US sinks Iranian warship as Iran warns of widespread destruction in the Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, as Washington and Israel intensified their bombardment Wednesday of Iran’s security forces and other symbols of power. As the war expanded yet again, Tehran warned of the destruction of the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure.

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

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In addition to striking Tehran on the fifth day of the conflict, Israel hit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while 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 50 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.

Both sides are unrelenting in their attacks

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

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, which they said had 180 people on board and sank outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. The country’s navy said it had recovered 87 bodies from the sea.

Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past. It also pounded towns near Beirut.

Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow the country’s theocracy, and strikes against Iran’s internal security forces may be aimed at hastening that.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over the weekend that its forces have decentralized leadership, with units acting largely on their own in accordance with general orders, something that could blunt the effect of attacks on top command and control hubs.

Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the center of the capital of Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the holy Shiite seminary city of Qom, targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Iran’s next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time.

State TV has begun calling the conflict the “Ramadan war,” a reference to the holy Muslim fasting month currently taking place. But that term also suggested leaders are trying to prepare the public for a protracted conflict.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, echoed that sentiment, saying: “We’ve just begun.”

Shifting timelines for U.S. operations

During his Pentagon briefing, Hegseth declined to give a definitive timeline to how long the U.S. would be involved in the war, indicated it could stretch to eight weeks.

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

Cooper said American forces have damaged Iran’s air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said such damage has led to a decline in launches from Iran.

Still, air raid sirens and explosions could be heard across central and northern Israel on Wednesday. Israel’s military said Iran launched missiles toward the country, and Hezbollah sent rockets.

Iran has also struck around the region, and air sirens sounded Wednesday across Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people in Israel have been killed. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. Six U.S. troops have been killed.

A resident of Tehran, who runs a clothing shop, said he didn’t know how to protect himself from the bombing.

“It’s very difficult to decide what to do. If I leave the city, how am I supposed to earn money and survive?” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the fear of reprisals.

Energy supplies in the crosshairs

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would “cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”

A container ship was attacked Wednesday afternoon while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. The ship was hit by an unknown projectile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.

Tanker traffic through the strait has fallen by around 90% 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.

Iran’s clerics are choosing a new supreme leader

Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It’s 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 — despite the fact he’s has never been elected or appointed to a government position.

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

Israel’s defense minister, meanwhile, threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader.

“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” Israel Katz wrote on X.

It’s not clear how Washington will respond if a new leader in the mold of Khamenei is chosen. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the “worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”