Israeli and US forces carried out a new round of wide-ranging strikes across the Middle East on Friday as the week-long conflict with Iran and its regional proxies intensified.
Strikes on Iran and Lebanon
– Israel’s military said it conducted a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran early Friday; Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran and other locations, with witnesses describing powerful blasts that shook residential neighborhoods. The US said B-2 stealth bombers struck deeply buried ballistic-missile launch facilities in Iran overnight.
– Israeli strikes also hit southern Beirut, including Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik in the Dahiyeh district, a Hezbollah stronghold. The IDF issued evacuation warnings for parts of south Beirut, triggering mass displacement, hospital evacuations and severe traffic as residents fled. Lebanese health authorities reported dozens killed and hundreds wounded since the latest fighting began, and tens of thousands displaced.
– The IDF reported additional strikes near Baalbek close to the Syrian border. Hezbollah warned residents in Israeli border towns to evacuate areas roughly 5 kilometers from the frontier.
Regional and international developments
– NATO said it had strengthened its ballistic missile defenses and would keep readiness elevated until the threat of indiscriminate attacks recedes. The alliance reported intercepting an Iranian missile reported to be heading toward Turkish airspace — the first such interception toward a NATO member since the outbreak of hostilities; Iran denied firing a missile toward Turkey.
– US and allied operations extended into maritime and undersea realms. Earlier in the week a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka; Australia acknowledged three of its service members were aboard that submarine in training under AUKUS but said they did not take part in offensive action. Sri Lanka allowed a second Iranian vessel, IRINS Bushehr, to dock and transferred dozens of sailors to Colombo after the sinking.
– Media reports citing US military investigators indicated US forces were likely responsible for a strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab that Iranian authorities said killed many children. The inquiry was ongoing and investigators had not reached a final conclusion; some reports linked the school strike to an attack on an adjacent naval base where US forces were operating. Iran reported hundreds killed in several strikes, including at the Minab school.
Attacks across the Gulf and defenses
– Iran launched waves of drones and rockets at Gulf states that host US military assets, with Gulf countries reporting civilian casualties and damage in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Analysis from the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies found Iran fired far more rockets and drones toward Gulf states than toward Israel in the opening days of the conflict.
– Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three drones east of Riyadh; Bahrain reported strikes that hit a hotel and residential buildings in Manama. Dubai authorities sent mass texts urging residents not to share images or locations of “security or critical sites,” warning that reposting unverified information could endanger national security.
– The UK is bolstering defenses at its bases in Cyprus after Iranian drone activity, sending two Wildcat helicopters fitted with counter-drone missiles to RAF Akrotiri along with personnel and other assets; London also announced four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar and deployed the HMS Dragon to the region.
Domestic and diplomatic fallout
– Former US President Donald Trump said he would not commit US ground forces to Iran, while also saying he wanted a role in determining Iran’s future leadership following what he described as the death of Ayatollah Khamenei in earlier strikes. He said he had ideas for a successor but named no names.
– Japan confirmed a second of its citizens had been detained in Iran and pressed for the release of both detainees; one previously reported detainee is believed to be NHK’s Tehran bureau chief.
– British police arrested four men in London on suspicion of spying on Jewish communities and locations for Iran, in what authorities described as part of a long-running counterterrorism investigation. Israel’s National Security Council issued warnings to Israelis and Jewish communities worldwide about credible threats.
– Humanitarian harms continued to mount: hospitals in parts of Beirut were evacuated under bombardment, grave-digging took place in Iran following deadly strikes, and tens of thousands were displaced across Lebanon and other affected areas.
Military posture and statements
– The US Defense Department, as reported, asserted it has sufficient munitions to sustain operations against Iran. NATO said it would maintain heightened missile-defense readiness.
– Iran denied some missile launches attributed to it and insisted its strikes were aimed at states hosting US military infrastructure, although many attacks struck civilian infrastructure and populated areas.
– The IDF’s public evacuation orders for parts of Beirut were unprecedented in scale for the city and heightened fears of more intense urban fighting with Hezbollah.
Outlook
– The conflict, now into its seventh day in this reporting, has widened geographically: direct strikes on Iran’s heartland, sustained action in Lebanon against Hezbollah positions, maritime clashes in the Indian Ocean and missile and drone attacks across the Gulf. Major powers and regional states are reinforcing defenses, repositioning forces and increasing missile-defense readiness.
– Investigations into strikes that caused high civilian casualties remain under way. Diplomatic strains are deepening over detentions, civilian deaths and mass displacement, and uncertainty persists over whether the fighting will continue to escalate or shift toward containment and attrition.
This account synthesizes reporting on military strikes, defensive moves, arrests, detentions and humanitarian impacts across the Middle East and beyond as the conflict continues to unfold.