US Sinks Iranian Warship; 87 Dead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy.

The legislation, known as a war powers resolution , failed on a 47-53 vote tally. It gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.

Underscoring the gravity of the moment, Democratic senators filled the Senate chamber and sat at their desks as the voting got underway. Typically, senators step into the chamber to cast their vote, then leave.

“Today every senator — every single one — will pick a side," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. “Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?”

Sen. John Barrasso, second in Senate Republican leadership, said during the debate that GOP senators would send a message that Democrats are wrong for forcing a vote on the war powers resolution.

“Democrats would rather obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Iran’s national nuclear program,” he added.

Trump administration scrambles for congressional support After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering . Trump administration officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the war could extend eight weeks, a longer time frame than has previously been floated by the Trump administration. He also acknowledged that Iran is still able to carry out missile attacks even as the U.S. tries to control the country's airspace.

U.S. service members “remain in harm’s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same press conference.

Six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa acknowledged the human costs of the war in her floor speech. One of the soldiers killed Sunday was from Iowa and a National Guard unit from her state was also attacked in Syria in December, resulting in the deaths of two other soldiers.

“But now is our opportunity to bring an end to the decades of chaos,” said Ernst, who herself served as an officer in the Iowa National Guard for two decades.

“The sooner the better,” she added.

Trump has also not ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops. He has said he is hoping to end the bombing campaign within a few weeks, but his goals for the war have shifted from regime change to stopping Iran from developing nuclear capabilities to crippling its navy and missile programs.

Lawmakers go on record The votes in Congress this week represented potentially consequential markers of just where lawmakers stand on the war as they look ahead to midterm elections and the consequences of the conflict.

“Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end-run around the Constitution,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat leading the war powers resolution. “Everybody's got to declare whether they're for this war or against it.”

Republican leaders have successfully, though narrowly, defeated a series of war powers resolutions pertaining to several other conflicts that Trump has entered or threatened to enter. This one, however, was different.

Unlike Trump's military campaigns against alleged drug boats or even Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the attack on Iran represents an open-ended conflict that is already ricocheting across the region . For Republicans who are used to operating in a political party dominated by Trump and his promises of keeping the U.S. out of foreign entanglements , the moment represented a bit of whiplash.

“War is ugly, it always has been ugly, but we're taking out a regime that has been trying to attack us for quite some time,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has long pushed Trump to engage overseas, argued that the widening conflict represented an opportunity for Arab and European countries to join in the fight against Iran and the militant groups it supports.

“I don’t mind people being on record as to whether or not they think this is a good idea,” he told reporters, but also argued that too much power over the military was ceded to Congress in the War Powers Act, which mandates that presidents must withdraw troops from a conflict within 90 days if there is no congressional authorization.

House vote looms On the other side of the Capitol, an intense debate over the war unfolded before a vote Thursday. The House first debated a resolution presented by GOP leadership affirming that Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.

Rep. Brian Mast, the GOP chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly thanked Trump for taking action against Iran, saying the president is using his own constitutional authority to defend the U.S. against the “imminent threat” of Iran.

Mast, an Army veteran who worked as a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan, said the Democratic resolution was effectively asking “that the president do nothing.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs panel, said before the debate that the hardest votes he has taken in Congress have been to decide whether to send U.S. troops to war. “Our young men and women’s lives are on the line,” he said, his voice showing emotion as he emerged from a closed-door briefing late Tuesday with Trump officials.

At a news conference Wednesday, several Democratic members who are also veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars spoke about the heavy costs of those conflicts.

One of them was Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. “I learned when I was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, that when elites in Washington bang the war drums, pound their chest, talk about the costs of war and act tough, they're not talking about them doing it, they're not talking about their kids,” Crow said. “They're talking about working class kids like us.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — The unfolding Iran war has ricocheted across the region and beyond, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel, many reporting casualties, and key embassies , economic engines and passageways closing down. Off the coast of Sri Lanka, a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship as the war intensified and its footprint grew.

Foreign governments have for days urged their citizens to leave Middle East countries on any available commercial flight as Gulf airspaces largely close, cruise ships can’t pass through the Strait of Hormuz , and major airlines cancel flights . The U.S. State Department says it has evacuated nonemergency personnel and families in six nations. It has advised citizens from more than a dozen countries to leave. Governments from Russia to Germany and India also scrambled to run repatriation flights.

Here's a country-by-country breakdown of the impact of the war so far.

All airspace information is from the real-time flight-tracking service Flightradar 24, as of Wednesday, or national authorities.

Iran Death toll: At least 1,045 people , according to Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. It is unknown how many are civilians.

Major casualty incidents: More than 160 were killed by a strike on an elementary school in Minab, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Israel says it was not involved in the incident. When asked by reporters about it, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not have details but that the U.S. would not deliberately target a school.

Damage and impact: U.S.-Israeli strikes have targeted nuclear infrastructure, missile launchers, government buildings in Tehran and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top military officials. Reports on state TV quote Iranians saying their homes have been damaged.

Airspace: Closed.

Israel and the Palestinian territories Death toll: Eleven civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. That includes three siblings, ages 16, 15, 13; a Filipina caretaker killed while escorting the woman in her charge to a shelter; and a mother of three who was a volunteer medic.

Major casualty incidents: A strike in Beit Shemesh left nine dead.

Damage and impact: Several locations — among them a synagogue and public shelter in Beit Shemesh, an apartment building in Tel Aviv, a road in Jerusalem — have been hit by Iranian missiles. Israeli police also say an Iranian warhead landed close to Jerusalem's Old City, close to many holy sites. The extent of damage to Israeli military bases and other sensitive locations is unknown; the military does not reveal that information.

Airspace: Closed.

Lebanon Death toll: Seventy-two people, including seven children, have been killed and 437 wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday evening. Officials with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group were also killed. Hezbollah has not confirmed anyone killed in their ranks yet in this conflict, though Israel says it has struck only Hezbollah-linked targets.

Major casualty incidents: Israeli airstrikes killed six people in a residential complex in Baalbeck, state-run media reported. Others hit the towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat, killing six and wounding eight.

Damage and impact: At least 84,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese social affairs minister Tuesday. Anxieties have been running high over a buildup of Syrian forces on the border. Israel says it is targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities,” and it sent ground troops into southern Lebanon border areas. Hezbollah also said it launched drones targeting an Israeli air base. The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said Tuesday it was closing to the public until further notice.

Airspace: Lebanon’s airspace is not fully closed. Flights are coming and going, but many airlines have canceled flights.

Kuwait Casualties: At least eight people have died in Kuwait. Health authorities have so far announced the deaths of two civilians — one migrant worker killed in a strike that injured 32 others and an 11-year-old girl killed after shrapnel fell in a residential area in Kuwait City.

Major casualty incidents: Six American soldiers were killed at an operations center located at a civilian port in Kuwait, more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the main Army base, according to satellite images and a U.S. official.

Damage and impact: On Monday, the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait was struck. On Tuesday, it announced it was closing to the public until further notice. A satellite image taken Monday and reviewed by AP shows the main building in the complex destroyed, with a trail of black smoke rising from it. It’s in Port Shuaiba, a working seaport south of Kuwait City.

Airspace: Closed

United Arab Emirates Casualties: Three civilians have been killed in the UAE, foreign workers from Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the country reported. At least 68 people have been injured.

Damage and impact: An Iranian drone slammed into a parking lot outside the U.S. consulate in Dubai on Tuesday, sparking a small fire, according to U.S. Secretary of State Rubio. The UAE Defense Ministry also released a breakdown of its missile and drone interceptions. It said it had detected more than 800 Iranian drones in its airspace and 57 of them had struck land. Of 186 ballistic missiles it said it detected, only one hit its territory. Air defenses intercepted all eight cruise missiles it said Iran fired.

The city of Dubai, with a global reputation as the safest place in the Middle East and a hub for global investment, has sustained damage to its international airport and, according to CENTCOM, hotels along its coastline. Iran also targeted two Amazon data centers in the UAE, the company said Tuesday.

Airspace: Partially closed.

Bahrain Casualties: One civilian, an Asian worker, was killed by a fire set by a strike on Monday, said Bahrain’s Interior Ministry. Two others were wounded.

Damage and impact: Amazon said Tuesday there was a drone impact near one of its data centers in the country.

Airspace: Closed.

Syria Damage and casualties: Several people, including children, suffered minor injuries in the countryside outside Damascus from Iranian missile debris, Syria’s state news agency SANA said. Some areas in Syria’s southern provinces also saw missile debris fall from Iranian projectiles fired toward Israel, with no additional injuries or material damage reported, SANA said.

Airspace: Closed.

Iraq Casualties: Strikes on Iranian proxy sites by the U.S. or Israel have killed militia members, though it’s not clear how many.

Damage and impact: There was a fresh wave of drone and missile attacks intercepted over Irbil on Tuesday, the capital of northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region. Multiple drones targeted areas around the U.S. consulate building but did not hit it directly. Debris from the intercepted drones caused fires and property damage. Iran-linked Iraqi militias have claimed multiple attacks on the Kurdish region, which hosts bases with U.S. troops, since the U.S.-Israeli joint attack on Iran.

Protesters also attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Sunday.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil said Tuesday that it would stop production in a key oil field because of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, causing crude oil prices to surge worldwide .

Airspace: Closed.

Jordan Damage and impact: Jordanian police announced Sunday that five people were injured by falling shrapnel after Iranian projectiles were intercepted in the kingdom’s airspace.

Airspace: Open, but many airlines have canceled flights.

Saudi Arabia Damage and impact: Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday that forces have intercepted and destroyed nine drones over the country since the war began. It came a day after Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh with two drones, causing “limited fire” and minor damage, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry. The embassy has urged Americans to avoid the compound.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery also came under attack from drones, but its defenses downed the aircraft, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capacity of over half a million barrels of crude oil a day.

Airspace: Partially closed in the area bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

Egypt Damage and impact: The ripple effects of the war have hit Egypt’s struggling economy, as global shipping firms decided to reroute vessel fleets away from the Suez Canal. The canal , which connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, is a major source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped country.

Airspace: Commercial flights are leaving the country, though there have been cancellations, and most countries are recommending residents travel through Taba and Sharm al-Sheikh instead of Cairo.

Qatar Damage and impact: Iran has hit energy facilities in Qatar. Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said early Wednesday that Iran launched two ballistic missiles against it, with one hitting Al-Udeid Qatari Base, though it didn’t cause casualties.

Airspace: Closed .

Oman Casualties: An Indian mariner was killed off the coast of Muscat, the sultanate’s capital, Monday, when a bomb-carrying drone boat exploded against a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker. Four more mariners were injured Sunday when their oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz came under attack, the state-run Oman News Agency said. It's not clear who launched either attack, but Iran has been threatening vessels approaching the Strait.

Damage and impact: Oman, long an intermediary between the West and Iran, has repeatedly come under attack by Iran. A vessel was hit by a projectile early Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates, according to an agency of the U.K. military. There were no reported casualties. Drone attacks have also targeted the country’s largest port of Salalah, as well as Duqm port.

Airspace: Open, but many commercial flights are canceled. Muscat airport has become a base for evacuation flights.

Cyprus Damage and impact: A British air base on the Mediterranean island has come under attack in the war.

Turkey Damage and impact: NATO defense systems have intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran as it headed toward Turkey’s airspace, the country's defense ministry said. A ministry statement said the missile was detected after crossing the Iraqi and Syrian airspace and was intercepted by NATO units stationed in the eastern Mediterranean.

Debris from the missile fell into a district of Hatay province, near the border with Syria. There were no casualties.

Sri Lanka Damage and impact: A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, officials said Wednesday. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 people and recovered 87 bodies. It had 180 on board.

Sri Lanka’s navy received a distress signal from the ship, the IRIS Dena, officials said. A video released by the U.S. showed the moment of the torpedo attack, with the Iranian ship appearing to be hit by an underwater explosion that caused it to break apart, a large plume of water rising.

Tehran, Mar 4 (AP) The death toll in Iran from the ongoing war with the United States and Israel has reached at least 1,045 people, an Iranian government agency said Wednesday.

The Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs offered the toll, saying it represented the number of bodies so far identified and prepared for burial.

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. Iran launched more missiles and drones as it warned of the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the Middle East.

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 at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war on 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.

Israel was also trading fire with 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 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.

Both sides are unrelenting U.S. 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.

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. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands detained as Iranian authorities suppressed those demonstrations.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command. Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see Iranians overthrow the country's theocracy, and strikes against Iran's internal security forces may be aimed at hastening that.

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

Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the 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.

Shifting timelines for U.S. operations During his Pentagon briefing, Hegseth didn't give a definitive timeline for U.S. operations.

“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.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, 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. Hezbollah also fired rockets, as Israel pounded targets in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

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 have been killed in Israel and more than 70 in Lebanon. Six U.S. troops have been killed.

Israel says its offensive had been planned for mid-year 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, U.S. President Donald Trump's positions “and the whole possibility of creating a combined operation here,” 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.

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 Maltese-flagged container ship was attacked Wednesday 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 two missiles, sparking a fire, according to Malta's transport minister, Chris Bonett. Its 24 crew members were rescued.

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 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 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. Trump said Tuesday that the “worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”

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Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok; Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan; Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami and Kevin Schembri Orland in Valletta, Malta, contributed to this report.