Iran dramatically escalated its attacks on civilian infrastructure and transport networks across the Gulf on Wednesday, striking commercial ships and targeting Dubai's international airport. This comes as US and Israeli warplanes launched new waves of strikes on the Islamic Republic, marking a significant intensification of the 12-day conflict.
Senior Iranian officials warned of a prolonged 'war of attrition' that could trigger global economic chaos by disrupting energy supplies from the region. In the Gulf, Kuwait reported downing eight Iranian drones, while Saudi Arabia intercepted five heading toward its Shaybah oil field.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 634 people and injured 1,586 in less than 10 days, with over 816,700 families registered as displaced. On Wednesday night, Israeli warplanes bombarded Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon after Hezbollah launched drones and rockets at northern Israel, coordinated with Iranian missiles for the first time since the war began.
In Tehran and other Iranian cities, large crowds attended funerals for senior commanders killed in US and Israeli airstrikes. Iranian officials admitted for the first time that the country's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was wounded in the strikes that killed his father, former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with his mother, wife, and a son.
US President Donald Trump sent mixed signals, stating 'we won' but adding that the US would continue fighting to 'finish the job.' The International Energy Agency recommended releasing 400 million barrels of oil to curb soaring prices, but ships remain unable to safely navigate the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil.
