The escalating war involving Iran entered its seventh day on Friday, spreading across the Middle East and beyond as Israel announced a “next phase” in the conflict and launched fresh strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli military had earlier issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for the entire area, urging residents to “save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately,” prompting thousands to flee in panic.
The widening conflict has already had repercussions far beyond the region. Off the coast of Sri Lanka, a US submarine reportedly torpedoed an Iranian warship, while Azerbaijan threatened retaliation after a drone struck an airport on its territory.
On the political front, US President Donald Trump dismissed the possibility that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, could replace his father.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump told Axios, calling him a “lightweight” and warning that further conflict could follow if a suitable alternative was not found.
The remarks suggest Washington may be open to working with figures from within the Islamic Republic rather than seeking to topple the government outright, despite Trump’s repeated calls for Iranians to rise up against their leadership.
Beirut strikes
Lebanon was drawn into the expanding war earlier this week after the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel in retaliation for Khamenei’s killing.
Israel responded with air strikes and sent ground troops into several Lebanese border villages. On Thursday, it targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying it was striking Hezbollah infrastructure.
The evacuation warning triggered chaotic scenes as residents fled, with heavy traffic choking roads leading out of the suburbs while some people fired gunshots in the air to urge others to leave quickly.
Hundreds of families later gathered on a Beirut beach after fleeing their homes.
“We fled from the suburbs; we were humiliated,” one man told AFP, declining to give his name.
Lebanese authorities say at least 123 people have been killed since Monday, with 683 wounded and around 90,000 displaced.
From Sri Lanka to Azerbaijan
Tensions have also risen along Iran’s borders. Azerbaijan warned that a drone strike on one of its airports “will not go unanswered,” raising fears that another country could be drawn into the war.
Iran denied responsibility for the attack and blamed Israel, but Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Tehran of “terrorism”.
Meanwhile, Australia has deployed two military aircraft to the region, and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would not rule out Canadian military involvement.
Following fresh strikes on Tehran, AFPTV images showed charred vehicles and damaged buildings with smoke still rising.
“We’re going through a very important page of our history, and I’m not afraid,” a 30-year-old Tehran resident told AFP. “Hope is the only thing that we have right now.”
An Iranian state-run foundation said the death toll from US and Israeli strikes had risen to 1,230, though AFP could not independently verify the figure.
The US military has reported six personnel killed since the war began last Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a defiant tone on Thursday, saying Tehran had not sought a ceasefire and saw “no reason” to negotiate with the United States.
Regarding the possibility of a ground invasion, he told NBC News: “We are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”
Israel says it has destroyed 60 percent of Iran’s missile launchers and 80 percent of its air defence systems.
Announcing a “next phase” in the campaign, Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said the military had “additional surprises ahead”.
A fresh Iranian missile barrage triggered explosions across Tel Aviv on Friday, with firefighters battling a blaze at a residential building near the city’s commercial hub.
Gulf under fire
The conflict has also reached the wealthy Gulf monarchies, traditionally viewed as relatively stable in the volatile region.
Since the war began, at least 13 people including seven civilians have been killed in attacks across Gulf countries. Among them was an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait.
Bahrain said early Friday that Iranian strikes hit two hotels and a residential building in the capital Manama but caused no fatalities.
Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three ballistic missiles launched toward an air base.
And Qatar said it intercepted a missile attack on Thursday as loud explosions, described by AFP journalists as the most intense yet reverberated across Doha, with thick black smoke rising on the horizon.
Officials in the United Arab Emirates said falling debris from an intercepted drone injured six people in the capital Abu Dhabi.
AFP
