israel’s military announced a “broadscale wave of strikes” on Tehran early Friday. Witnesses reported intense explosions shaking local residences, while other blasts were noted in Kermanshah, a region known for its missile bases.
The Israeli forces claim to have significantly crippled Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cautioned that attacks on Tehran are poised for a significant increase.
Israel’s military said Friday morning it had begun “a broadscale wave of strikes” on Tehran. Witnesses described powerful blasts that shook homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
The Israeli military said the fighting has destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned strikes against Tehran were “about to surge dramatically.”
The latest strikes come as the conflict reaches the one-week mark, rattling financial markets as fighting spreads across the Middle East. Beyond Israel, Iranian strikes have targeted Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and caused widespread flight disruptions.
Officials say the war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel. Six U.S. service members have also been killed.
UK arrests 4 men suspected of aiding Iran
London police said four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community.
The suspects, one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals, have been taken into custody on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, the Metropolitan Police said.
The force said the men, ages 22, 40, 52 and 55, were arrested at addresses in and around north London shortly after 1 a.m. The men are suspected of spying on locations and individuals.
“We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us,” said Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, who is in charge of counterterrorism policing in London.
Lebanon’s prime minister calls for international help
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is calling on the international community to help Lebanon.
“A humanitarian disaster is looming” because of the large-scale displacement of people, he warned.
Salam criticized both Israel and Hezbollah over the current crisis, saying the Lebanese state and its people “did not choose this war.”
Speaking to heads of diplomatic missions in Beirut, Salam appealed to Lebanon’s allies to support “us in this endeavor” and called on the international community to help stop Israel’s attacks and spare the country’s infrastructure.
Israel hits Lebanon with multiple airstrikes around Beirut
Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes late Thursday and early Friday, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. Fires broke out near a gas station.
The Israeli army issued a warning Thursday evening, urging residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately.” Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. No casualties were immediately reported.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said he was “extremely concerned” about the situation, particularly what he described as “blanket, massive displacement orders” by Israel to civilians in Lebanon.
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.
Iranian officials meet to discuss new leadership
Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council had started discussing how to convene the country’s Assembly of Experts, an 88-member panel that 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 for selecting the supreme leader, nor any information on whether the assembly would meet in person for the vote. Buildings associated with the Assembly of Experts have been attacked by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.
UN human rights chief pleads for peace
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said Friday that “the world urgently needs to see steps to contain and extinguish this blaze.”
“Instead we are only seeing more inflammatory, bellicose rhetoric, more bombings, more destruction, killings and escalation, that fuels it further,” he wrote on social media.
Türk is urging the countries involved in the war “to take immediate steps to de-escalate, to give peace a chance.” And he says that other countries should “call clearly on those involved to pull back.”
He said he’s also “extremely concerned” about the situation in Lebanon following Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel and Israel’s counterstrikes.
Türk said he’s particularly worried about what he described as “blanket, massive displacement orders” by Israel to civilians in Lebanon.
“Obviously, this raises serious concern under international humanitarian law and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer,” he said.