LIVE: Iran Is Pummeled By Airstrikes As It Launches A New Wave Of Attacks
Reports also indicated that preparations were underway in Tehran for funeral ceremonies related to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
DUBAI, UAE: Iran launched a new wave of attacks against Israel, American bases and countries around the region Thursday, while warning the U.S. would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship . Tehran’s expanding retaliatory strikes and increasing shows of defiance came even as Israel and the U.S. hammered Iran for a sixth day.
The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones — though Tehran denied that. A day earlier, the U.S. said it sank an Iranian frigate in the waters off Sri Lanka.
All the while, the U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities leadership and nuclear program . Israeli and American leaders have also suggested that toppling the government was a goal — and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed when they launched the war Saturday. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, and the conflict increasingly appeared to be open-ended.
Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
Iran remains defiant Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an “an atrocity at sea” for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier in the week, killing at least 87 people.
“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set,” he said on social media.
An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and “Trump’s blood.”
The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an Ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. There are dozens in Iran. — AP
What to know:
- A Sri Lankan minister said Thursday that another Iranian ship has arrived in its waters, a day after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the country’s coast, killing at least 87 people and wounding 32 others. Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed the presence of the second Iranian ship in response to a question in parliament. But he did not provide further details about the ship or the number of people on board. He said the government was making an “intervention to minimize loss of lives and to safeguard the regional peace.”
- U.S. Senate Republicans rejected a bill to halt the war against Iran in an early show of support for Trump’s campaign. The resolution, which failed 47-53, demanded congressional approval before any further attacks. A twin bill in the House also faces an unlikely path against a GOP majority when lawmakers vote on it Thursday morning.
- Iranian state television aired a message Thursday from an ayatollah in Iran calling for the “shedding” of blood from Israelis and U.S. President Donald Trump. The message came from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli and represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah.
Live Updates
- 5 March 2026 10:52 AM IST
Iranian and Israeli ambassadors trade accusations in South Korea
Ambassadors of Iran and Israel held separate press conferences Thursday in South Korea’s capital, trading sharp accusations as their countries continued an escalating war in the Middle East.Speaking through an interpreter, Iran’s Ambassador to South Korea Saeed Koozechi demanded Seoul — a key U.S. ally — to be more vocal in demanding a halt to what he called an illegal aggression by U.S. and Israeli forces, which launched attacks despite active negotiations.He said “many coffins would return to the United States” if it decides to deploy ground forces, and defended Iranian strikes on Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases as unavoidable.The Israel ambassador in Seoul, Raphael Harpaz, said the joint U.S.-Israeli military operations aim both to destroy Iran’s nuclear development facilities and ballistic missile sites, and to help free Iranian people from oppression.South Korea has supported U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions but has not explicitly endorsed the U.S.-Israeli attacks, instead calling for a swift restoration of dialogue. - 5 March 2026 9:53 AM IST
Israel says Iran launched third overnight missile salvo
For the third time in the early hours of Thursday, Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles at the country and its defense systems were working to intercept them.No casualties were reported in the first two incidents. - 5 March 2026 9:52 AM IST
Iranian state Media reported that preparations are underway at Tehran's Grand Mosalla for the placement of the body of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who was killed in the US-Israel led strike on Iran. - AP Photo
- 5 March 2026 8:38 AM IST
New Zealand to deploy military planes to evacuate its citizens back home
New Zealand’s government will deploy two military planes to the Middle East so that New Zealanders can be evacuated when conditions permit, officials said Thursday.Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defense Minister Judith Collins said in a statement that the government was also speaking to commercial airlines, including to discuss charter flight options. Commercial services from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand, are not currently operating.There are about 3,000 New Zealanders known to be living in the Middle East, officials said.“We cannot be sure when and how any civilian evacuation operations might be possible, but we want to be ready if and when conditions on the ground make them possible,” Peters said.
