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Israel and the U.S. intensified their bombardment of Iran’s security forces and other symbols of power Wednesday, as Tehran vowed to completely destroy the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure — all indications that the war was nowhere near over and risks expanding further.
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’s Defense Ministry said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace. And an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka, though it was not immediately clear what happened.
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. As fighter jets roared overhead, those in Tehran worried about whether and how to flee.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.
