The Israeli army announced in the early hours of the morning that it had begun conducting «large-scale» air strikes in Tehran, targeting «the infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime», in what it presents as a «new phase» of the war against Iran.
Iranian media, including the state television IRIB, reported in the early hours of the morning a series of explosions in various districts of the capital, particularly in the eastern and western parts of the capital.
At the same time, according to the Lebanese state news agency ANI, new Israeli bombardments were carried out on six communities in the south, a village in Baalbek (east) and the southern district of Beirut.
As the war launched by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic on 28 February rages on, setting the Middle East on fire and alarming economic players around the world, the duration of the armed conflict remains uncertain.
«We are still only at the beginning of the fighting», US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told the press last night, assuring that Washington's forces have sufficient ammunition to «conduct this campaign for as long as it takes».
No «negotiation»
Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir said yesterday that the war is entering a new phase.
«Having successfully completed the surprise attack phase, during which we established our air superiority and neutralised the ballistic missile network, we are now moving on to the next phase of the operation,» he claimed in remarks broadcast live on television.
He added that Israel seeks to achieve the «dismantling of the regime» of Iran and its military capabilities in the «new phase».
In Washington, US President Donald Trump demanded that he be «personally involved» in the choice of the successor to Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, who was killed in the dozens of bomb raids in the early hours of the war, saying he could not be his son.
For his part, the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, stressed that Tehran is determined to continue this war and told the American television network NBC News that it is not seeking either a «ceasefire» or «negotiations».
On the seventh day of the war, Iran retains offensive capabilities. Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced in the early hours of the morning that drone and missile attacks on air bases had been repelled, while in Bahrain two apartment buildings and a hotel were hit.
The Revolutionary Guards announced that they launched missiles and launched unmanned aerial vehicles in the direction of Tel Aviv. Explosions were heard in the metropolis last night. Authorities have not reported any casualties.
While Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement, which is pro-Iranian, announced in the early hours of the morning that it had fired artillery and rockets targeting Israeli army positions near the border between the two countries.
The Israeli army was ordered to advance deeper into southern Lebanon and extend its control of the border, according to Eyal Zamir.
Panic in Beirut
Last night there was panic in Beirut, following an unprecedented order by Israel to evacuate the inhabitants of a southern district of the capital, considered a Hezbollah stronghold. Huge queues of cars formed almost immediately.
A few hours later the sector was targeted by bombing, including a «very heavy» one, according to ANI, while the Israeli army said it had begun hitting «Hezbollah infrastructure».
«Everything» must be done to avoid the risk of Lebanon «being dragged back into war», French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday, following an appeal by his counterpart Joseph Aoun.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, by last night at least 123 people had been killed and 683 others injured since Monday.
In Iran, the IRNA news agency reported a death toll of 1,230; the French news agency notes that it is unable to independently verify this figure.
The US reported yesterday that it has sunk 30 Iranian ships since the outbreak of the war.
But the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the 20% of the world's seaborne oil and LNG passes under normal conditions, remains de facto closed.
On another axis of strategic importance, in the Red Sea, the Yemeni Houthi rebels, allies of Tehran, have declared that they have their «finger on the trigger» and are «ready» to engage «at any moment».
