Iran retaliates after Israel strikes Beirut and Tehran : NPR
The damaged 12,000-seat Azadi Indoor Stadium is visible after being hit Thursday during ongoing US-Israeli military strikes in Tehran, Iran.
Vahid Salemi/AP
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Vahid Salemi/AP
The Israeli military said it had launched a “large wave” of strikes on Tehran targeting regime infrastructure, with additional strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Iran responded early Friday with retaliatory strikes against Israel.
Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran, more than 1,300 people have been killed, according to the humanitarian organization Iranian Red Crescent, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 160 people in an attack on a girls’ school.
In retaliation, Iran attacked Israel and launched missiles and drones into countries that host U.S. military bases, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Here are other key updates NPR is reporting on.
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Iran and Lebanon | Trump on Iran | Iranian response | India Russian oil | Americans stranded
Iran retaliates after new Israeli strikes
The Israeli military said Friday it had detected missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and that its air defense systems were operational to intercept them.
In addition to Israel, Iran has launched drones and missiles against Qatar and Bahrain, two countries in the region that host US military bases. The Qatari Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted a drone Thursday evening targeting Al-Udeid Air Base, one of the largest U.S. military installations in the Middle East housing American troops.
In Bahrain, authorities said Iranian missiles hit a hotel and two residential buildings in the capital Manama. No casualties have been reported.
The launches came after Israel said it had launched a new “wave of large-scale strikes” targeting regime infrastructure in Tehran.
Israeli army chief of staff Eyal Zamir said Israel had destroyed 80 percent of Iran’s air defenses and at least 60 percent of its missile-launching capability.
U.S. Central Command said that overnight the United States struck what it described as an Iranian “drone carrier” at sea and the ship was on fire.
Israel also carried out heavy strikes overnight on Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeah, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah.
Israel had issued evacuation orders before the strikes, warning residents to “save your lives and leave.” Roads out of Dahiyeah were blocked Thursday as families fled by car or on foot with their children and whatever they could manage. Lebanese officials say more than 95,000 people have been displaced by Israeli strikes since the start of the war in Iran.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed 123 people and injured more than 600 others since the start of the war.
The Israeli military said the Beirut strikes targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, after the group fired rockets into northern Israel earlier this week. The air force struck what it described as a headquarters used by the group’s leaders and a warehouse for drones used in attacks on Israel.
The Israeli military also said it had killed a Hezbollah commander, Zaid Ali Jumaa, in Beirut, describing him as a senior official in Hezbollah’s rocket and drone operations. He also said the Israeli navy killed a Hamas commander responsible for training operatives in Lebanon in a strike near Tripoli – the first reported strike in that region since the start of the war.
The Lebanese army said it had withdrawn from some border positions as Israeli operations expanded into southern Lebanon.
—Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Carrie Kahn and Rebecca Rosman
Trump touts Iran’s losses, offers ‘immunity’ in case of surrender
President Trump claimed Thursday that Iran’s military had suffered significant losses, telling reporters that much of Iran’s navy, air defense and missile launch capability had been destroyed.
He also urged Iranian leaders to surrender, saying they could “accept immunity.”
Speaking before a White House event honoring 2025 Major League Soccer champions Inter Miami CF, Trump said: “We will give you immunity, and we will really give you the right side of the story, because that’s what this is about.”
Trump also said he wanted to participate in selecting Iran’s next leader.
“We’re going to have to pick that person with Iran. We’re going to have to pick that person,” Trump told Reuters on Thursday.
Trump said he saw the efforts in Iran as similar to the United States’ role in replacing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
One of the potential successors to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli strikes, is his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. But Trump strongly opposes the choice, telling Axios: “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the nomination, like with Delcy in Venezuela.” Delcy Rodríguez served as vice president under Maduro and is now the country’s interim president.
“We want to be involved in the process of choosing who will lead Iran in the future, so we don’t have to go back every five years and start over and over again. We want someone who will be great for the people, great for the country,” Trump told Reuters.
Iranian Foreign Minister Says Iran Ready for US Ground Invasion
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi adopted a defiant tone in an interview with NBC News Thursday, saying Iran was prepared for the possibility of a U.S. ground invasion.
Asked if he feared US ground troops, Araghchi replied: “No, we are waiting for them,” adding that such a move would be “a big disaster” for the United States.
Araghchi also rejected the idea of a ceasefire or further negotiations with the Trump administration, saying Iran was not asking for a ceasefire. He also denied any behind-the-scenes contact with U.S. officials to end the war.
Treasury Department Allows India to Buy Russian Crude
The US Treasury Department has granted a 30-day waiver that will allow Indian refineries to purchase Russian oil, which was previously under US sanctions. India is a major buyer of crude oil from the Persian Gulf. These supplies are currently interrupted by the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran.
It’s a significant turnaround after months of the Trump administration relying on Indian President Narendra Modi to stop accepting Russian crude.
In a statement on social media, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote: “This deliberately short-term measure will not bring significant financial benefits to the Russian government because it only allows transactions involving oil already stuck at sea.”
Oil prices on the global market rose about 20% last week to around $80 a barrel on Thursday.
“The administration is obviously afraid of rising oil prices,” says Fareed Mohamedi, managing director of SIA-Energy International, an oil and gas consultancy. “Most administrations are quick to ease supply restrictions because of their fear of a national popular backlash over high gasoline prices.”
“An energy crisis is brewing. There is a prospect of higher prices in the United States and around the world,” says Antoine Halff, chief analyst at Kayrros, a climate and environmental analysis firm.
India is particularly vulnerable to the current shortage of oil and petroleum products from the Persian Gulf. Around 40% of India’s crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
China is less vulnerable than India to oil losses from the Persian Gulf because it has more oil in storage.
-Julia Simon
Frustration continues to grow among Americans stuck in the Middle East
Shirley Bejarano was returning from vacation in Bali to attend her grandfather’s funeral in Colombia. Shortly after her connecting flight from Qatar took off on Saturday, he was forced to return and she has been waiting in Doha ever since for the US government to help her get out.
“I am very upset by the lack of support we are receiving in trying to evacuate,” she said in an interview from her hotel on Thursday. It is particularly galling to see other foreign nationals leaving on buses provided by their governments, she added.
Béjarano, 40 years old, of New York, said she listened Tuesday as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was organizing military and charter flights and that she hoped things were about to change. But she says she calls an official government helpline every day and the message remains the same.
“It’s just the regular updates [saying] “Shelter in place,” she said. “They say they’re going to help, and it’s like, well, give me something! The help just isn’t coming.”
The government’s most recent email, Bejarano said, mentioned that the Saudi border was open, but did not provide details. This, she says, only adds to her frustration.
“I asked myself ‘is the government implying that I should go?’ I just want answers. What should I do next?” she said. “I expect more from the United States”
In the meantime, she continues to fear for her safety.
“I hear the thuds and see the explosions of missile and drone interceptions,” she said. “My heart is starting to race. It’s terrifying.”
Bejarano said her parents protested at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., with a sign saying “Bring Our Daughter Home.” Bejarano feels bad for his mother. After her grandfather died, she wanted to be there to support her mother. Instead, her predicament – being stuck in a war zone – only added to her mother’s distress.
—Tovia Smith
Contributing to this report from Beirut was Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Carrie Kahn from Tel Aviv, Rebecca Rosman from Paris, Julia Simon from Washington, DC, and Tovia Smith from Boston.
