Hegseth says more forces arriving in Middle East, US will take all the time it needs against Iran: Speaking from the Pentagon’s briefing room, Hegseth also said more forces, including jet fighters and bombers, will soon arrive in the region. He added that the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”
US hits Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka: An Iranian Navy frigate with a 180-member crew, was hit by a torpedo fired by US Navy's nuclear-powered attack submarine in the Indian Ocean early on Wednesday. At least 87 sailors were killed as the vessel sank just outside the island’s territorial waters following an explosion.
Iran close to choosing next Supreme leader: A top cleric on Wednesday said Iran is close to choosing its next supreme leader.
Israel hits Tehran, Lebanon: In addition to striking Tehran, Israel hit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
Iran presses attacks region-wide: Iran responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel and across the region, targeting US bases in Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar, while Iranian-linked militant groups in Iraq also launched strikes. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it intercepted a drone attack aimed at its Ras Tanura oil refinery, following an earlier strike on the complex.
Israel targets Lebanon: Israel carried out multiple strikes across Lebanon, saying it was retaliating after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group fired on its territory. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the attacks killed more than 72 people and wounded over 400.
Iran in complete control of Hormuz: Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said it had taken "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for world oil and gas supplies, and any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.
Death toll in Iran crosses 1,000: Iran's official IRNA news agency said on Wednesday that US-Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people nationwide since Saturday.
Khamenei funeral postponed: The funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that was due to take place on Wednesday evening has been postponed, state television announced, "in anticipation of unprecedented turnout". A new date will be announced later, it said.
Iran says ready for long haul: Iran has no intention of negotiating with the US and can continue the war for "as long as we want", Mohammad Mokhber, a senior aide to the late Ayatollah Khamenei, told state TV.
Dispute over US pre-strike offer to Iran: White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Tehran rejected US offers of sanctions relief and civil nuclear cooperation in exchange for dismantling its enrichment programme, while Oman’s foreign minister, who mediated the talks, said the strikes came even as Iran had agreed to unprecedented nuclear concessions.
More than 6,400 South Africans have registered on a system opened for citizens to advise the government of their location, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
The ministry said it was urging its citizens to depart on the limited number of commercial flights that have resumed.
The Israeli military said its Home Front Command had eased some war-related restrictions effective midday Thursday, allowing limited activity and permitting public gatherings of up to 50 people.
"As part of the changes, all areas of the country will transition from an essential activity level to a limited activity level," the military announced, soon after it had said the number of missiles fired by Iran towards Israel had declined.
The military said schools and other educational institutions would remain closed.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has spelled out what she says were the offers made by Trump’s negotiators to Iran, before the US decided to attack the country.
She claimed that the US had engaged in “good faith negotiations” with Iran — and that Tehran had not. That assertion is belied by revelations by Oman’s foreign minister, who was mediating the talks, and according to whom the US attacks on Iran came at a time when Tehran had agreed to unprecedented concessions relating to its nuclear programme.
According to Leavitt, Iran rejected all of the US proposals, which she summarised as:
US negotiators offered to lift crippling sanctions on Iran
They offered that the US would provide nuclear fuel to Iran for peaceful purposes
They proposed a joint civil nuclear programme, with American investment
In return, Iran would need to permanently dismantle its enrichment infrastructure.
“They refused to say yes to peace,” Leavitt said. “And now they are reaping the consequences of that.”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States and Israel were in a strong position in their war with Iran, vowing that they would "continue forward" against the Islamic republic.
"We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses at the White House.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that attacks on NATO ally Turkey's sovereignty were "unacceptable" after the alliance shot down an Iranian missile, which a Turkish official said had veered off course.
In a call with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Rubio said "that attacks on Turkey's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the United States," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
The Israeli military announced it had launched a new wave of strikes in Tehran on Wednesday, saying they were targeting military infrastructure belonging to the "Iranian regime".
"The IDF has begun an additional wave of strikes targeting military infrastructure belonging to the Iranian regime across Tehran," the military said in a statement.
The Senate is headed toward a vote on Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran.
The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out.
The Senate resolution and a similar bill being voted on in the House later this week face unlikely paths through the Republican-controlled Congress, and would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump even if they were to pass.
Nonetheless, the votes marked a weighty moment for lawmakers. Their decisions on the five-day-old war – which Trump entered without congressional approval – could determine the fates of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.
“Today every senator – every single one – will pick a side,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer during a floor speech.
“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?”
The Israeli military said Wednesday that its strikes on Iran's missile launchers had led to a daily decline in the number of missiles the Islamic republic was firing at Israel.
"We've neutralised around 300 ballistic missile launchers. We believe our operations against those missile launchers and against those stockpiles are an integral part of the fact that we're seeing the amounts of missiles fired every day diminish," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.
Hezbollah will confront "Israeli-American aggression" and will not surrender, the head of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Naim Qassem said Wednesday night in remarks broadcast on his party's TV channel.
"We are facing aggression... our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender," the Hezbollah leader declared in his first speech since the beginning of the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Spain’s government has refuted that it will cooperate with the US military attack on Iran, contradicting the White House.
Earlier today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Spain agreed to cooperate with US military operations in the region after Trump threatened to cut off trade with Madrid.
That statement came after Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares prohibited the US from using bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the UN charter.
Speaking at Cadena SER radio, Albares denied claims made Leavitt.
“The Spanish government’s position regarding the war in the Middle East and the bombings in Iran, regarding the use of our bases, has not changed by a single comma,” said Albares.
The US Senate is expected to meet and vote on a resolution brought by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Rand Paul seeking to curb President Donald Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran.
Republicans have a majority in the Senate, as they do in the House of Representatives.
“Among Republicans, there is pretty much ironclad support for the administration launching these attacks on Iran, save for Rand Paul,” Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro reported from Capitol Hill, adding that given the numbers, the resolution was unlikely to find enough traction in Congress to pass.
“But we did hear some pretty strong words from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier in the day,” Zhou-Castro said. “He fears that eventually, Trump might order boots on the ground in Iran.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and discussed the situation in Lebanon, urging them to deescalate.
In a post on social media platform X, Macron said Hezbollah’s strategy of escalation constitutes a major error that puts the entire region in danger
Asked if Trump thinks that Americans support the Israel-U.S. war in Iran – even though Trump hasn’t given a national address to personally make the case -- Leavitt said, “I think he does.”
“This was a rogue terrorist regime that has been threatening the United States, our allies and our people for 47 years,” she said. “And the American people are smart enough to know that, and they’re smart enough to listen to the president himself — not just over the past year, in the second term, but during his first term as president.”
Recent polling shows that, prior to the U.S.-Israel strikes that started last weekend, 61% of Americans said Iran was an “enemy” of the U.S., but only about 3 in 10 Americans said they had “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of trust in Trump.
President Donald Trump is "actively considering" a US role in Iran after the American-Israeli operation against the country concludes, the White House said Wednesday.
"I think it's something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said of any post-war US role.
The United Nations says an estimated 100,000 people fled Tehran in the first two days of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend.
“In Iran, an estimated 100,000 people left Tehran in the first two days following the attacks,” UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said in a situation report.
A top cleric on Wednesday said Iran is close to choosing its next supreme leader.
The comments of Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts -- the body charged with picking a new leader, were aired on state television.
"The options have become clear," he said. Other top officials have also indicated a decision may be close.
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.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Spain has agreed to cooperate with the US military a day after Trump suggested imposing a trade embargo on Madrid over its refusal to allow US aircraft to use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain.
"With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear. And it's my understanding over the past several hours they've agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military," Leavitt said.
Trump plans to attend the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base of U.S. troops killed in the Middle East conflict, the White House said Wednesday, one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief.
The Pentagon is working to schedule the transfer. The U.S. has said six soldiers were killed.
“These heroes represent the very best among us,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.