Israel said Wednesday it launched a "broad wave of strikes" on government targets in Tehran, including the presidential office complex, as explosions rocked Iranian cities for a fourth straight night, dramatically escalating the conflict in West Asia.
A loud blast was heard in north-east Tehran early Wednesday, according to Iranian state television, hours after Israel confirmed expanded operations targeting Iran's political and military leadership, according to a statement from the Israeli military.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the military would attempt to eliminate any successor to Iran's supreme leader, sharply raising the stakes of the confrontation, according to remarks carried by Israeli media.
Funeral for Ali Khamenei tonight; succession battle intensifies
Iranian authorities announced that a funeral ceremony for Khamenei will begin at 10pm local time at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, marking the start of a three-day commemoration, according to Iranian state media. Tehran says Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Saturday.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported, citing Iranian officials, that Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed his father. The report said senior clerical and security figures are coalescing around Mojtaba amid fears of further instability.
Israel has warned it would target any newly appointed Iranian leader, a threat that analysts say could push the conflict into an even more dangerous phase.
Iran fires 40 missiles; Lebanon toll rises
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched around 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets in retaliation, according to statements carried by Iranian state news agencies. There was no independent confirmation of the scale of damage.
Israel's air campaign has also intensified in Lebanon. Strikes hit the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, seen as a stronghold of Hezbollah, according to Reuters, citing Lebanese security sources.
Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on Aramoun and Saadiyat killed six people and wounded eight, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. At least 30,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations.
US claims 2,000 targets hit; navy may escort tankers
The US military said the number of strikes conducted in the first 24 hours of operations was nearly double that of the 2003 Iraq "shock-and-awe" campaign, and that close to 2,000 targets have been hit across Iran so far, according to a Pentagon briefing reported by CNN. US officials also claimed that 17 Iranian naval vessels have been destroyed.
US President Donald Trump said the US navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary to stabilise energy supplies, according to remarks carried by the White House press pool.
Shipping disruptions and attacks on energy infrastructure have sent global oil and gas prices soaring, according to Bloomberg, with production affected from Qatar to Iraq.
