Iran launches deadly missile attacks on Israel, Gulf states as war spirals with no end in sight

President Trump floated the idea on Wednesday of destroying what’s left of Iran’s theocratic regime and then leaving other countries to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping route Iran’s incessant missile and drone fire has gridlocked since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Tehran.

“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Straight?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!,” Mr. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Israel has vowed to continue assassinating senior Iranian leaders as and when it gets intelligence enabling its forces to target them, but the regime in Tehran has proven resilient thus far, maintaining firm control over the country.

As for the Strait of Hormuz, analysts say that even though the U.S. imports relatively little oil from the Gulf, the interconnectivity of global energy markets means the closure of the shipping lane will keep gas prices high. 

Mr. Trump’s comment about “allies” appeared to be his latest criticism of countries not heeding his call to send military forces to help escort tankers through the strait, including some that rely much more directly on oil exported from the Gulf region.

Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that the country would escalate its war against Iran, and its parallel assault on the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, clearly signaling an escalation of the conflict in the heart of the Middle East.

“The intensity of attacks in Iran is increasing. We are in the midst of achieving a decisive outcome,” Katz said in his video message, shared on social media.

“Israel’s policy is clear and unequivocal: no one in Iran has immunity, and all are targeted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorized the IDF to neutralize any senior Iranian official for whom an intelligence and operational opportunity arises, without the need for additional approval. We will continue to intercept and hunt them all,” he said.

“Significant surprises are also expected throughout today across all arenas, which will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

The head of Iranian regime’s powerful judiciary branch, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, claimed on Wednesday that despite Israel assassinating a growing number of senior figures in Tehran, there was “no disruption in the will of the people, the administration of the country, or the management of affairs.”

He acknowledged that “several of our people,” including commanders, had been “martyred,” but said even “under these conditions, the country remains stable.”

An official in Iran’s western Lorestan province said Wednesday that seven people were killed and 56 others wounded by U.S.-Israeli strikes on “densely populated residential areas of Dorud County.”

Judiciary officials earlier said an attack hit the region, killing and wounding civilians and judicial staff.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Esmaeil Khatib was killed in an overnight strike in Tehran.

Katz warned of more “significant surprises” coming Wednesday, across multiple arenas, signaling a possible escalation of operations against both Iran and its proxy group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He said Tuesday that Israeli officials had authorized commanders to target any senior Iranian figure pinpointed by intelligence without seeking approval from leadership.

“The intensity of attacks in Iran is increasing,” Katz said. 

Israeli strikes on central Beirut killed at least 12 people on Wednesday morning, the Lebanese health ministry said, adding that the strikes hit the Basta and Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhoods in central Beirut.

A strike also hit an apartment building in Bachoura, central Beirut, completely flattening it as day broke, The Associated Press said. 

Israeli strikes targeting central Beirut have become increasingly frequent in recent days, with or without prior warning. The attacks have hit far from the city’s southern suburbs, for which the army issued evacuation notices early in the war with Hezbollah.

Lebanese officials put the overall death toll from Israel’s escalating offensive in the country at over 900 people on Wednesday, taking the latest strikes in Beirut into account. More than one million people have been displaced in the country, or roughly a sixth of the entire population, according to Lebanese officials.  

CBS/AP

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the kingdom would host a consultative meeting on Wednesday of the foreign ministers of a number of Arab and Islamic countries, “with the aim of achieving further consultation and coordination on ways to support security and stability of the region.”

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would attend the meeting to discuss developments in the region, following an announcement by Ankara that Fidan would embark on a regional trip aimed at ending the Iran war.

About 90 ships including oil tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war with Iran. Maritime and trade data platforms report it is still exporting millions of barrels of oil at a time when it said it closed the key waterway for vessels of the U.S. and its allies. 

Analysts say Iranian oil export volumes remain resilient. Many of the vessels that have passed through the Strait are so-called “dark” transits evading Western sanctions that likely have ties with Iran. 

More recently, vessels with ties to India and Pakistan have also successfully crossed the strait as governments stepped up negotiations.

Two people were killed near Tel Aviv overnight as debris from the interception of an Iranian missile fell onto homes. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency response agency said police reported several impact sites around the city, and that amid the debris in an apartment building in the Ramat Gan area, there were “two unconscious casualties, with no pulse and not breathing, with severe injuries to their bodies.”

CBS News national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata says Iran’s latest retaliatory attacks on Israel have included cluster bombs. Designed to overwhelm Israel’s multi-layered air defense systems, they release dozens of small bomblets in the air, which looked like comets as they streak through Tel Aviv’s night sky before raining down indiscriminately across the city.

Defense officials have told CBS News that if it wasn’t for Israel’s air-defense and early warning systems, the death toll would likely be much higher.

So far 14 people have been killed by Iran’s attacks in Israel, while two others have died of medical circumstances related to the strikes.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said in a social media post that American forces had “successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz” on Tuesday. 

CENTCOM said the Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles at the targeted sites had “posed a risk to international shipping in the strait.”

Iran has virtually shut the vital shipping lane down to international oil traffic since the war began by targeting commercial vessels, but those attacks have relied on air and sea drones at least as much as they have on missiles.