Israel continues airstrikes, as Iran widens regional attacks : NPR

TO MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

In the Middle East, Israel and the United States continue to strike targets across Iran as Iran expands its retaliatory strikes in the region.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The US military’s Central Command claims to have destroyed the Iranian navy. In Iran, preparations for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed by Israel, were due to begin this evening but were postponed. Widespread fighting continues to disrupt air transport and sea routes in the region.

MARTÍNEZ: For more, we’ll see NPR’s Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv. Carrie, Israel and the United States continued their air campaign today. What is the situation now?

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Airstrikes continue in cities across Iran. On state television, we see ruins of buildings in the capital, Tehran. Many targets are regime symbols, including Basij command centers. This is the Iranian paramilitary force that played a crucial role in cracking down on protesters earlier this year. The US military’s CENTCOM today declared it has annihilated the Iranian navy and claims that no Iranian ships remain in the waterways off Iran. And joint US and Israeli military strikes are focused on Kurdish areas of western Iran, which have long been anti-regime strongholds. According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the death toll now stands at more than 1,000 people, including at least 175 killed in the bombing of a primary school at the start of the war.

MARTÍNEZ: And all of this is happening as Iran prepares a state funeral and succession process for a new supreme leader.

KAHN: Iranian officials have announced three days of mourning for the supreme leader, who was killed by Israel last weekend. Authorities had called on mourners to come in large numbers as his body lies in state. And the funeral was set to begin tonight, but this morning they postponed official mourning rituals, saying they needed more time to prepare for what they said would be awaited by millions of mourners. They have not set a new date.

A new assembly of experts and another committee are meeting to choose the next leader, according to state media. Yesterday, Israel struck a site in the city of Qom, where the assembly was to meet. However, they were not there at the time, according to Iran’s official Fars news agency. In a statement today, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated his country’s commitment to killing any new leader who threatens to destroy Israel. He said this person, quote, “will be an unequivocal target for elimination.”

MARTÍNEZ: And all of this extends to the Gulf states, I mean, not just Israel. I mean, where is all this going, maybe?

KAHN: Yes. We have seen Iranian drones and missiles strike targets in the Gulf. The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia was hit yesterday and a drone started a fire at the US Consulate in Dubai last night. The US State Department is advising US citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz is still largely closed to traffic. Israel also shelled sites in Lebanon after Hezbollah fired on Israel. Yesterday, Hezbollah was able to fire missiles into central Israel. Israel’s defense minister said a plan was ready for a new troop advance into Lebanon.

While many war fronts appear to be opening up, we have actually seen the number of missiles and drones arriving in Israel and the Gulf decrease significantly over the past 24 hours. And so far, the Gulf states have not retaliated. But how long this will last is still unknown, A.

MARTÍNEZ: This is Carrie Kahn from NPR in Tel Aviv. Carrie, thank you.

KAHN: You’re welcome.

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