Qatar PM calls for immediate halt to Iranian attacks
Qatar’s prime minister has called for an immediate halt to Iranian attacks on countries in the region, accusing Tehran of striking civilian areas inside the Gulf state.
In a statement posted on X, Qatar’s foreign ministry said Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made the remarks during a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
According to the statement, Araghchi said Iranian missile strikes were aimed at US interests and did not target Qatar. Al Thani rejected the claim, saying the attacks hit civilian and residential areas, including near Hamad International Airport and industrial zones that house liquefied natural gas production facilities.
The prime minister said such attacks violate Qatari sovereignty and warned that they “cannot go unanswered,” citing the country’s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Turkey has drawn up contingency plans to manage a potential influx of people fleeing the war in neighboring Iran, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said on Wednesday, including the possibility of buffer zones along the border and temporary camps.
He said Turkey had prepared the capacity to accommodate up to 90,000 people in the event of a sudden surge, including through tent camps and temporary housing facilities.
He said there was currently no unusual movement at the three official Iran-Turkey border crossings, though a Reuters witness on Monday saw hundreds of Iranians crossing into Turkey.
Ciftci said authorities had been informed that Iran was restricting its own citizens from leaving the country, while allowing Turkish nationals and third-country citizens to exit.
Operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence signaled openness to talks with the US Central Intelligence Agency on ending the war, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials briefed on the matter.
The offer was made through an unnamed country’s spy agency, the report said, citing unnamed Middle Eastern officials and officials from a Western nation.
A source from Iran’s intelligence ministry rejected the report as “absolute lies and psychological warfare in the midst of war,” according to Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News.
Killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will carry a heavy price for Donald Trump, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said in a message he posted on X.
“Mr. Trump, with Netanyahu’s clownish games you dragged the American nation into an unjust war with Iran,” Larijani wrote.
Larijani also claimed that more than 500 US troops had been killed in the conflict, a figure far higher than the US military says. The US military has reported six American service members killed so far.
“Now calculate whether, with more than 500 American troops killed in these past few days, it is still America First or Israel First?,” he said.
“The story is not over,” he added. “The martyrdom of Imam Khamenei will have a heavy price for you.”
Iran will target Israeli embassies worldwide if Israel attacks Iran’s embassy in Beirut, the country's armed forces spokesman said on Wednesday.
“Israel has threatened to target Iran’s embassy in Lebanon,” Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for the General Staff of Iran’s armed forces, said.
“If such a crime is carried out, we will be forced to consider all of its embassies around the world legitimate targets, and this will certainly happen,” he added.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said the US-led campaign against Iran is making “steady progress,” four days after the launch of Operation Epic Fury.
Speaking at a Pentagon briefing, Caine said the operation is aimed at dismantling Iran’s ability to project military power beyond its borders.
US honors fallen service members
Caine began by naming four US service members killed during the conflict: Captain Cody Cork, Sergeant First Class Noah Tejans, Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor and Sergeant Declan Cody, all from the 103rd Sustainment Command of the US Army Reserve in Des Moines, Iowa.
Two additional names are being withheld pending notification of their families.
“To the families of our fallen, we grieve with you today,” Caine said.
US military graphic map showing locations of operations and strikes in Iran during the ongoing conflict.
Iran missile and drone launches sharply reduced
Caine said Iranian missile and drone launches had fallen sharply since the start of the conflict.
“Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours,” he said.
He added that Iran’s one-way attack drone launches have dropped by 73% from the opening days of the campaign.
US gaining air superiority
According to Caine, US Central Command has established localized air superiority along Iran’s southern coast and is now expanding operations deeper into Iranian territory.
“We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory,” he said.
The campaign is shifting from long-range stand-off weapons to “stand-in precision strikes” using munitions such as GPS-guided JDAM bombs and Hellfire missiles.
More than 2,000 targets struck
Caine said US forces had struck more than 2,000 targets so far during the campaign.
He said more than 20 Iranian naval vessels had been destroyed, including a submarine, significantly degrading Iran’s naval presence in the region.
US submarine sinks Iranian warship
Caine confirmed that a US Navy submarine sank an Iranian warship with a Mark 48 torpedo.
He described it as the first time since World War Two that a US submarine had sunk an enemy combatant ship using a torpedo.
“This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach to hunt, find and kill,” he said.
Regional allies intercept Iranian attacks
Caine said several US partners in the region had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.
Jordan shot down drones headed for Amman, Bahrain intercepted a drone targeting maritime infrastructure, Saudi Patriot batteries stopped ballistic missiles aimed at energy facilities, and the UAE neutralized drones targeting Abu Dhabi.
Qatar, he added, shot down two Iranian bombers approaching its territory.
Caine said US forces would continue strikes over the next 24 to 48 hours while assessing damage and targeting missile launchers and drone capabilities.
