DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories Tuesday, and Iran retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel. As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel said it struck back at Hezbollah militants — the American embassy in Saudi Arabia came under drone attack.
Four days into a war that President Donald Trump suggested would last several weeks but perhaps longer, hundreds of people have been killed in Iran, including some Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.
Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, setting off air raid sirens across the country. The pace of the attacks appeared to be slowing and Israel has intercepted most of the incoming fire, but some missiles have landed, killing 11 people.
The spiraling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end. Trump seemed to leave open the possibility for more extensive U.S. military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.
The administration has given various objectives. While the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump urged Iranians to overthrow their government, senior administration officials have since said regime change was not the goal.
Trump said Monday the military campaign’s four objectives were to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied armed groups.
Trump says people the US had in mind to lead Iran are dead
Trump said Tuesday that “someone from within” the Iranian regime might be the best choice to take power once the U.S.-Israel campaign is finished.
Speaking from the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s toppled Shah, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over.
As far as possible leaders inside Iran, “the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said.
“I guess the worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen,” Trump said. “We don’t want that to happen.”
Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement.
Israel and US strike nuclear facilities and other targets in Iran
Information coming out of Iran has been limited because of poor communications, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists. But across Iran’s capital, aircraft were heard overhead and explosions rang out.
The Israeli military said it conducted a wave of airstrikes on sites that produce and store ballistic missiles, in Tehran and Isfahan.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had sustained “some recent damage,” though there was “no radiological consequence expected.” The U.S. hit Natanz during the 12-day war in June, when Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s nuclear program.
Without offering evidence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” underground for making atomic bombs. Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to and says its nuclear program is peaceful.
After Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, Israel retaliated. On Tuesday, the Israeli military hit Beirut with more airstrikes and said it had moved additional troops into southern Lebanon.
