Live! Hormuz Strait closed only to ships from US, Israel, Europe, allies: Iran

Iran launches missiles at Israel as war in Middle East enters sixth day

Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday as aerial attacks in the Middle East commenced for a sixth day after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship and Iran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region.

Israel announced the incoming attack shortly after its military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The fighting continued after the US and Israel intensified their bombardment on Wednesday of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power.

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The US and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran's leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signalling an open-ended conflict.

Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel as the conflict spiralled. Turkey said NATO defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey's airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East.

Iran threatens ‘complete destruction’ as Hormuz missile attack disrupts shipping

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would result in "the complete destruction of the region's military and economic infrastructure.” A Maltese-flagged container ship was attacked on Wednesday while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped. The ship was hit by two missiles, sparking a fire, according to Malta's transport minister, Chris Bonett. Its 24 crew members were rescued.

Tanker traffic through the strait has fallen by around 90 per cent compared to prewar levels, shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said Wednesday.

Oil prices have soared as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait, and global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy.

Trump administration scrambles for congressional support

After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the war could extend eight weeks, a longer time frame than has previously been floated by the Trump administration. He also acknowledged that Iran is still able to carry out missile attacks even as the US tries to control the country's airspace.

US service members “remain in harm's way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same press conference.

Six US military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa acknowledged the human costs of the war in her floor speech. One of the soldiers killed Sunday was from Iowa and a National Guard unit from her state was also attacked in Syria in December, resulting in the deaths of two other soldiers.

“But now is our opportunity to bring an end to the decades of chaos,” said Ernst, who herself served as an officer in the Iowa National Guard for two decades. “The sooner the better,” she added.

Trump has also not ruled out deploying US ground troops. He has said he is hoping to end the bombing campaign within a few weeks, but his goals for the war have shifted from regime change to stopping Iran from developing nuclear capabilities to crippling its navy and missile programs.

“We should be careful about opening a door into chaos in the Middle East when we cannot see the other side of it,” Democratic Sen Chris Coons of Delaware said in a solemn floor speech after the vote concluded.

He said he was praying for “grace to find a path forward together where more do not needlessly join those who have already fallen in this new war in the Middle East.”

Senate Republicans vote down legislation to halt Iran war in Congress' first vote on the conflict

Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump's war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear US exit strategy.

The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favour and Democratic Sen John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against.

The war powers resolution gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of US military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.

Underscoring the gravity of the moment, Democratic senators filled the Senate chamber and sat at their desks as the voting got underway. Typically, senators step into the chamber to cast their vote, then leave.

“Today every senator — every single one — will pick a side," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. “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?” Sen John Barrasso, second in Senate Republican leadership, said during the debate that GOP senators were sending a message that Democrats are wrong for forcing a vote on the war powers resolution.

“Democrats would rather obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Iran's national nuclear programme,” he added.