Iran launches new wave of attacks on Israeli and US bases while Israel begins new strikes in Lebanon

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched new wave of attacks Thursday morning at Israeli and American bases following a threat to destroy military and economic infrastructure across the region, which came after the U.S. and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran and a U.S. Navy submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.

Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted U.S. bases. The Israeli military said it launched targeted strikes in Lebanon at Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The U.S. 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.

The tempo of American and Israeli strikes on Iran was so intense Wednesday that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military for “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate stood with Trump on Iran as they voted down a resolution seeking to halt the war.

Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel as the conflict spiraled. Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.

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 U.S. 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. Iran in the past has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them.

Prior attacks since fighting began Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, which connects it to the Persian Gulf and through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped.

Brent crude prices are up 15% since the start of the conflict as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait, with the current price the highest since July 2024.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from an American submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued, while its navy recovered 87 bodies.

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.

During his Pentagon briefing, Hegseth did not give a definitive timeline for U.S. operations, which Trump has said could last for a month or longer.

“You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”

U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

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.

The protests in Iran put unprecedented pressure on its leadership. Trump threatened military action in response to the crackdown before shifting his attention to Iran's disputed nuclear program.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the U.S. launched its operation partly out of concern Iran might strike U.S. 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 leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It is only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen.

Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei’s son, has long been considered among them, though he has never held a government position.

In a sign that Iran’s leadership will only seek to consolidate its power, the head of the judiciary warned that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”

Israel's defense minister, Katz, said on X that Iran's next supreme leader “will be a target for elimination” if he continues to threaten Israel, the U.S. and others.

Rising reported from Bangkok, Becatoros from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami contributed to this report.

A man passes by a destroyed car and shop on a commercial street that was hit by Israeli airstrikes in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Rescue workers check a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A giant poster shows the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, while workers check a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A stranded passenger sleeps on the floor outside Dubai International Airport terminal as the airport resumes limited operations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A stranded passenger sleeps on the floor outside Dubai International Airport terminal as the airport resumes limited operations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Some holding pictures of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mourners reach out to coffins during a funeral for people killed during the ongoing U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Payman Shahsanaei/ISNA via AP)

A billboard showing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, looms over an empty square in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Plumes of smoke rise as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A police officer salutes as vehicles transport British Defence Secretary John Healey enter at the U.K.'s RAF Akrotiri air base near Limassol, Cyprus, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Israeli security forces inspect the site struck by an Iranian missile in central Israel, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Residents and Israeli security forces inspect the site struck by an Iranian missile in central Israel, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Smoke and flames rise from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, near Rafik Hariri International Airport, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A cleric leads a group of volunteers in prayer next to a police facility struck during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Israeli tanks maneuver near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A shepherd boy walks away from an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A man carries an Iranian flag to place on the rubble of a police facility struck during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media Wednesday that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart, if Iran accepts a reported agreement that he did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump's post said.

The White House believes it is nearing an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios. It said provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, a lifting of U.S. sanctions and the distribution of frozen Iranian funds and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for ships.

Trump wrote that it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.

The White House did not respond to questions about the possible agreement.

Also Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is appearing before a House committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as lawmakers seek answers for Lutnick’s contact with him in the years after 2008. Lutnick has given contradictory statements about his relationship with Epstein but says he has done nothing wrong and welcomes the closed-door interview with lawmakers.

Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that’s becoming increasingly clear — while Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have the momentum ahead of November’s midterm elections. In Indiana, five of the president’s candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash.

And Trump has renewed his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, potentially complicating a fence-mending visit that Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to make this week to the Vatican. In an interview, Trump said the first American-born pontiff is helping Iran and also making the world less safe with his comments about the importance of not treating immigrants with disrespect.

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Hamburg-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is costing it around $60 million a week, in particular in costs for fuel and insurance, as it remains too risky to permit its ships to try getting through.

Insurance costs have shot up due to the risk of attack from Iranian drones and small boats. Alternate routes to safe harbors or overland are “limited in capacity and cannot completely replace the regular maritime routes through the region,” a company statement said.

The number of ships passing the strait has dwindled to a trickle. Iran has demanded that vessels go through a vetting process run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp that involves passing to the north near the Iranian cost, submitting information on crew and cargo, and in some cases paying. But paying the IRGC risks running afoul of sanctions from the US and the EU, which have designated it a terrorist organization.

Oil prices and shipping are unlikely to return to normal until it’s clear the risk of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have receded, cautions Kaho Yu, head of energy and resources resources at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

“Even with diplomatic engagement continuing, energy markets are unlikely to return quickly to pre-crisis assumptions,” he said. “Refiners, shippers, and commodity traders will remain cautious until there is clearer evidence that Hormuz disruptions will not re-escalate.”

Despite the Iran-China meeting’s emphasis on de-escalation, “Hormuz remains the real metric that will be watched,” he added. “Tanker traffic and energy flows over the coming weeks and months are likely to matter more than diplomatic language in assessing whether Beijing can translate influence with Tehran into practical stability.”

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the United States is no longer a great place for immigrants, according to the AP-NORC poll.

Roughly 3 in 10 say the U.S. is a great place for immigrants, while about 1 in 10 say it never was. The belief that America is no longer great for immigrants is more common among Democrats and independents.

Nick Grivas, a 40-year-old Democrat from Massachusetts, said he worries that federal immigration policies could discourage new arrivals from investing in their communities, especially if they don’t believe they will be allowed to remain.

“You’re less willing to commit to the project if you don’t think that you’re gonna be able to stay,” he said.

The White House believes it is nearing an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios.

There is not an agreement yet, but the provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, a lifting of U.S. sanctions and the distribution of frozen Iranian funds and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for ships.

The White House did not respond to questions about the possible agreement.

Trump posted on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump said.

Trump said that it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.

Many U.S. adults say they or someone they know has made life changes because of immigration enforcement over the last year, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

About one-third of Americans say they know someone who has started carrying proof of their immigration status or U.S. citizenship, been detained or deported, changed their travel plans, or significantly changed their routines – such as avoiding work, school or leaving the house – because of their immigration status.

This is especially true among Hispanic adults, with more than half knowing someone affected. Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say they have a personal connection to someone impacted by immigration enforcement.

Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict. He spoke after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.

China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.

The Chinese minister’s comments followed an earlier statement by Trump that he was pausing his short-lived U.S. effort to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz in hopes that a deal could be finalized. A shaky ceasefire has been largely holding, despite exchanges of fire during the U.S. push to reopen the strait on Monday.

The seat has been vacant for more than a year, since Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned to take a seat in Congress.

Democrats are showing surprising strength in special elections and off-year contests across the country, winning races in unexpected places and significantly narrowing the gap, even when they fall short.

There’s no guarantee the trend will continue through the midterms, when turnout will be much higher, but it has nonetheless energized Democrats and spooked Republicans worried about keeping their congressional majorities.

Trump took aim at seven Republican state senators in Indiana who opposed his plan to redraw congressional district boundaries to help the party gain seats in the U.S. House. His intervention mostly paid off.

Groups allied with the president spent more than $8.3 million on advertising, an extraordinary surge of money into races that are typically low-profile.

Five Trump-backed challengers won. One incumbent won. A seventh contest was too close to call on Tuesday night.

The races were a test of Trump’s enduring grip over his party as Republicans grow increasingly anxious about the midterm elections.

By winning most of them, Trump sent a signal to Republicans everywhere that they can still get thrown out of office if they distance themselves from him even as his popularity fades. And they show the president that he can still credibly threaten consequences for Republicans who cross him.

The Trump-targeted state senators all represent districts he carried in 2024, mostly by 20 percentage points or more.

Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that’s becoming increasingly clear — while President Donald Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have the momentum ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The biggest test of Trump’s power came in Indiana, where he backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. Five of the president’s candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash.

Meanwhile in Michigan, a Democrat comfortably won a state Senate race in a bellwether district, the latest in a string of special election victories.

Over in Ohio, primaries locked in candidates for two major races with national implications.

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Pro-government demonstrators chant slogans as one of them holds a picture of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during their gathering at Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attends an event on health care affordability in the Oval Office at the White House, April 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves the room after speaking to the media in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)